An “Accent”, What Is It?
April 8, 2009
An Accent….What is it? Who has an accent?
It is a specific way of speaking a language. Pronunciation, stress, rhythm, and tonality. We all speak with an accent, yet some of us have many. In those who speak English as a first language, some speak with a certain accent when they are around friends from their youth and another when at work.
Often, when we live in different areas of the world, we will add other pronunciation patterns, other accents, to our English.
And… we use the appropriate “accent” when speaking to specific groups.
I have a “storytelling accent” that I use when telling Southern Tales. This accent would not be received well if I were to use it in a gathering of professionals.
I was raised in an area that had an accent of what I lovingly refer to as “Hoosier Hillbilly”. When I went to college, I quickly realized that although most folks understood me, it was not deemed a professional accent.
In my linguistics classes and physiology classes, I learned of the muscle responses that make sounds, tones and rhythm.
This is when I began to do “Accent Addition”. Not “Accent Reduction”. When we learn another language, we do not “reduce” or “lose” our primary language.
To speak with a Standard North American accent (i.e., as the Radio & TV media do), one does not lose the “accent “ of their first language. They “add” the Standard North American accent.
So, to add the Standard North American accent, let’s start with knowing basics; Pronunciation, stress, rhythm, and tonality of the that accent, the struggles some groups may have, and how to use those to bridge to the Standard.
June 13th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
Hi, gr8 post thanks for posting. Information is useful!
July 13th, 2009 at 3:11 am
Nice blog- Will come back.
February 9th, 2010 at 4:50 pm
I had an interesting discussion with a friend of mine. He brings an African-american accent and I has a Chinese accent. He asked me: do you think it’s important to reduce your accent? I answered “yes” and quoted the message that Phyllis left on my phone. He did not agree with me.
I also have similar conversations with my MBA classmates from China and India. A lot of them are actually proud of their accent and they don’t it is necessary to reduce their accent.
So do we need to reduce our accent? Maybe the answer is: one does not need to reduce the accent of their first language, but add the Standard North American accent.
Is my understanding correct?
February 9th, 2010 at 7:02 pm
Hi Demi,
Your last statement is correct. We may keep our own accent, yet realize that what we say with a first language pronunciation system overlayed on a 2nd language vocabulary will make the 2nd language not readily understood by our listeners.
Example: Similar to me using and American pronunciation system with Mandarin. I have neglected a huge component of the language system.
There are 4 components to languages: Vocabulary; Grammar structure: Pronunciation/accent & Pragmatics (language etiquette).
Most folks think that they only need to learn Vocabulary and Grammar, then fail at learning the other 2 components. And…wonder why they are not understood…
For your friends who say that they do not need to “reduce” their accents nor add the Standard American accent.:
There are 2 ways to look at this:
As professionals, it is our job to say things in such a way that our listeners will quickly grasp our ideas…… To be 100% accountable for our own messages to be understood. This is for Americans as well as ESL folks.
(Americans can have accents as well, that are not readily understood by others)
Using the concepts we have learned in Toastmasters, we understand that it is our own responsibility to make ourselves and our message understood.
If the listener does not understand us, it is our own fault for not doing what it takes to get our message across.
These classmates/co-workers have bothered to make the Huge effort to learn some English, so that others would listen to their ideas,….. Correct?
So, if others still do not understand them, then they have not completed the job of acquiring the skills to get their message across.
They have only acquired 2 components of the 4-component language system.
One does not get to the top of their field by learning only half of what they need to communicate their ideas.
Look at Fred Festa. He has not only finely honed his listening skills, and leadership skills. He is a master at communicating so that the listener will grasp the message. If he came from upstate NY, he has had to change his accent as well, along with learning excellent communication & leadership skills.
You can bet that he was not a CEO when he came out of college. He has devoted a lot of time to learning these skills.
Secondly:
I have been a proponent of learning multiple types of “accents”. They can be useful.
Example: I have a Russian software architect client who had a very pronounced Russian pronunciation overlay to his spoken English. It confused his Chicago customers.
He learned to increase his use of the Standard American Accent system, yet….
I counseled him to be able to “slide” into a “Russian” accent in non-crucial social settings. He uses this when he wants to be remembered at a huge conference, or when he tells a joke with a small group at a networking event.
People remember the friendly “Russian” guy.
My first accent is “Southern” . I use phrases with a slight Southern accent from time to time in social situations. Yet I make certain that I make it short.
Using your native accent in another language is like adding a strong spice to a food dish. Too much and the dish is ruined. A very small amount… and the dish is savored.
Summary: It is our 100% responsibility to make ourselves understood when we are speaking to someone else in their language.
The listener is our customer. Our co-workers, professors, and employers are our customers. If we do not do what it takes so that they understand, then they will Not buy our product/idea or even “Buy” us as a potential employee.
Once we have established that we can be understood by our listener, we can add a a tiny bit of spice of our native accent. So that they savor and warmly remember us.