Accent Learning 101

The first takeaway from accent learning 101 is that everyone has an accent! There is no standard language or accent spoken across the world. In fact, even within each country, there are many variations of a spoken language. This is commonly referred to as a ‘dialect’ and it’s typically specific to a particular region. This is why the thing on wheels at the grocery store is referred to as ‘buggy’ in the southern part of the US and ‘cart’ in the northern part of the US.

Accents:

English is the 3rd most widely spoken language in the world, by native speakers, behind Chinese and Spanish (all dialects). There are approximately 160 dialects of English around the world. Even though English is not the most commonly spoken language, it’s considered the ‘global business language.’ This means that most business transactions across countries are done in English.

There are several factors that influence one’s accent. There are many people who speak 3 or more languages. However, for simplicity, in this article I’m referring to a language other than the native language is referred to as ‘2nd language’. Factors that influence an accent are:

• The age at which the 2nd language was mastered
• If the language teachers had a native accent
• How closely related the 1st and 2nd languages are in terms of speech sounds and grammar
• Frequency of practice and exposure to 2nd language
• How well the speaker has mastered the 2nd language

For helpful charts that contain common speech sound, grammatical, and suprasegmental errors and resonance characteristics of the 20 most spoken languages in the world, click here!

Accent Learning

Those who seek accent learning services do so because their accent deviates from the native or standard accent of a community and they perceive it to have negative consequences. Many individuals choose to work on accent learning and professional speaking to improve their spoken English skills, boost self-confidence, or help work performance. Improving one’s accent is hard work and takes time. I think about accent learning as 3 main areas:

• Segmentals: consonants and vowels
• Suprasegmentals:  rate of speech, intonation, syllable stress, word linking, volume, and resonance
• Professional Speaking: body language, grammar, small talk, visuals, phone effectiveness, humor, and presentation content

American English is a tricky and funny language. Individuals have lots of great questions about all of the rules and exceptions but it’s important to remind them that we learned our native language by listening. Have the individual focus on pronunciation, not the spelling of words. Other suggestions to keep things moving:

• Keep practice conversations short
• Practice spontaneous speech as much as possible
• Practice with a variety of native speakers
• Listen to a variety of native speakers
• Find a partner to give feedback

Becoming a Native Speaker:

Research shows that individuals who learn a language after the age of 12, will still have an accent (Granena and Long, 2013). This is important to keep in mind for individuals who come to you wanting to ‘sound like a native speaker’. There are some ‘exceptional learners’ but for most this goal is likely unachievable. However, individuals who focus on accent learning and professional speaking can become more effective speakers in some cases than native speakers.

In his book, Bob McKinney discusses that actors and actresses who achieve native-sounding speech in shows and movies, such as Nicole Kidman and Hugh Laurie, are reading from a script that they have rehearsed many times. It’s also easier for them to learn a dialect of their own languages, such as British English or Australian English, than to learn a new language without an accent. In spontaneous conversation and interviews, they revert back to their own pronunciation patterns.

Spies also must work hard at their accents in order to blend in. They have better luck speaking with a ‘dialect’ in a target country instead of trying to learn the accent. For example, they may pretend to speak with an Irish accent while living in the US. Or they have a cover for their accent, such as being born in the US to parents who speak German. (McKinney, 2019).

Cultural Competence:

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) defines cultural competence as ‘understanding and appropriately responding to the unique combination of cultural variables and the full range of dimensions of diversity that the professional and client/patient/family bring to interactions’. 

It’s important to understand the cultural background of others. There are helpful resources out there that describe culture, language, and grammar, phonetic inventories. Keep in mind these are meant to be a guide. They do not to describe each person’s beliefs or attitudes from a given country. You can find a cultural competence checklist from ASHA here.

The goal of any accent learning service is to help the individual improve confidence, intelligibility, and naturalness. Segmentals, or phonemes, used in Standard American English (SAE) as well as suprasegmentals, and cultural norms (eye contact, slang, humor, etc) should be addressed. These topics benefit any speaker, not just those with an accent. 🙂

For more benefits of working with Speech-Language Pathologists for accent learning, read my blog A Speech-Language Pathologist’s Secret to Accent Modification.