Rethinking Accents: From Reduction to Recognition

Everyone Has an Accent

Every single one of us, regardless of the language(s) we speak, has an accent. In fact, I would argue that every single person on the planet has a different accent, and that this has been true for time immemorial. There's just no point in arguing about it; everyone has an accent.

The Quest for the "Right" Accent

With the prevalence of English as a lingua franca, useful across the globe for commerce, academia, technology and governance, there's a demand for the 'right' accent to get ahead. Many strive to 'sound' American, British, or more 'native'-like.

However, the idea of a 'native' speaker of any language is problematic for a host of reasons. The real issue at hand is why people want to sound different than they do, stemming from a perceived deficiency in how their speech is understood.

From Reduction to Addition

Why don't we think of this as accent addition instead of reduction? Or, as linguist Heather Hansen suggests, focus on improving accent recognition?

Heather Hansen, in her book "Unmute," emphasizes this point:

"Instead of accent reduction, we should focus on accent recognition. It's not about changing how you sound, it's about being understood. And that's a two-way street. As listeners, we need to take responsibility for understanding different accents."

This quote perfectly encapsulates the shift in perspective from trying to change one's accent to improving mutual understanding.

Consider how actors learn accents for particular roles:

• Hugh Jackman

• Idris Elba

• Meryl Streep

• Johnny Depp

• Natalie Portman

• Angelina Jolie

• Nicole Kidman

These actors learned accents to sound convincing to an audience without reducing their own, natural accents. Accents, in this case, are merely tools that one uses when needed.

The Global English Landscape

Hansen points out a striking statistic:

• Roughly 400M people were born into the English language

• About 2B people have been learning English

That's five times as many people learning English than 'intuiting' it. Perhaps we should stop trying to fit all of these 2B people into the confines of the English box, and instead try harder to become better listeners.

Clarity vs. Accent

It's important to note that pronunciation and speech clarity are crucial - but only insofar as they interfere with communication. Critical to communication are the settings, roles, and assumptions of the interlocutors, conditions which hold true for grammar, coherence, register and lexis.

We don't ask people to reduce their natural grammars, registers or vocabulary – only to modify them based on the audience(s). The same approach should apply to accents.

Mutual Responsibility in Communication

Problems arise when:

1. A speaker thinks they are intelligible but they aren't

2. A listener claims they can't understand the speaker

Both scenarios require attention:

• Speakers should be receptive to constructive feedback about their intelligibility

• Listeners (especially those 400M 'native' speakers) should train their ears to better recognize diverse accents

Conclusion: Beyond Accent Bias

There shouldn't really be accent BIAS, unless we're biased against all accents. Let's stop stigmatizing accents and make more of an effort to focus on effective communication.

What steps can you take today to improve your accent recognition skills?