Is it possible for an adult to learn to speak naturally with a different accent?
I want to have an Australian accent.
Can an adult learn to speak naturally with a new accent?
You can definitely learn to do it. There are voice coaches that make a living teaching actors how to do it.
accents follow specific rules- for example in the australian accent the "ay" sound in "play" sounds like the "ie" sound in "die". So when they say "G'day mate" it sounds like "G'die Mite"
you learn a phonetic alphabet, which has one symbol for each sound in all accents of english. if you know how to read the symbols, when you read off the paper your voice sounds just like the accent it was written in.
learning to speak it naturally, without ever making a mistake is trickier though. most people believe theres a critical period in childhood for accents. kids pick it up fast but adults have more trouble.
two accents of the same language isnt too different that you can't learn to mimic it with work...but mastering an accent in a foreign language is nearly impossible after a certain age. thats why foreigners who come to another country always have an accent- they cant really help it.
accents follow specific rules- for example in the australian accent the "ay" sound in "play" sounds like the "ie" sound in "die". So when they say "G'day mate" it sounds like "G'die Mite"
you learn a phonetic alphabet, which has one symbol for each sound in all accents of english. if you know how to read the symbols, when you read off the paper your voice sounds just like the accent it was written in.
learning to speak it naturally, without ever making a mistake is trickier though. most people believe theres a critical period in childhood for accents. kids pick it up fast but adults have more trouble.
two accents of the same language isnt too different that you can't learn to mimic it with work...but mastering an accent in a foreign language is nearly impossible after a certain age. thats why foreigners who come to another country always have an accent- they cant really help it.
Funny is when a fat lady walks around while someone plays the tuba. Once you've seen that, you'll never laugh at anything else. Except maybe a skeleton dancing around while someone plays the xylophone, which is almost exactly the opposite of a fat lady walking around while someone plays the tuba. Well, a skeleton is the opposite of a fat lady. But is a xylophone the opposite of a tuba? History will decide.
wow thank you jayyy! that was a very detailed answer and exactly what I wanted to know, thanks a bunchjayyy wrote:You can definitely learn to do it. There are voice coaches that make a living teaching actors how to do it.
accents follow specific rules- for example in the australian accent the "ay" sound in "play" sounds like the "ie" sound in "die". So when they say "G'day mate" it sounds like "G'die Mite"
you learn a phonetic alphabet, which has one symbol for each sound in all accents of english. if you know how to read the symbols, when you read off the paper your voice sounds just like the accent it was written in.
learning to speak it naturally, without ever making a mistake is trickier though. most people believe theres a critical period in childhood for accents. kids pick it up fast but adults have more trouble.
two accents of the same language isnt too different that you can't learn to mimic it with work...but mastering an accent in a foreign language is nearly impossible after a certain age. thats why foreigners who come to another country always have an accent- they cant really help it.
I'm always the man 
actually I'm doing a masters degree in linguistics, so I learn a lot about that stuff.
actually I'm doing a masters degree in linguistics, so I learn a lot about that stuff.
Funny is when a fat lady walks around while someone plays the tuba. Once you've seen that, you'll never laugh at anything else. Except maybe a skeleton dancing around while someone plays the xylophone, which is almost exactly the opposite of a fat lady walking around while someone plays the tuba. Well, a skeleton is the opposite of a fat lady. But is a xylophone the opposite of a tuba? History will decide.
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Kip Patterson
- Senior Member
- Posts: 4438
- Joined: Wed Jun 07, 2000 12:00 pm
- Location: Columbus, Ohio
was new the new kid in town at age 20 went to a bar and pretended i was from england talked with an accent all night lotsa girls wanted to talk to me and ask me lotsa questions they even bought me drinks ... Did I get Laid ?..
hell no/mission failed return to base
lol
hell no/mission failed return to base
lolI was going to post a link to that thread, but the SG search results for "bullsh|t" were too numerous
sometimes you have to think outside the box to get inside the box
.What movie is this young lady from?
People will forget what you said... and people will forget what you did... but people will never forget how you made them feel.
This set of pictures should bring a tear out of rat man...
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/huge-pot-bust.html
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/huge-pot-bust.html
People will forget what you said... and people will forget what you did... but people will never forget how you made them feel.
I dont know why you guys think i smoke dope er grow dope or whatever?... is it bcz i had a gopher smokin a d00b avatar? /@>Maybe I am just that stupidMadDoctor wrote:This set of pictures should bring a tear out of rat man...
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/huge-pot-bust.html
I was going to post a link to that thread, but the SG search results for "bullsh|t" were too numerous
sometimes you have to think outside the box to get inside the box
.None of the above. You are too wise. Too smart to be like one of us. At sometime in your life (maybe as I type) you have been near dope. Probably second had mind you but dope none the less.Randy wrote:I dont know why you guys think i smoke dope er grow dope or whatever?... is it bcz i had a gopher smokin a d00b avatar? /@>Maybe I am just that stupid
People will forget what you said... and people will forget what you did... but people will never forget how you made them feel.