Category Archives: Accent Reduction

Learning to speak with a more neutral accent of English.

The Accents of Transplants

Posted on April 24, 2011 by Ben

We’ve all met them.  The semi-British, the semi-American, the semi-Irish.  I speak, of course, of people who have left their home countries (or regions) for elsewhere, and whose original accents are starting to change.  Not only are their native regionalisms … Continue reading →

Share

Posted in Accent Reduction | 62 Comments

Americans: Intolerant of Regional Accents?

Posted on February 23, 2011 by Ben

I often assume that the British are more accent-conscious than we Americans are. Let me put that more bluntly: I assume the British are more accent-intolerant than we are. There is a good bit of evidence to support this. Brits … Continue reading →

Share

Posted in Accent Reduction | Tagged , , , , | 25 Comments

Accent reduction: do you need it?

Posted on January 15, 2011 by Ben

A lot of people ask me if they should get “accent reduction,” the process in which a foreign-language speaker (or someone with a stigmatized accent) goes to a specialist to learn a more “standard” accent. Do you need accent reduction? … Continue reading →

Share

Posted in Accent Reduction | Tagged , | 7 Comments