Accent reduction
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- čas přidán 30. 07. 2024
- How do we make our pronunciation more native like in another language? Here is the video I refer to in my video: • Accent Reduction Vanco...
Timelines:
0:01 Is strong accent a disadvantage?
0:47 Speaking well VS Accent.
1:50 Accent is a problem of vanity.
2:11 Modeling on a native speaker.
3:07 Most people will keep their accent.
4:04 Accent is a matter of will.
5:28 Focusing on individual sounds.
6:42 The key activity is listening.
7:34 Speed of listening.
7:54 Focus on intonation.
8:27 Accent reduction summary.
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I love all these old videos on youtube when the limit was 10 minutes and everyone tried to fit in as much content as possible
I’ll never forget the eureka moment I had in Thailand - previously I’d been saying my thai phrases in my own natural voice with mixed results regarding comprehension by the locals - then I decided I’d try and mimic their accent and the outcome was like night and day! I knew my understandability had shot up just in the facial expressions I started getting
So awesome!
@tropoway "With all due respect, this is such a BS", calling something BS is respect?
And accent relates to pronunciation and intonation ,and not to how words are used. That is usage, not accent. The two are different.
I am sure these German teachers of English would like to speak like a native, the native of their choice. Your whole argument smacks of the latest politically correct nonsense about native speakers not being the role model, for most people they are.
@tropoway No. You do imitate an accent. That is your model, otherwise you have no way of knowing how something is pronounced. If I learn Portuguese I will choose whom to model my pronunciation on, it may be a person from Portugual, or from Brazil or Mozambique, and the result may be a mixture of those plus my own native language, but the models are there. It would not an American or Frenchman speaking Portuguese. Of course I will fail to sound like a native, but the native is still my model.
I have no illusions about my Portuguese nor do I aspire to be mistaken for a native. I learn language for fun and focus on listening and reading. When I speak my accent is at is, generally quite acceptable, but I am not mistaken for a native, nor are you I suspect.
The toughest part of getting rid of accent is when your friends tell you you have cute accent and they really like your rolling Rs. It is really big hit tomotivation to improving pronounciation.
Once I volunteered for a medical outreach as an interpreter, of course I didn’t get paid, I was just there for the experience and to make myself useful. Some doctors brought their teenagers kids and I got along with them, but one guy was brutally honest and told me my French sucked, he told me why the heck I was there if I couldn’t speak the language. That really put me off, afterwards I was afraid of speaking French, especially with the native French speakers. I feel pretty confident using the language with my friends, but whenever I get the chance to talk to a native speaker, I’m afraid they might think my French is not good enough
@@alexmga9303 see a speech therapist. They can really help
What he said for me is very relatable. For you to sound like a native speaker, you need to DESIRE doing that, you need to CARE about accent and pronunciation, and most importantly, you need to LIKE doing that. Also, it heavily depends on how immersed you are on the language's country. If you are visiting for the first time, you will have accent. If you've been living there for a decade, and you attend those first conditions, you'll most likely sound like a native.
@JonVonD What utter nonsense. I lived in Japan for nine years. I regularly listen to radio interviews in Russian involving foreigners. People who can make themselves understood, even with noticeable accents, are appreciated and treated with respect.
@ElTrollBoy I look forward to hearing how it works.
@Luiseut59 I agree that listening often to content that we like, that strikes an emotional chord, will help us reduce our accent.
I am curious. Why should I work on my accents? They are what they are. I do the best I can. I imitate as best I can and I am satisfied. That is all we should expect of ourselves or of others for that matter.
@JonVonD That may be your experience but mine is different. The important thing is to make sense and to be a good communicator. The accent does not matter as long as it is understandable. It maybe that peasants in the rural areas have trouble understanding foreigners with accents but communicating with farmers is not the main goal of language learning.
