After exploring how accents are perceived, evaluated and adapted, a final question remains: Why does all of this feel so personal? Accent is not just pronunciation. It is your linguistic biography. Among all features of language, accent may be the most intimate. Vocabulary can be learned from textbooks, grammar can be practiced and […]
Continue readingCategory Archives: Intercultural Communication
Training the Ear: Listening as a Social Skill
Discussions about accent tend to focus solely on the speaker and language learners are often encouraged to reduce their accent, improve their pronunciation and approximate native patterns of speech. Entire industries have developed around accent training and pronunciation coaching with the aim to help language learners to become more intelligible as possible when using the […]
Continue reading
From ‘Zoning Out’ to Understanding: Rethinking Communication Across Accents
Communication across accents is often treated as if it were the speaker’s responsibility alone. It is not. From the very first moment, communication is a shared responsibility. And when listeners “zone out” after a few seconds, this is rarely just about how something is said. It is about how communication is co-constructed or fails to […]
Continue reading
Language, Shame, Guilt and Anxiety: When Speaking Hurts
When we make a language mistake, we may feel uncomfortable. This discomfort can be productive. It can lead to reflection, correction and even growth. But sometimes what emerges is not discomfort, it is shame. And sometimes it is anxiety or guilt. These experiences are related, but they are not the same. Language Guilt and Language […]
Continue reading
Why Names Matter: Accurate Pronunciation Signals Inclusion and Respect
Practical strategies for educators, multilingual families, and policymakers to honor identity through name pronunciation.
Continue reading