The Mystery of Accents

The Mystery of Accents

Why do some accents stick and some disappear?

As we are all aware, languages all have their own unique sounds which are created by how the tongue, mouth and sometimes the throat interacts with the breath.

So, when people learn a second language they can retain the native language sound, or they can lose it. For example if a person moves to the U.S from India they will sound “Indian” However, some people born in India will sound “American”. This “uncommon” knowledge is about foreigh accents and not regional accents (sometimes known as dialects)

So Why is this? Why do some people sound “foreign” while others do not?

It has nothing to do with whether or not they speak another language or if their parents speak another language. Something interesting happens to the language center of the brain when we move to other countries and it depends upon age.

As a young and naive college student I enrolled in a class called Linguistics and Language Development. Since I was on my way to becoming a teacher I needed to learn about how the brain creates and processes languages. Plus, I have always been interested in language, words and language development. That class taught me a lot about language and the history of language. There was one thing I learned that has always stuck with me all these years.

Now let me share a little back story with you to help you understand how unique this “uncommon knowledge” is. I am traveling back to my middle school years for this one.

When I was a teenager I had a set of siblings as my friends. A sister and a brother, (Mimi and Daniel) who were both born in Korea but that's all they had in common. They were like night in day when it came to personalities.

My friend Mimi was a lot like me. We were both very shy and insecure so we stuck together to help each other navigate the horrible halls of middle school. Daniel was a basketball star and very popular. Oozing with charisma and charm. (I think I had a little crush on him) Everyone liked him. What really struck me is that even though MImi and I were nerds he was always kind to us. He took us to the movies and we would buy a ticket and “movie hop” all day. He was not embarrassed to be seen with us I simply adored him.

There was also another notable difference between them. It was the way they spoke and sounded.

Daniel’s speech was different from Mimi’s. He sounded like a person from Korea. His English was excellent but you could hear the Kroean in his voice. Mimi did not sound Korean. Her English was “Americanized”.

Sometimes you can tell someone is from another country because of the way their English sounds, their accent. Most likely you have experienced this when you called a customer service line and you can tell right away by the inflection what part of the world they came from. But sometimes you cannot tell because they sound “Americanized”

SO- Why do some people retain their nativeness in speech and some people lose it?

There is a reason why!

Fast forward- Language and Linguistics class 1996. One spring afternoon the professor of this class (Mr Hoffman) began talking about maintaining and losing native accents. He asked us- “Why do some people keep them and some people lose them?” The class proposed a variety of theories but no one could give the correct response.

My teacher lectured about how linguistists have researched this and come to this conclusion. If a person comes to a new country BEFORE puberty then they will lose their accent and their accent will assimilate making them sound “American”. If a person comes to the new country AFTER the age of puberty they will maintain their original accent.

So basically puberty is the reason. That wonderful time in a person's life where their bodies are changing, their feelings are changing and yes their accent can change also. I am sure there is a lot going on in the brain that contributes to this but the bottom line is that the age of puberty is the reason.

SO simple, but yet so complicated. Hormones? Gold Ole Hormones.

Not many people are aware of this and even fewer have ever really given it a second thought. I find language fascinating and teach English to high school students today. My school is very ethnically diverse so I can hear it in their voices. Most high school students where I work sound "Americanized". A few do not and those few have not been in the U.S for very long.

So, this is a good thing in the eyes of youth today. Most of them want to adapt and assimilate as quickly as possible. Natural changes take care of the voice. So many youth do not even want to speak the language of their parents for fear of embarrassment. I always encourage them to keep that language because one day it WILL come in handy and put you up there in the top career candidates. People who are bilingual have better job prospects. That is a fact.

So, from that day on I paid attention to foreign language accents and could even surprise people (from other countries) by guessing approximately how old they were when they came to the U.S. My interaction goes a little something like this. (of course not with a total stranger)

What country are you from?

Person says “ I am from …….”

Then , I tell them "I am guessing you came to the U.S before/ after you were a teenager.”

I have never been wrong. They ask me how I know. So, I tell them “It’s magic” No, really it is just UNCOMMON knowledge.

-So, remember the next time you meet someone from another country you can try this with them. Share some “uncommon” knowledge. Or you can try it with your friends and have some fun with it. (just remember not to offend anyone). We LOVE ACCENTS!!!

I wonder if this will ever be a Final Jeopardy Question?