Foreign accent reduction

[Cristinat]

Hi,

I am in USA for the last 14 year, I love living in America and trying my best on becoming an proud American. By paper I am American but when I open my mouth and speak I am not. My major problem (major for me) is that I have a foreign accent that bothers me deep inside. Every time I speak I am asked “Where are you from?”. Many of my friends kept telling me that my accent is “sweet”; I consider it painful. I wish I could control it and when needed to be able to speak English correctly clear and without foreign accent.
Is there anything such as speech therapy, or pronunciation instruction that could help diminish a foreign accent?

Thank you,
Cristina

[Englishuser]

Hi Cristina,

I suggest you get in touch with a speech language pathologist. See e.g. www.hanoverspeech.com. It is possible to soften a foreign accent. Some people even eradicate their accent. So there is hope for you, too. But remember: Only you can decide how far you want to go.

EU

[Cristinat]

Hi EU,

Thank you for your email:) I will defiantly explore the site you have sent me. My deepest problem is that I encountered couple painful events where people made fun of my accent and it hurt so much that I just can’t let go, the pain is still there and it affects me. That is why I want to thank you for your information.

Sincerely,
Cristina

[Englishuser]

Hi Cristina,

Thank you for your message. People who make fun of you just because you speak English with a foreign accent are quite insolent and moronic. There is nothing funny or comical about a foreign accent. It is different from a native accent, and sometimes it's harder to understand someone who speaks with a thick foreign accent. That's all.

I wouldn't care if someone commented on my accent. I never do. If someone has a problem with my accent then that's their problem. There is an exception to this rule, though. If people have a harder time understanding you because of your accent, you might benefit from "reducing" your accent. Fern Hanover helps people who seek to soften their accents in New York City. There are other similarly educated people in other parts of the US (and in NYC, too). All you have to do is to locate one of them.

EU

[Diverhank]

I originally came from Vietnam when I was 17 and have lived in the US for more than 30 years so I think I know what you are going through.

Past a certain age, we can't seem to pick up and speak a language without accent, at least not easily. I now speak with a very slight accent (some people didn't think I have an accent) as a result of me having worked at it.

You need to dispose of pre-conceived notions on how certain words should be pronounced. Like many I learned to read and write English before I learned to speak it. In hindsight that was the wrong way if you don't want to have an accent. We tend to pronounce the word the way it's written, except that we use our own language, not English...

You need to take different problem words and phrases, ask a native speaker to speak them then record them. Listen to these and break them down...then say it the way it was meant to say, not the way you think it ought to sound like. Nowadays there are many language CDs that you can use. It takes hard work but the result will be rewarding.

For example the two English words that gave me and many Vietnamese the most problem were "Pizza" and "World". The natural way for me to pronounce "Pizza" would be "Pee Za" instead of the correct "Pete sa". To this day, I still don't get how "piz" could be pronounced "pete"...someone told me pizza is Italian...In the case of "World", Vietnamese doesn't have the "orld" sound... Bottom line is you have to work at it...I get jealous my kids don't have any accent speaking American English. I warned them however, when and if they decide to learn Vietnamese, be aware that they might have horrendous accents .

[Che Gevara]

Hi Cristina
Where are you from ?
_________________
Bombing for peace is like f.. for virginity

[Englishuser]

Hi,

Thank you, diverhank, for sharing your ideas with us.

In addition to what you have suggested, I would say it is very important to learn how to make the different sounds of American English (or the variety of English or the language you are learning) if you want your speech to turn out as "accentless" as possible. Mispronunciations can be an issue, but most people who are extremely fluent in a language need to work on the sounds. The vowel sounds tend to be particularly tricky as far as English is concerned.

If you really want to eradicate your accent, please get in touch with a speech language pathologist. Modelling your speech on native speakers in your speech community is great, but might not be enough because you don't get the feedback you need. In other words, you don't know what exactly there is in your voice that sounds "foreign". In general, ESL teachers are poor pronunciation linguists. Note that I said "in general", because obviously some of them are really good at teaching pronunciation.

EU

[Alan]

Hi,

I can't imagine a worse horror than 'accentless' promulgation of my language throughout the world be it in the Outer Hebrides or the rain forests of South America. After all variety is the spice of life.

A
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Party Conferences

[Englishuser]

Hi Alan,

Has someone ever made fun of you because of your foreign accent in a second language?

EU

[Alan]

Of course they have, they've fallen about. But then that's the fun of the whole thing.

A
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English as a Foreign Language
You can read my EFL story Saying It Twice

[Englishuser]

Hi Alan,

Do you speak German with a noticeable foreign accent?

EU

[Alan]

Yes, I do and that's why I was offered work during the 'cold war' to write and read talks for the German Service of the BBC as I was clearly a foreigner broadcasting.

A
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Briefly

[Englishuser]

Hi Alan,

Do you think it is possible to pass the IELTS brilliantly if you speak English with a thick foreign accent?

EU