Language Directions Newsletter
November 2013
Everyone has an accent
Regardless of which language, and what area or country, people reveal in their speech where they spent most of their formative years. Think about people you know from another area of the country. Does someone originally from Boston really have the same ”accent” as someone raised in the deep South? I don’t think so! And not only pronunciation differs from region to region, vocabulary can change as well. ”Soda,” “pop,” and even “tonic” can be used to talk about carbonated soft drinks. New Yorkers drink “caw-fee” and in other areas, the usual morning beverage is “cah-fee.” It’s all English…American English. And American English is different from British English, Australian English, Canadian English, or Indian English. They are all English, with many key differences in vocabulary and pronunciation which can complicate some English-English communications.
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