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sociolinguistics Sociolinguistics is the descriptive study of the effect of any or all aspects of society, including cultural Norm (sociology), norms, expectations, and context (language use), context, on the way language is used, and society's effect on languag ...
, an accent is a way of pronouncing a
language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...
that is distinctive to a
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
,
area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an obje ...
,
social class A social class is a grouping of people into a set of Dominance hierarchy, hierarchical social categories, the most common being the Upper class, upper, Middle class, middle and Working class, lower classes. Membership in a social class can for ...
, or
individual An individual is that which exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of being an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) of being a person unique from other people and possessing one's own Maslow ...
. An accent may be identified with the locality in which its speakers reside (a regional or geographical accent), the
socioeconomic status Socioeconomic status (SES) is an economic and sociological combined total measure of a person's work experience and of an individual's or family's economic access to resources and social position in relation to others. When analyzing a family's ...
of its speakers, their
ethnicity An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
(an ethnolect), their
caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...
or social class (a social accent), or influence from their
first language A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...
(a foreign accent). Accents typically differ in quality of voice, pronunciation and distinction of vowels and consonants, stress, and prosody. Although grammar, semantics, vocabulary, and other language characteristics often vary concurrently with accent, the word "accent" may refer specifically to the differences in pronunciation, whereas the word "
dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...
" encompasses the broader set of linguistic differences. "Accent" is often a subset of "dialect".


History

As human beings spread out into isolated communities, stresses and peculiarities develop. Over time, they can develop into identifiable accents. In
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
, the interaction of people from many ethnic backgrounds contributed to the formation of the different varieties of North American accents. It is difficult to measure or predict how long it takes an accent to form. Accents from
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
for example, developed from the combinations of different accents and languages in various societies and their effect on the various pronunciations of British settlers. Accents may vary within regions of an area in which a uniform language is spoken. In some cases, such as
regional accents of English Spoken English language, English shows great variation across regions where it is the predominant language. For example, the United Kingdom has the largest variation of accents of any country in the world, and therefore no single "British accen ...
in the United States, accents can be traced back to when an area was settled and by whom. Areas like the city of New Orleans in Louisiana that are, or at one point in time were, semi-isolated have distinct accents due to the absence of contact between regions. Isolated regions allow dialects to expand and evolve independently. Social and economic factors can also influence the way people speak.


Development

During the early period of rapid cognitive development in a child's life it is much easier to develop and master foreign skills such as learning a new (or first) language. Verbal cues are processed and silently learned in preparation for the day the vocal system is developed enough to speak its first words (usually around 12 months). Before infants can identify words, they just hear "sounds" that they come to recognize. Eventually neural pathways are established in the brain that link each sound with a meaning. The more frequently a word is heard, the more its connection is solidified and the same goes for accents. There is no "standard" accent for the child to practice, as far as they're concerned, the accent they hear from their parents is not the "right" way, it's the only way. Eventually children graduate from the conscious act of recalling each word, it becomes natural like breathing. As children grow up they learn vocabulary of the language they are immersed in, whether assisted by parents or not. However, their first few encounters with words determine the way they'll pronounce them for the rest of their lives. This is how accents are cultivated in groups as small as towns and as large as countries; it's a compounding effect. Though it's possible to develop a new accent or lose an old one, it's difficult because the neural pathways created when learning the language were developed with the "original" pronunciations. Children are able to take on accents relatively quickly. Children of immigrant families, for example, generally have a pronunciation more similar to people native to where they live compared to their parents, but both children and parents may have an accent noticeably differing from local people. Accents seem to remain relatively malleable until a person's early twenties, after which a person's accent seems to become more entrenched. Nonetheless, accents are not fixed even in adulthood. An acoustic analysis by Jonathan Harrington of
Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
's
Royal Christmas Message The King's Christmas Message (also known as The Queen's Christmas Message in the reign of a female monarch, formally as His Majesty's Most Gracious Speech, and informally as the Royal Christmas Message) is a broadcast made by the sovereign of t ...
s revealed that the speech patterns of even so conservative a figure as a monarch can continue to change over her lifetime.


