Accent
An Accent is the way in which we say words when we speak.
An accent has nothing to do with grammar or syntax, but is only concerned with pronunciation. Two people may say precisely the same words, but make them sound completely different.
Each person has their own particular accent, however we can group accents into various categories.
- Regional - for example when people from the North of a country speak differently from people in the South or people from one country speak the same language differently from people from another country (cf Australian vs American vs British English).
- Socio-Economic status - working class people speaking differently from middle class or upper class people.
- Ethnicity - white people speaking differently from black or Asian people, etc.
- Age - young people speaking different from old people.
There is also the issue of non-native speakers who will speak English with the influence of their mother tongue.
Acquiring a Good Accent
This is not easy for EFL learners; initially their accent will be heavily influenced by their mother tongue and then later, by their teachers. One way in which people do acquire accents is simply by copying.
Actors, for example, when they wish to acquire the accent of a certain region or country, will view videos of a suitable role model and copy the way they speak.
