How Does a Person Pick Up an Accent While Living Abroad?
-
What Is an Accent?
-
Accents can be acquired in different ways. One way is as the remnant of the mother tongue, which influences how we pronounce words and phrases in another language. Another is a way of speaking one's mother tongue, which may be slightly different from other speakers of that language. A third way is when an accent is acquired by associating with speakers of another language. For instance, a person may develop a Spanish accent by being around Hispanics during the developmental phase of his language acquisition period. Such an accent can also be acquired by learning English from a Spanish-speaking teacher.
Acquiring an Accent
-
In the case of acquiring an accent while living abroad, a speaker does so mainly by association or for clarity. When the listeners are used to hearing a particular language (for instance, English), spoken in a certain way (for example, in an American accent), then they are more receptive to hearing English spoken in an American accent. Therefore, a person abroad may begin to speak in an American accent for the sake of expediency in being understood and to facilitate understanding. After a short time, this accent becomes more and more natural and soon the Spanish accent, although never totally lost, will become secondary.
Picking It Up
-
An accent will be picked up unconsciously if a person in a foreign milieu is constantly exposed to the accent. For instance, an accent is picked up when working in locations where that accent is used exclusively. Many are the cases of an accent being picked up by speakers so as to be accepted by their friends in a particular situation. In fact, there are some people who are so attuned to the accents they hear that they can mimic an accent unconsciously by hearing it for an extended length of time. Certain accents may be deemed to be better story-telling accents. For instance, a Scottish accent may be seen as great for telling jokes, and so travelers will adopt this accent when telling a particular anecdote. If one hears a stirring piece of prose performed in an English accent, then in relating this prose to others, she will use the same accent in an attempt to project the same stirring atmosphere.
Languages Other Than English
-
While it may be easy to discern foreign accents of people who have had to learn another language because of travel or relocation, a regional accent can also be heard through the initial foreign accent. A person is chiefly influenced by their mother tongue, but the language of the new country also colors their acquisition. For instance, if an Italian adult goes to America and learns English there, then he will speak in a uniquely Italian-American accent, whereas an Italian who travels to the Australia will acquire an Italian-Australian accent.
Summing Up
-
Accents can be acquired when abroad either consciously or unconsciously through a variety of means. Understanding exactly how an accent is acquired is chiefly through a process of repetition of the sounds and nuances of a language as they are heard. Constantly being around the unique sounds of a language therefore is crucial to picking up that accent.
-
Related Searches
Resources
- Photo Credit Riverside Clipart