Non-native accents

Accents of non-native speakers may be the result of the speaker's native language. Each language contains distinct sets of sounds. At around 12 months of age, human infants will pick out which sounds they need to learn their language. As they get older it becomes increasingly harder to learn these "forgotten" sounds. A prime example of this can be seen between German and English—the "w" and "th" sounds, like in the English words "wish" and "this" respectively, do not exist in German—the closest sounds are "v" and "z". As a result, many English-speaking Germans pronounce "wish" as "vish" and "this" as "zis". A similar disjunction occurs in German speaking native English speakers, who may find it difficult to pronounce the vowels in German words such as "schön" (beautiful) and "müde" (tired). An important factor in predicting the degree to which the accent will be noticeable (or strong) is the age at which the non-native language was learned.Scovel, T. (2000). "A critical review of the critical period research." ''Annual Review of Applied Linguistics'', 20, 213–223.Piske, T., MacKay, I. R. A., & Flege, J. E. (2001). "Factors affecting degree of foreign accent in an L2: A review". ''Journal of Phonetics'', 29, 191–215. The critical period theory states that if learning takes place after the critical period (usually considered around puberty) for acquiring native-like pronunciation, an individual is unlikely to acquire a native-like accent. This theory, however, is quite controversial among researchers. Although many subscribe to some form of the critical period, they either place it earlier than puberty or consider it more of a critical "window," which may vary from one individual to another and depend on factors other than age, such as length of residence, similarity of the non-native language to the native language, and the frequency with which both languages are used. Nevertheless, children as young as 6 at the time of moving to another country often speak with a noticeable non-native accent as adults. There are also rare instances of individuals who are able to pass for native speakers even if they learned their non-native language in early adulthood. However, neurological constraints associated with brain development appear to limit most non-native speakers’ ability to sound native-like. Most researchers agree that for adults, acquiring a native-like accent in a non-native language is near impossible.


Social factors

When a group defines a standard pronunciation, speakers who deviate from it are often said to "speak with an accent". However, everyone speaks with an accent.Matsuda, M. J. (1991). "Voices of America: Accent, antidiscrimination law, and a jurisprudence for the last reconstruction." ''Yale Law Journal'', 100, 1329–1407. People from the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
would "speak English with an accent" from the point of view of an
Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...
, and vice versa. Accents such as
Received Pronunciation Received Pronunciation (RP) is the Accent (sociolinguistics), accent traditionally regarded as the Standard language, standard and most Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestigious form of spoken British English. For over a century, there has been ...
or
General American English General American English or General American (abbreviated GA or GenAm) is the umbrella accent of American English spoken by a majority of Americans. In the United States it is often perceived as lacking any distinctly regional, ethnic, or so ...
may sometimes be erroneously designated in their countries of origin as "accentless" to indicate that they offer no obvious clue to the speaker's regional or social background.


Being understood

Many teachers of, for example, English as a second language neglect to teach speech/pronunciation.Morley, Joan. "Acquisition, instruction, standards, variation, and accent" Georgetown University Round Table on Languages and Linguistics 1996: Linguistics, language acquisition, and language variation: current trends and future prospects. Comp. James E. Alatis. Georgetown University Press. pp 140–160. https://books.google.com/books?id=R8jZ62kA9akC Many adult and near-adult learners of second languages have unintelligible speech patterns that may interfere with their education, profession, and social interactions. Pronunciation in a second or foreign language involves more than the correct articulation of individual sounds. It involves producing a wide range of complex and subtle distinctions which relate sound to meaning at several levels. Teaching of speech/pronunciation is neglected in part because of the following myths: * Pronunciation isn't important: "This is patently false from any perspective." Speech/Pronunciation forms the vehicle for transmitting the speaker's meaning. If the listener does not understand the message, no communication takes place, and although there are other factors involved, one of the most important is the intelligibility of the speaker's pronunciation. * Students will pick it up on their own: "Some will learn to pronounce the second language intelligibly; many will not." Inadequate instruction in speech/pronunciation can result in a complete breakdown in communication. The proliferation of commercial "accent reduction" services is seen as a sign that many
ESL English as a second or foreign language is the use of English by speakers with different native languages. Language education for people learning English may be known as English as a second language (ESL), English as a foreign language (EFL ...
teachers are not meeting their students' needs for speech/pronunciation instruction. The goals of speech/pronunciation instruction should include: to help the learner speak in a way that is easy to understand and does not distract the listener, to increase the self-confidence of the learner, and to develop the skills to self-monitor and adapt one's own speech. Even when the listener does understand the speaker, the presence of an accent that is difficult to understand can produce anxiety in the listener that he will not understand what comes next, and cause him to end the conversation earlier or avoid difficult topics. Intelligibility of speech, in comparison to native-like accent, has been experimentally reported to be of greater importance for the second language speakers. As such ways of increasing intelligibility of speech has been recommended by some researchers within the field.


