Why We Do Accent Modification

Have you ever tried to speak a foreign language, only to be frustrated with not being understood? When traveling abroad and speaking in the native language, have you ever thought you were speaking clearly to a local, only to get looks of confusion from the listener?

I have! I have been attempting to learn Spanish for quite some time (like my entire life). When I travel abroad to a Spanish-speaking country, I muster up the courage to speak with the locals. They understand me or attempt to understand me about half the time, but the other half doesn’t go smoothly. It’s me, not them. I know I have lots of room for improvement.

What is an Accent?

Learning a language is more than memorizing words and verb conjugation (which is not how we learn a language as children, BTW). It’s about understanding the nuances of what gives the language its melody. Why do some languages sound guttural, angry, excited, or sing-songy? How can you tell if the speaker is asking a question or making a statement if the wording looks the same on paper? It’s very fascinating to think about how humans took sounds and strung them together to create a set of symbols to communicate with each other.

Accent modification is a hot topic right now. Especially accent modification done in English. More specifically, accent modification to teach the General American English dialect. English is the 3^rd most spoken language in the world, behind Chinese and Spanish. There are over 160 English dialects worldwide, and here in the U.S., there are 24 regional dialects. That is just for spoken English. Did you know there are dialects of American Sign Language (ASL) too?

Of course, accent modification isn’t like car shopping, where you look for the features you want and decide which one to buy. When a non-native English speaker signs up for accent modification, they usually want to learn the General American English dialect (or that is what they will be taught).

Accent Learning

People opposed to accent modification are offended by the idea of General American English (formerly known as Standard American English, or SAE), and rightly so. It’s typically perceived as the dialect of white, educated, upper-class citizens. Opposers argue that accent modification forces people to sound ‘white.’

However, how the General American English dialect evolved to be the standard is a different discussion than whether we should allow accent modification to happen. There are a lot of benefits to learning the improved pronunciation of a language. I believe that learners of any language want to work on their spoken language production.

Accent modification is about ear training for the speaker and the production of a spoken language. Once a speaker learns the nuances of speaking a language, they can apply that to other languages and hear the subtle differences in production.

I’ll leave you with this thought- When you imagine yourself traveling again in a post-COVID world and immersing yourself in another culture, even if only for a short while, do you automatically envision yourself listening to native speakers and hearing the melody of the language? Then maybe even attempting a few words or phrases with ease and confidence? This is much harder than you think; it takes a lot of practice and ear training.

This is why we do accent modification.

For more information on where to start with accent modification, check out my post Assessment in Accent Modification.

References

Lim, Kari. (2022). Speaking with an American Accent: A Guide to General American English.