I find this topic fascinating! 25 years ago, I started college taking classes for Radio and Television. One of my classes was Voice and Diction. We had to learn IPA. I enjoyed it as I had never been exposed to it before. That being said, I couldn't recognize it if I saw it now. Like you say in many videos. "Listening" to announcers, DJ's, etc. helped more than anything. Our instructor, even while teaching us IPA, always said, "You'll learn more in a week on the job..."
@tropoway You imitate the accent you wish to imitate. The rest of your comment I do not understand.
@vivdclyde Yes French may be easier since you already have some exposure. The main factor, however, is how interested you are to learn the language. Good luck.
@Luiseut59 I prefer to do a lot of listening before really trying to pronounce. I know that in Russian and Czech, which are difficult to pronounce, I just naturally get better at hearing the language through lots of exposure. Then when I start to speak I do better. It is hard to force yourself to pronounce well if the brain is not used to the language.
Why not use LingQ for French. There are lots of audio and text materials available for free download.
Fantastic video. I appreciate your thoughts regarding individual sounds vs intonation and imitation.
@epituchano people should just speak with the accent they like, usually their own, if native, or the accent they find the most pleasing if learning another language.
@u2bealot Not very different from the standard American accent.
Hey Steve!
I'm studing German about 3 weeks.
Thanks for your tips, your videos inspired me a lot!
Also, sprechen Sie Deutsch?
@Luiseut59 But what did you do to reduce your accent? Or did it just happen as all your English language skills improved?
I have just kept repeating words and that way I have gotten rid of my Finnish accent. However, my mouth starts to hurt after a while. Same thing happens when I try to speak any other foreign language.
jopeteus I think that’s totally normal because we are using our vocal and facial muscles in new ways deliberately . No doubt it gets easier with time and practice
This is a really good clip! It is quite useful to understand the process of learning a second language!
Whatever works so that you do not get too bored, probably between 20-60 minutes. The point is that you will cover most sounds and rhythms of the language. The repetition of the same phrases and rhythms seems to engrave itself on the brain better. It is more intense than just listening to new content where you are listening for meaning and to train the brain.
This is also my approach and theory. And I also agree with the timeframe of about 6 months. I'm convinced you can actually get to a native-like accent but you have to put in the work first, like a baby who spends its first 6 months training the phonology of its native language before anything else. Adult learners don't get that native-like accent not because they can't but because they are too impatient and want to start to speak as fast as possible thinking they can work on the accent later and they are not willing to only focus on phonology. The problem is, of course in the beginning there is too much interference from their native language, so they will use equivalent phonemes of their native language as approximates of the target language. As the approximates are usually "close enough" to be understood, the brain doesn't have a reason to get a precise pronunciation. And with getting by with being understood, incorrect pronunciation fossilizes, and once fossilized it's much harder to lose the now established phonological neuronal connections and reestablish new ones for the correct pronunciation.
Listen to newsreaders in the language you are learning. They are usually the most consistent speakers in their language and the ones to model and it's the easiest way to pick someone to model. They are chosen for their clarity of their voices and subtitles running along the bottom can help as well.
@Luiseut59 You can always listen to yourself and compare. But maybe your accent was not all that bad to begin with.
To me, accent and pronunciation is a physical skill just lika playing an instrument. Saying "why would you want to reduce your accent if you're completely understandable with your current accent?" is just like saying "why would you want to become better at the piano if people already like what you can play now?"
***** But the thing with the accents though though, even native speakers differ with accents. Take for instance a strong american southern accent. Some northerners can't understand them and some can. So really, the accent thing is really not all that serious. At the end of the day, the individual person has to make a conscious decision on whether they want to change their accent if they feel they can't be understood.
In my opinion though everybody has an accent in a language and it's nice to see someone else from another background speak the same language you do (fluently and intelligibly of course).
thank you! Now I feel more confidence!
I agree with Mr. Steve that listening plays a significant role while pronouncing the sounds. I also noticed that the more I listen the better my English pronunciation is. Moreover, when I stopped speaking my mother tongue, my English learning process became fast and easy because of the absence of double translation in my head i.e listening in English and translating from my native language into English.
Thanks so much, Mr. Kauffman
Excellent video! thank you!!!
