Accent (linguistics)

Accents mark speakers as a member of a group by their pronunciation of the standard language. These groups may be geographical, socio-economic (social class), ethnic, or second language speakers.

Accent should not be confused with dialect which is a variety differing in pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar. Dialects are usually spoken by a group united by geography or class.

In the UK, Received Pronunciation is established as the most prestigious accent, although only around three per cent of people actually speak it. It possesses cultural capital, connoting education, class and authority.

A foreign accent is marked by the phonology of other languages (or one other language) which the speaker of an acquired language unconsciously interprets as identical with the phonemes of the spoken language; i.e. the phonology of the spoken language seems modified by the phonology of another language, more familiar to the speaker.

Accent also refers to the stress on a syllable. See stress (phonology).

See also

• Foreign accent syndrome
• Non-native pronunciations of English
• Regional accents of English speakers
• Variety (linguistics)

External link

• Native and non-native accents of English

References

• Bragg, M. (2003) The Adventure of English; 500AD to 2000; The Biography of a Language. London: Hodder & Stoughton.
• Milroy, J. and Milroy, L. (1991) Authority in Language: Investigating Language Prescription & Standardisation. (2nd Ed.) London: Routledge.