Your accent is a reflection of your identity, culture and personal history and deserves to be respected and valued. In this article, you’ll learn what accent modification actually is, the ethics behind it and what success actually looks like.
Accent Vs. Identity Read Post »
Modifying your accent and achieving noticeable results is absolutely possible. While it may feel like a lengthy process, with motivation and consistent practice, meaningful changes can be made. If you’re looking to improve your accent to boost confidence or increase clarity, speech therapy can provide the tools and guidance to help you reach your goals.
How Long Does It Take To Modify An Accent? Read Post »
A constant perspective I hear from bilingual individuals, particularly those whose first language isn’t English, is that they feel inferior. That having an accent and speaking another language puts them at a disadvantage for building connection, respect and growth as communicators both personally and professionally. This article will demonstrate why that is not true. It will demonstrate that you as a multilingual speaker are at an advantage – even when it doesn’t feel like it. In this article, the term bilingualism will be used to embody both multilingualism and bilingualism.
Bilingualism And The Better Brain Read Post »
As a speech-language pathologist (SLP) at Well Said, I’ve had the privilege of working with many individuals who are navigating the journey of accent modification. Whether you’re learning English as a second language and are new to Canada, refining your pronunciation for professional reasons, or simply wanting to feel more confident in your speech, I want to start by saying this (as I say to all accent clients): No one should ever feel ashamed of their accent (every has one after all, no matter your linguistic background).
Understanding and Mastering English Vowel Sounds Read Post »
Understanding consonants is essential to improving speech clarity, especially if you’re working on specific speech goals in therapy. In this blog post, I’ll explain the different types of consonants we produce in English and why knowing about them can help you, whether you’re an adult refining articulation errors, working on an accent or just trying to speak more clearly.
What Kinds Of Speech Sounds Do We Make In English? Understanding Consonants Read Post »
Many of the adults I work with speak more than one language (and many speak more than two!). When a client’s concerns are centred around the languages that they know, usually the language system (i.e. grammar) and speech sounds that are associated with it are often the areas that are top of mind.
The Effects Of Bilingualism On Communication Read Post »
Many clients who would prefer to modify their accent often consider speech sounds such as a different production of the sound ‘r’. However, another way to modify an accent is to consider the rhythm of the language. Every language has its own prosody which helps speakers sound more similar to native speakers. This can be an important area to consider when modifying an accent.
English Prosody And Word Stress Read Post »
There are four basic types of word stress that lead to proper intonation in English. These include: Tonic stress, Emphatic stress, Contrastive stress and New information stress.
Don’t Stress About Word Stress! Read Post »
Often I have a lot of clients telling me that they are having difficulties with the ‘L’ sound. So why is it so hard to say the ‘L’ in words in English such as ‘ball’, when you already have this sound in your language as well? The reason is because there are differences in how we pronounce the ‘L’ sound in English.
Are You Having Difficulty With The ‘L’ Sound? Read Post »
A common question I get from many of my clients of accent modification is, “why does it sound like that?” They are referring to the lack of one-to-one correspondence between sound and symbol. English seems to be a toss salad with five exceptions accompanying each rule.
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a system of symbols standardized to represent sounds (or phonemes) of spoken language. It is the perfect alphabet in which every letter represents one phoneme only, and each phoneme has its appropriate symbol.
The Value of IPA in Accent Training Read Post »
The similarities between swimming lessons (or other sports) and speech therapy may initially seem very different, but they will soon become clear.
Four Ways Speech Therapy Is Like Learning To Swim Read Post »
We often work with people who know that they have trouble with certain sounds, but who say they don’t hear the difference between their version and the “correct” version. How can they learn to say what they can’t even hear? We often work with people who know that they have trouble with certain sounds, but who say they don’t hear the difference between their version and the “correct” version. How can they learn to say what they can’t even hear?
Pronouncing a Sound You Can’t Hear Read Post »
Prosody describes the pitch, loudness, and rhythm of speech. It is understood in two components: stress and intonation, and has multiple layers that subtly yet dynamically impact our message’s meanings. To learn more about Prosody, one of our Speech Language Pathologists explains further.
Prosody: The Music of Language Read Post »
T is often a difficult sound to grasp for non-native speakers of English, and it isn’t because the sound is hard to pronounce. Instead, it is because what we think of as the “T sound” is actually composed of several different sounds, and pronouncing the T correctly requires an understanding of the rules surrounding which version to use in a given word.
The Many Faces of T Read Post »
Whether you already speak French or are learning, awareness of different accents is important for solidifying your own pronunciation and enabling you to understand a variety of speakers.
Accent Differences: Canadian and Metropolitan (European) French Read Post »
While there are scams out there, we know the realistic way to make changes to an accent.
The Truth About Accent Modification Read Post »
This blog post addresses: What is an accent? What is the difference between accent modification and accent reduction? What is involved in the assessment? Why Well Said: Toronto Speech Therapy? We also feature linguistic background and philosophies when working with accents.
Can You Change Your Accent? Read Post »
As a bilingual country, most (if not all) Canadians encounter French at some point throughout their lives, whether at home, in school, work, or in their travels. When it comes to reading, writing, or understanding the language, English speakers who have studied the language may feel perfectly comfortable—until, of course, it comes time to speak it aloud! Unfortunately, though anglophone students in Canada often spend years in school learning French, many feel hesitant to speak it due to difficulties with their accent.
Accent Modification is a mystery to many – the public, ESL Educational Community, and speech-language pathologists. Likewise, I frequently find myself explaining what accent modification is, and answering what I call ‘accent modification frequently asked questions’. Whether you are a person who is interested in accent modification for yourself, an employer who is interested in accent “softening” for an employee, or a native English speaker curious about this speech-language pathology specialty service, then please keep reading for research-based answers on accent modification…
Research Round-Up: Accent Modification FAQ Read Post »
People often ask me, what the difference is between accent modification and accent reduction? My answer is there is no real difference but there is a linguistic difference. Why do both these terms exist since accent reduction and accent modification both describe the process of learning the standard American accent? One is an old term, and one is a new term.
Accent Modification and Accent Reduction Read Post »
A speech therapist can often help with learning the sounds of a new language to help improve pronunciation of words and eliminate any accents or influences from the native language.
Pronouncing English: Accent Modification Read Post »