You nailed it... Thank you!
Excellent title to explain an important point for ambitious non-native speakers! :)
Thanks for the great info
you solved problem in 1st min of this video!! as long as you are clear and understable.. it's not a problem.
When it comes to minority languages like Breton or Irish for example, accent is a lot more important. Every language has a unique sound and without it they are dull and boring.
Sadly for Breton it's difficult to find Breton speakers after the seventies who don't sound French.
Similar for Irish except they are lucky enough to still have communities with native speakers who speak with the languages natural/historic sounds, and there is a wealth of recordings of native speakers for people to use for learning. The fight for the preservation of Irish has to deal with people who learn it and insist that their English pronounciation of Irish words is correct because they are Irish and the language 'belongs to them too.' But it currently has a big advantage over Breton. There is also a challenge for younger native speakers not to succumb to English sounds because they grow up surrounded by English now and tend to be more competent in the dominant language of the country.
PO box we have that same issue in NZ with the Maori language- the majority of speakers are now second language learners (including myself)
Naturally we don’t have the same accent as our native speaking grandparents, but to me that’s not really a problem.
The real issue is when we produce the language with English grammar ie. too often the word order and word choice is heavily influenced by our first language English.
Thank you very much ! ! !
I find language learning so deeply troubling for the reason that your whole conception of life itself is tied up to one phonetic system. Changing that is huge and immensely profound. When I try to learn a language, I get so weirdly involved into it that I feel in the margin of my ownself. Whoa... did I say that. Anyways, I get the point.
In chinese I have a problem with the pinyin "X" which is a kind of retroflex 's' consonant I think.
Also, even if it does not help you directly, I reckon listening to the "target language" music or subbed videos... it helps your brain going from "error - exotic content" to "whoa I don't understand that but it's clearly (target language)" to "oh ok it's (some word) but I don't know it" and one day... "nah, I don't think he's right... what have I understood something?"
Happy to learn there is a hoser on the youtube polyglot community! I knew i heard a "aboot" right eh?
I'm a Québec raised child and I realized this year that english canadians had an accent.
You heard right! Out and about!
I think these few exotic sounds remain elusive but gradually we either get better at them or learn not to worry about them.
People who have a strong accent don't pay attention when they listen or don't have audio materials to listen to...
Very nice! This is basically the story of how i learnd English.
@AtomikNY To me the best way to pick out the sounds is either hearing the word alone or used in a dialog and then shadowing the speaker. And there will be variances in intonation depending on the posture you use and familiarity of content. In Japanese I can sometimes pull off sounding like a native, but other times I come off accentless. And I am okay with not sounding like a Japanese. Same goes for Chinese. If the tones are praticed to the point where a speaker can easily understand then good.
I don't know. It took me about 2 weeks, with some flaws of course to get the rhythm of the chinese (mandarin) language.
Thank you so much sooooooo interesting
@lingosteve No, I was in college studying English teaching when I realized that I had a thick accent and actually, it all happened because I heard a teacher, who has a very good accent, speaking to me. So, I started investigating on the internet how to get a good accent and I found a guy named Luca here on youtube and I decided to follow his advises, so I try to listen to English songs very very carefully and I have two years doing just that and my accent has improved a lot.
Hi steve,i am in france now trying to improve my french,but it has already been 1 month and my accent has just remained the same,what should i do ?
are you fluent in french or are still learning the language/intermediate
Why not look at it another way? Instead of looking to reduce your native accent perhaps look at it as acquiring another accent. In that way you are not losing anything but you are gaining.
Precisely. Luca Lampariello talks about accent *foundation* rather than accent *reduction*. I think Steve here implicitly feels the same way.
Interesting. I spoke fluent english from a young age, however I've always had a very, almost egregiously strong accent. Will I suddenly be able to change? probably not, though every now and again I pick up another small "trick" to modify how I sound. This "th" trick will come in handy.
