Even American’s Have Accents!

Posted on November 22, 2013 by karen

I get this question all the time:

“Wait, You work on Accent Reduction with Americans too?!”

My Answer: Hell yes.

Lately I can’t seem to keep up with all of the new publications regarding American Accents or Dialects. A favorite of mine is this article from Business Insider “22 Maps That Show How American’s Speak English Totally Differently From Each Other.”

Isn’t it such a fun website? I really enjoyed reading the question or word for each slide and trying to figure out how I would naturally say it. I was born and raised just outside of Boston, Massachusetts but have lived in Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina as well. I currently split my time between Charleston, SC and San Francisco, CA. So my exposure to different pronunciations is pretty extreme compared to many who have only lived in one state. I get to hear so many different types of accents here in the States.

Most people assume that “Accent Reduction Training” is for those that were born outside of the USA.  Wrong! No matter where you were born, what your first language was, or what language you prominently speak- Accent Reduction Training is an option for you. Many American born individuals seek out Accent Reduction Training for what we call “Accent Neutralization.” I train using only General English or also called Neutral American English.

I love when my friends or clients from other countries come to visit the States. It isn’t long before they note the differences between the Boston Accent, Southern Drawl and the San Franciscan accent. It’s about 2 seconds later that they start poking fun at each accent.

Do you have a favorite American Accent?