Prestige

Certain accents are perceived to carry more
prestige Prestige refers to a good reputation or high esteem; in earlier usage, ''prestige'' meant "showiness". (19th c.) Prestige may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Films * ''Prestige'' (film), a 1932 American film directed by Tay Garnet ...
in a society than other accents. This is often due to their association with the elite part of society. For example, in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
,
Received Pronunciation Received Pronunciation (RP) is the Accent (sociolinguistics), accent traditionally regarded as the Standard language, standard and most Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestigious form of spoken British English. For over a century, there has been ...
of the English language is associated with the traditional
upper class Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status, usually are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper class is gen ...
. The same can be said about the predominance of Southeastern Brazilian accents in the case of the Brazilian variant of the
Portuguese language Portuguese ( or, in full, ) is a western Romance language of the Indo-European language family, originating in the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. It is an official language of Portugal, Brazil, Cape Verde, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau and ...
, especially considering the disparity of prestige between most ''
caipira A Caipira () is an ethnic group native to Paulistânia, cultural area in Brazil, the term "''caipira''", of origin in the Paulista General language, probably influenced by the terms "''kai'pira''", "''ka'apir''", "''ka'a pora''" or "''kopira'' ...
''-influenced speech, associated with rural environment and lack of formal education, together with the Portuguese spoken in some other communities of lower socioeconomic strata such as ''
favela Favela () is an umbrella name for several types of working-class neighborhoods in Brazil. The term was first used in the Providência neighborhood in the center of Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th century, which was built by soldiers who had ...
'' dwellers, and other sociocultural variants such as middle and upper class ''paulistano'' (dialect spoken from
Greater São Paulo Greater São Paulo ( pt, Grande São Paulo) is a nonspecific term for one of the multiple definitions of the large metropolitan area located in the São Paulo state in Brazil. Definitions Metropolitan Area A legally defined specific term, ''Reg ...
to the East) and ''
fluminense Fluminense Football Club (), known as Fluminense, is a Brazilian sports club best known for its professional football team that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first tier of Brazilian football and the Campeonato Carioca, th ...
'' (dialect spoken in the state of Rio de Janeiro) to the other side, inside Southeastern Brazil itself. However, in linguistics, there is no differentiation among accents in regard to their prestige, aesthetics, or correctness. All languages and accents are linguistically equal.


Accent stereotyping and prejudice

Stereotypes refer to specific characteristics, traits, and roles that a group and its members are believed to possess. Stereotypes can be both positive and negative, although negative are more common. Stereotypes may result in prejudice, which is defined as having negative attitudes toward a group and its members. Individuals with non-standard accents often have to deal with both negative stereotypes and prejudice because of an accent.Gluszek, A., & Dovidio, J. F. (2010). "The way they speak: Stigma of non-native accents in communication." ''Personality and Social Psychology Review'', 14, 214–237. Researchers consistently show that people with non-native accents are judged as less intelligent, less competent, less educated, having poor English/language skills, and unpleasant to listen to. Not only people with standard accents subscribe to these beliefs and attitudes, but individuals with accents also often stereotype against their own or others' accents. In some cases, the ''way'' you hear someone can be more impactful than ''what'' you actually hear. Humans can (and often do) judge each other as soon as someone says "hello." Even as they continue to speak, your mind has already identified the type of person with whom you're speaking, applied existing stereotypes and generalizations you might hold about that type of person, and in a way categorized them. People associate different behaviors and stereotypes with different accents; in some cases these notions can hold some truth but are often blown out of proportion. This can lead to generalizations about entire cultures. People place certain amounts of trust in others based on two factors stemming solely from the way they speak. First, people naturally relate to, and form connections with, other people when they can. It's comforting to the mind to find someone like you and accent is an easily identifiable factor with which to make a connection, even if it's subconsciously. Second are your previously held conceptions about people with certain accents. Despite forming a connection with someone, these factors could clash. It's the dynamic created by these two factors that works to shape your trust in a specific person (or general population for that matter) with an identifiable accent. Additionally, perspective is key: British accents are seen as "scholarly" or "intellectual" in America while in parts of Ireland and parts of Europe they are looked down upon. Accents have even found to be more impactful on perception than known perceptual dividers like race, religion, or sex. In a
PNAS ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America'' (often abbreviated ''PNAS'' or ''PNAS USA'') is a peer-reviewed multidisciplinary scientific journal. It is the official journal of the National Academy of Scien ...
study, babies were told to choose a toy from two recorded speakers with varying characteristics. Ahead of all variables tested, including race and gender, recordings speaking with an accent native to the child were selected at a considerably higher frequency.