Thank you, that was a good one, I should use those tips to improve my accent..! I wish you could show us a little about phonetics as well, the stress and contact parts of tong, teeth and lips. The words like: Th,W, etc.
You make a bunch of good points! Also, we see eye to eye that intonation or the so-called "Melody" of the language should be the main priority in order to emulate native-like speech. However, I take the term "accent-reduction" with a grain of salt; for me, it's the wrong mindset. To put it another way, I think we would be better off trying to think of it as follows: One should rather try to adopt / master the respective target language while- at the same time- maintaining traces of one's natural accent. Just my two cents;-).
@phonicsquest Steve is right.
Lingosteve is great, he knows that languages are one of the best things that people can learn, its great fitness for your brain and great intelligence, He's awesome!!! Its amazing how he's fluent in all of those languages, and furthermore without an accent. I want to be like him. By the way, thanks for all of the tips!!!
wonderful
Accent and pronunciation get tied together so often. My view is as long as I can understand someone without having to actively focus on what they are saying, then their accent is a non-issue. For instance, my spanish teacher has a spanish accent, yet she was easily understood in all things.
I have just finished small research on learning languages. My argument is that listening helps people speake similar to native speakers because this way is like early immersion in children
@lingosteve Well, I think is a matter of motivation, effort and high contact with the language. Now I'm doing an experiment trying to learn french in a "natural" way, I mean, listening to the sounds very carefully first (in order to perceive them) then I try to listen to the language a lot to learn words and grammar and so on. However, now I realized that I need high contact with the language in order to absorb the grammar rules and french resources are not that easy to find on the internet.
Can anyone suggest CZcams channels of people speaking British English or Scottish?) Thank you
+LanaABA It's okay to be smart
+Yasmin Silva dos Santos thank you)
Don't be silly. People who enjoy their learning learn better.Also please don't make assumptions about the motivations of people learning languages, since you simply do not know.
Nothing beats shadowing in terms of achieving flow and pitch perfect accent, especially if you're a musician. Depending on your "genes", it'll get you the pitch perfect target accent if you have the mettle to breakthrough obstacles, technical and psychological.
I agree. Shadowing can be a really boring grind, in my opinion, but it's so effective.
"...than in your entire time in college." And he was right. Not only in regards to speaking, but as far as technology too. I mean we were training on equipment that was dated even then. If I only had the money to spend on LingQ, I would most definitely give it a shot.
Amazing language skills! What`s your job?
Who is this chinese guy? I'd like to see a video of him speaking english
@lingosteve I will do just that then... hehe
A THOUSAND TIMES! A THOUSAND TIMES!
While I agree with you in some respects, I do think that this is a difficult thing to generalize... For students who have made it a long way in their studies and can communicate well already, of course it is simply a matter of personal choice to undergo accent reduction. However, for students who are still learning to communicate, it is extremely important to pay attention to pronunciation and strive to be as close to native as possible in order to be understood when their grammar fails them.
Just be yourself, you'll develop your own accent over time, and I believe correct USAGE is far more important than how you SOUND.
After all, your goal should be achieving competence in WRITING, COMMUNICATION, and PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT. If you spend time talking with people, getting yourself out there, having some fun with your friends who speak the language, then what have you failed at?
Live your life.
Here starts the crux of the matter from 6:40
@sanjabmahi1 Hey, I think you should watch his videos in all languages first, and then judge his pronunciation. I, personally, think that in some languages he does have an accent, and in some he doesn't. I think that he, for example, speaks Chinese very, very well, but that he has his own Canadian accent when he speaks Italian, but it is not much expressed.
I remember one thing that motivated me to obtain a great accent in Spanish when I was in high school was that there was this idea among a lot of the native Spanish speaking kids there that "white people couldn't pronounce Spanish." That annoyed me to no end, so I taught myself to have 'perfect' Spanish pronunciation to prove them all wrong. It was the people who didn't care about Spanish that "couldn't pronounce" it. If you're motivated to learn a language enough, you can do it.
