Newfoundland and Labrador have the collective distinction of being Canada's most Eastern providence. The mainland Labrador and island Labrador are often described as being a single entity, despite the fact that nearly 92 percent of the providence's total population of 526,702 lives on Labrador. Aside from their close proximity to one another, another fascinating part [...]
English Accent Training: How Slang Terms Can Define Individual Speech One of the reasons our long running idioms series has proven to be so popular is that it helps bridge the gap between the formal English often emphasized in the initial stages of English accent training and specialized slang of the business world. Every profession [...]
How to Speak English: Redefining the Meaning of an Accent Did you know that sign language features regional variations in signing and slang terms? The idea may seem farfetched to some. American Sign Language is often thought of as a literal interpretation of American English, with universal gestures for virtually every word and slang term [...]
Accent Reduction Program: The Value of Code Switching Effective communication is definitely one of the keys to any successful business endeavor. Being able to convey your thoughts in a clear and concise manner helps speed up the exchange of opinions while minimizing the amount of misunderstanding in the process. As any accent reduction program would [...]
English Accent Training Self-Evaluation: Correct Pronunciation Part of any effective English accent training course is knowing how to pronounce words properly. The essence of a word sometimes disappears when mispronounced, causing misunderstandings between people who are trying to communicate effectively. English Accent Training: The Importance of Correct Pronunciation Correct pronunciation is very important, especially for [...]
Learn to speak English: Is there an acceptable way to make fun of accents? In November 2011, UK Prime Minister David Cameron ignited a media firestorm when he imitated Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard's accent during a foreign policy speech at the Lord Mayor of London's banquet. Cameron's hackneyed impersonation was an intended punch line [...]
English Accent Training: The Disappearing Philadelphia Accent The evolution of a dialect once believed to be strictly regional is usually a slow process, marked by the gradual merging of vowels, where two formally distinct vowel sounds merge into one, such as the case with the A and E vowel sounds in the Philadelphian dialect. [...]
How to speak English: Do You Suffer From "linguistic Insecurity"? Those who decide to take on the task of learning how to speak English and/or reduce their native accent are usually hesitant to do so for a number of reasons, including fear of the unknown in another language and the time and effort required to [...]
How to speak English: Tracking the development of accent attitudes Those who decide to take on the task of learning how to speak English and/or reduce their native accent are usually hesitant to do so for a number of reason, including fear of the unknown in another language and the time and effort required to [...]
Learn to Speak English: Is "valley girl" speak crossing gender and state lines? California has long been known as the home of Hollywood. Many struggling actors, actresses and writers from around the world are drawn there by the potential of fame, just hoping for the one opportunity to prove themselves as a viable commodity within [...]
Accent reduction programs: What can Japanese teach us about American English? As a non native speaker of English, you are more conscious than most people of how your particular accent comes across to others, as you attempt to enunciate words as clearly as possible to avoid drawing attention to your accent. However have you ever [...]
Part 2 of our “What To Say and Where To Say It” series is here! This article will explain the lexical (word) and phonological (sound) differences that occur throughout the United States. Joshua Katz, a North Carolina State University doctoral student in statistics, created over one hundred maps of these features. So far we have [...]
Chicago Accent: The Birth of a Stereotype On January 12, 1991, Saturdayy Night Live (SNL) debuted a recurring skit known as Bill Swerski's Superfans, which would come to define the so called "Chicago accent" for generations of non-native Chicagoans. The accent used in the skit continues to be bandied about to this day as a shorthanded representation of [...]
Accent Reduction Training: Increasingly Localized As was discussed in a previous article, the standard California accent is thought to be closest in tone to the standard American English spoken throughout the Midwest and emphasized in accent reduction training. A direct result of Midwestern settlers migrating to San Francisco during the gold rush period from 1848-1855. [...]
