Accents and Dialects

Although the terms accents and dialects are often used interchangeably, the true definition of accent is the unique way speech is pronounced by a group of people speaking the same language (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, n.d.). A dialect is not only how sounds are pronounced, but also the vocabulary and grammar that are used. For example, native English speakers may pronounce the words cart, buggy, and carriage similarly but only use one of them to refer to the thing on wheels at the grocery store (the shopping cart). Buggy is common in the Southeast, carriage is common in Pennsylvania, and cart is used in other regions of the U.S.

A nonnative accent occurs when a person speaks their 2nd language using the rules of sounds of their first language, for example, when the L1 of Mandarin influences the production of L2 English.

 

Accents

Everyone has an accent! You may not be aware of the characteristics of your own accent until you leave the country in which you live. Then suddenly people ask you where you are from and may even try to imitate your speaking patterns. This is referred to as the goldfish analogy- a goldfish isn’t aware it is surrounded by water until it is out of the bowl.

Accents are most impacted by:

• Phonology: the speech sounds of languages (e.g., /g/ as in ‘go’, /s/ as in ‘Sam’)
• Phonological Patterns: rules for speech sounds in languages (e.g., in English, we have /ng/ in the medial and final position of words but not at the beginning of words, in other languages /ng/ at the beginning of words may be acceptable)
• Prosody: the rhythm of languages (e.g., syllable and word stress, rate of speech, intonation)

Dialects

Dialects are influenced by geographical boundaries, socioeconomic backgrounds, generational changes, ethnicity and race, and other individual factors. In the U.S., there are approximately 24 regional dialects. The most known ones are Boston, New York City, Ozark, Pacific Northwest, and Coastal Southern. There are also ethnic dialects, which are dialects spoken by members of a particular ethnic group. The two most known ethnic dialects in the U.S. are African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and Chicano English (or Hispanic Vernacular). Most speakers of these dialects are monolingual and live in urban areas around the U.S.

Dialects are most impacted by phonology in addition to:

• Morphology: rules for word formation (e.g., adjective vs. adverb)
• Syntax: grammatical rules
• Semantics: vocabulary
• Pragmatics: social norms for language use

Idiolects

The third layer to the discussion of accents and dialects is a term called idiolect. Idiolect refers to the speech habits that are unique to a particular person. No two idiolects are the same. Many personal and social factors that influence idiolects, especially now more than ever due to social media and television:

• Personality Preferences
• Geographical Location
• Family and Friends
• Outside Influences (e.g., celebrities, social media, role models)

How would you describe your accent, dialect, and idiolect? What factors have influenced your speaking pattern? Let us know in the comments below.