A Pronunciation Q&A

Q: Is it possible to eliminate a foreign accent?

A: In the first place, everyone speaks with an accent. If you are from Western Canada, you probably speak with a Western Canadian English (WCE) acccent, and if you grew up in New Zealand, you likely speak with a New Zealand accent. When people talk about "eliminating" an accent, what they really mean is changing features of their pronunciation so as to convey the impression that their place of origin or social background is different from what it really is. Actors and public figures often attempt to do this in their L1, sometimes quite successfully. For instance, Stephen Colbert, who grew up in South Carolina changed his speech patterns to sound like a speaker of General American English (GAE). But L2 speakers face a more complex problem when they attempt to change their pronunciation. That's because they must attend to fine details of speech production while also carrying out the cognitively complex task of producing utterances in a language over which they have less control. The research literature documents some cases of adults who have learned to pronounce a second language in ways that make them largely undetectable as non-native speakers. However, these cases are rare. In fact, extensive research strongly suggests that most L2 learners (including many very young learners) nearly always retain some detectible aspects of a foreign accent. Furthermore, we do not know of a single research study in which an ordinary L2 learner was "taken off the street" and taught to speak in a perfectly native-like way. What that means is that when accent reductionists say they will "get rid of your accent" in a month, a week, or an hour, there is no reason to believe that they're telling the truth.

Q: You say that accent "reduction" and "elimination" are mostly fraudulent schemes, but what do you say to a learner who says "I might not get a job because of my accent"?

A: This assertion is often made by accent reductionists wanting to expand their client base. The notion that some people experience accent discrimination is true. Documented cases of denial of employment and accommodation exist in Canada and elsewhere, so yes it certainly is possible that an intelligible L2 speaker might not get a job because an accent tells the listener that the speaker is from another (possibly identifiable) country. The problem with the logic of accent reductionists is the claim that if the learner completes a particular, usually expensive, course, discrimination won't happen. That simply isn't how discrimination works. Accents do not cause discriminatory behaviour. Rather, discrimination results from acting on stereotyped negative attitudes about particular groups of people. Accent is just one of a variety of markers indicating that a speaker comes from somewhere else. An L2 learner might work very hard to "reduce" an accent and perhaps come to sound somewhat more native-like, but there is little reason to expect that doing so will influence an already biased employer. Prejudiced minds are not easily changed.

Q: Are you saying that L2 learners should never try to change their accents?

A: Not at all. That is a personal decision. But the point is that anyone contemplating registration in a pronunciation course should be fully aware of what the available speech research tells us. Reputable pronunciation specialists do exist. They can usually be identified by their unwillingness to use expressions such as "accent elimination," to employ scare tactics ("You won't get a job!") and to make false promises ("Your life will completely change in 30 days.")