Accent discrimination

Discrimination refers to specific behaviors or actions directed at a group or its individual members based solely on the group membership. In accent discrimination, one's way of speaking is used as a basis for arbitrary evaluations and judgments. Unlike other forms of discrimination, there are no strong norms against accent discrimination in the general society. Rosina Lippi-Green writes,
Accent serves as the first point of gate keeping because we are forbidden, by law and social custom, and perhaps by a prevailing sense of what is morally and ethically right, from using race, ethnicity, homeland or economics more directly. We have no such compunctions about language, thus, accent becomes a litmus test for exclusion, and excuse to turn away, to recognize the other.
Speakers with certain accents often experience discrimination in housing and employment.Rubin, D. L. (2002). "Help! My professor (or doctor or boss) doesn't speak English." In J. N. Martin, T. K. Nakayama, & L. A. Flores (Eds.), ''Readings in Intercultural Communication: Experiences and Contexts'' (pp. 127–137). Boston: McGraw Hill. For example, speakers who have foreign or ethnic-minority accents are less likely to be called back by landlords and are more likely to be assigned by employers to lower status positions than those with standard accents. In business settings, individuals with non-standard accents are more likely to be evaluated negatively. Accent discrimination is also present in educational institutions. For example, non-native speaking graduate students, lecturers, and professors, across college campuses in the US have been targeted for being unintelligible because of accent. Second language speakers have reported being discriminated against, or feeling marginalized for, when they attempted to find a job in higher ranking positions mainly because of their accents. On average, however, students taught by non-native English speakers do not underperform when compared to those taught by native speakers of English. Some English native-speaker students in Canada reported a preference for non-native speaker instructors as long as the instructor's speech is intelligible. This was due to the psychological impacts such circumstances has on the students requiring them to pay closer attention to the instructor to ensure they understand them. Studies have shown the perception of the accent, not the accent by itself, often results in negative evaluations of speakers. In a study conducted by Rubin (1992), students listened to a taped lecture recorded by a native English speaker with a standard accent. They were then shown an image of the "lecturer", sometimes Asian-looking, sometimes white. Participants in the study who saw the Asian picture believed that they had heard an accented lecturer and performed worse on a task that measured lecture comprehension. Negative evaluations may reflect the prejudices rather than real issues with understanding accents.


Legal implications

In the United States, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on national origin, implying accents. However, employers may claim that a person's accent impairs their communication skills that are necessary to the effective business operation. The courts often rely on the employer's claims or use judges’ subjective opinions when deciding whether the (potential) employee's accent would interfere with communication or performance, without any objective proof that accent was or might be a hindrance. Kentucky's highest court in the case of ''Clifford vs. Commonwealth'' held that a white police officer, who had not seen the black defendant allegedly involved in a drug transaction, could, nevertheless, identify him as a participant by saying that a voice on an audiotape "sounded black". The police officer based this "identification" on the fact that the defendant was the only African American man in the room at the time of the transaction and that an audio-tape contained the voice of a man the officer said "sounded black" selling crack cocaine to a European American informant planted by the police.


