Accent Modification

Coming from different dialectal backgrounds we find the taste of native tongues overpowering our formal conversations. Be it a meeting, a presentation, an argument or even a debate, we feel like losing the upper hand to someone with a better grip of the language. That flavor of our native tongues making us sound different from the others is what we call accents.

Accents can be influenced by various factors: our Cultural backgrounds, Regional Origins or National Origins. The native language being the most often spoken or primarily acquired form of speech can easily influence the second language. Hence, making us sound different from someone else who speaks the same language.

The accent of a person defines his origin, making him uniquely identified in a group. Something everybody would naturally be proud of. So why modify your accent? Accents can sometimes make it hard for you to be understood by others. This is a scenario faced by anyone who needs to use language as a tool for their professional needs. Individuals who need to make presentations for a global crowd, for meetings, debates, actors for a different language, etc.

How can an SLP help you?

With a few conversations with you an SLP tracks your accent style. Then it is only a matter of time to be engaged with rectifying the influencing errors like how you articulate different sounds,how you sound when you speak.

Influencing factors:

• Segmentals:

Each sounds in a language(consonants and vowels).

• Suprasegmentals:

Prosody of the language or how you sound when you use the language. It includes Stress, Intonation, Pitch, Rate and Loudness. Varying these features of your speech one can produce an impactful conversation.

Being able to manipulate these influencing factors of your speech the desired results will be achieved in no time.

Finally, remember accents are not a Language Disorder.