I don't know, I remember that I used to have a thicker accent in English and it was more difficult for me to speak because it wasn't natural. Besides, when someone has a thick accent in a language that usually means that that person struggles with understanding in general, I mean, I know I used to... So, for me, having a good accent is just the consequence of trying to understand the language better.
Hi Steve, do u speak swedish?
Yes
thanks Steve, in a few months ill be moving over there my mom and sister already lives there, i do speak a little bit of english, my native language is spanish, do u have any recomendation for me that will star learning that language?
You can study Swedish at LingQ.
The funny part is that it wasn't until I heard someone really good, speaking to me live that I could tell that my accent wasn't just that good, because I remember myself watching tv and thinking: Oh, I'm quite good at this... but I wasn't... actually, I think that usually happens in the language learning process hehe.
Hey Steve can you speak dutch ?
Yuri Bueno no
Steve Kaufmann - lingosteve
no that not true you sound like a Chinese native
Entendu! :-)
As a native speaker, I honestly don't think that the issue is the accent. For instance there are many different accents in the English language e.g. American, British, Australian, etc... As long as you are understandable it shouldn't be an issue.
I don't care what you people say I'm going to chieve to sound like a native speaker. It's not gonna be perfect but I will try really hard.
Go for it. Trying to get there will get you close. How close remains to be seen.
there are around ten different accents for english in england, only one of those use correct grammar through speech. the others have their own dialect which a non native schooled in english would find impossible to understand. so when you say native you should inform people that native is that which is grammatically correct, otherwise you could end up emulating a scouse liverpudlian accent by watching re runs of brookside and scare off the rest of your london tour guide.
Could you make a video giving tips on the Japanese accent, specifically, or make a video about accent in Japanese? (^^)
besterthenyou Nothing specific to Japanese. Just listen a lot and go for it.
Steve Kaufmann - lingosteve you sound like a native in Chinese so it can be done
Steve Kaufmann - lingosteve
How did you get a perfect Chinese accent
"We will all like to sound more like a native speaker, even though we can't achieve it" How so? There's many English speakers that I didn't even realise aren't native in London. I mean, I guess it depends how picky you are.. like if Luca just spoke to me in the street I would more than likely assume he was from North America somewhere. Maybe for someone from North America its more obvious that he isn't a native (I'm English).
The Hollywood Method will show you how to:
Significantly reduce your accent, quickly and easily
Speak clearly and distinctly
Enunciate properly and with the correct intonation
Communicate more effectively
My late father spent a fortune in language classes to keep his German accent, one could cut it with a knife. 😁
I mean, not in the way I'm looking for: movies and songs... It's hard to find those kind of things when you know nothing about the culture of the language...
"Accent reduction is vanity".
"There's nothing wrong with with accent reduction"..
If you have no need or want to lessen your accent, why are you here bashing those that do? Find something else to do.
You yourself in this video have an accent too sir
and?
And nothing Steve Kaufmann - lingosteve
"Accent reduction becomes more a question of vanity." ???
I don't think so.
you have a thick canadian accent.
Can u please answer? I don't hv accent but I don't have native sound to give u one example most african americans don't hv accent but they have diffrent sound but not all.
It's frustrating that you thought you sound alright and the accent is clear but people keep commenting your English is bad because of the accent.
Angry much...!!!
you can wiggle your ears!
I hate doctors with thick heavy accents who over enunciate trying sounding superior
The most strained video
I don't get the point of accent reduction unless (like Steve said) it's getting in the way of being understood. Let's be honest - who doesn't like listening to foreign accents? Having a foreign accent can actually work in your favour (unless you're Australian like me, then you sound like an idiot even speaking English lol).
Think about non-native ppl who want to become english teachers...
I (native American English speaker) do not like listening to foreign accents. It's not that I actively dislike such speakers; it's more like "ho hum" versus (for a native-like speaker) "wow!" Early in this video Steve make the good point that many of the worst English speaker accents are from south Asia Indians. It's not so much vowels and consonants, rather, it's the pitch contours; the high-pitched sing-song that is so far removed from native English speakers.