Acting and accents

Actors are often called upon to speak a variety of language other than their own. Similarly, an actor may portray a character of some nationality other than their own by adopting into the native language the
phonological Phonology is the branch of linguistics that studies how languages or dialects systematically organize their sounds or, for sign languages, their constituent parts of signs. The term can also refer specifically to the sound or sign system of a ...
profile typical of the nationality to be portrayed in what is commonly called "speaking with an accent". Accents may have stereotypical associations. For example, in
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
animated films mothers and fathers typically speak with white middle class American or English accents. English accents in Disney animated films are frequently employed to serve one of two purposes,
slapstick comedy Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...
or evil genius. Examples include ''
Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...
'' (the Sultan and Jafar, respectively) and ''
The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance, it ...
'' ( Zazu and
Scar A scar (or scar tissue) is an area of fibrous tissue that replaces normal skin after an injury. Scars result from the biological process of wound repair in the skin, as well as in other organs, and tissues of the body. Thus, scarring is a na ...
, respectively), among others.


See also

*
Accent reduction Accent reduction, also known as accent modification or accent neutralization, is a systematic approach for learning or adopting a new speech accent. It is the process of learning the sound system (or phonology) and melodic intonation of a langua ...
*
Accent perception Accents are the distinctive variations in the pronunciation of a language. They can be native or foreign, local or national and can provide information about a person’s geographical locality, socio-economic status and ethnicity. The perception ...
*
English-language accents in film In film, English-language accents can be part of acting performances. Actors use dialect coaches to speak in an accent other than their own. Accents can vary by locality, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and other factors. Dialect coaching In ...
*
Foreign accent syndrome Foreign accent syndrome is a medical condition in which patients develop speech patterns that are perceived as a foreign accent that is different from their native accent, without having acquired it in the perceived accent's place of origin. Fo ...
*
Human voice The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound production ...
*
Language change Language change is variation over time in a language's features. It is studied in several subfields of linguistics: historical linguistics, sociolinguistics, and evolutionary linguistics. Traditional theories of historical linguistics identify ...
*
Non-native pronunciations of English Non-native pronunciations of English result from the common linguistic phenomenon in which non-native users of any language tend to carry the intonation, phonological processes and pronunciation rules from their first language or first languages ...
*
Regional accents of English Spoken English language, English shows great variation across regions where it is the predominant language. For example, the United Kingdom has the largest variation of accents of any country in the world, and therefore no single "British accen ...
*
Variety (linguistics) In sociolinguistics, a variety, also called an isolect or lect, is a specific form of a language or language cluster. This may include languages, dialects, registers, styles, or other forms of language, as well as a standard variety.Meecham, M ...
*
Koiné language In linguistics, a koiné language, koiné dialect, or simply koiné (Ancient Greek κοινή, "common anguage) is a standard or common language or dialect that has arisen as a result of the contact, mixing, and often simplification of two or ...


References


Further reading

* * Giles, H., & Coupland, N. (1991). ''Language: Contexts and Consequences''. Buckingham, UK: Open University Press. * Lindemann, S. (2003). "Koreans, Chinese or Indians? Attitudes and ideologies about non-native English speakers in the United States." ''Journal of Sociolinguistics'', 7, 348–364. * Lindemann, S. (2005). "Who speaks 'broken English'? US undergraduates' perception of non-native English." ''International Journal of Applied Linguistics'', 15, 187–212. * * Moyer, A. (1999). "Ultimate attainment in L2 phonology: The critical factors of age, motivation and instruction." ''Studies in Second Language Acquisition'', 21, 81–108. * Scovel, T. (1988). ''A Time to Speak: A Psycho linguistic Inquiry into the Critical Period for Human Speech''. Cambridge, England: New bury House. * Wated, G., & Sanchez, J. I. (2006). "The role of accent as a work stress or on attitudinal and health-related work outcomes." ''International Journal of Stress Management'', 13, 329–350. * Wells, J C. 1982. ''Accents of English''. (3 volumes). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ells's home pages also have a lot of information about phonetics and accents.


External links


Sounds Familiar?
– Listen to regional accents and dialects of the UK on the British Library's 'Sounds Familiar' website
'Hover & Hear' accents of English from around the World
and compare them side by side.
The Speech Accent Archive (Native and non-native accent recordings of English)



humanaccents.com
– a summary of research on non-native accents and extensive accent bibliography {{DEFAULTSORT:Accent (sociolinguistics) Sociolinguistics Phonology Dialectology Linguistics terminology