Can you really change your accent?

Question

i heard you can if you practice, but not completely, is it true?

Answer 1

Of course you can. Many people have done it. Many years ago, the actor Mel Gibson spoke with a pronounced Australian accent and worked hard to get rid of it because it hurt his cjances to land roles.

The star of the Colbert Report, Stephan Colbert speaks perfectly unaccented English, yet grew up in the deep south with a heavy southern accent.

At first, practicing a new accent requires conscious effort. But like all things, the more you do it, the easier it get. Eventually you no longer think about it because it's now natural.

Answer 2

Absolutely, if possible spend a day or so with a diction coach that can explain to you how to recognize the way your mouth moves when you use different accents.

I have an ear for accents. After living in Scotland for a year, I moved to New Zealand and everyone kept asking what part of Scotland I was from (I am American). They all said the accent was spot on. I took up the accent on purpose in Scotland to keep from being lumped in with the obnoxious American tourists and it just stuck. Didn't fade until 2-years back in the States.

Something I never knew before travelling is that you will learn English as a second language with the accent of the person teaching you. I met a couple of guys from Germany & Denmark that I would have swore were Australian. They learned English in Austraila and when they spoke English they were full on Australian in their accents.

Answer 3

Accent is all about state of mind. I have met English people who went to live in the US and never changed their accents even after being there for 50 years. Others pick up a US accent in less than a year. It is a matter of how much you are willing to identify with the people who speak with that accent and how much you want to keep your earlier identity. This applies to speaking in your own langauge with a different accent or in a foreign language with a native speaker's accent.

Answer 4

I've been away from my home country for almost 2 years. Very occasionally I say a word with the accent of my new country, & get a hell of a fright.

Mostly though, if anything I've become more aware of my foreign accent.
It kind of freaks me out when I talk to friends & family back home & hear how much stronger my original accent becomes..even stronger than when I was living at home.

I think I'm the exception to the rule though when it comes to adopting a foreign accent.

Answer 5

Yes, you can completely change your accent. Many people who go to foreign countries and stay there for a long time come back with different accents. If you paid EXTREMELY careful attention, there's no reason you couldn't change your accent. There'll be a part of your subconscious that resists that, though, because most people always feel a certain degree of pressure to conform.

Answer 6

Yes its very possible. Im from the South and when im around southern people my accent with sound really southern. When im around Northern people my accent will change on its own. But i can control how my accent changes. It just takes some practice.

Answer 7

I can tell you I was shocked to finally see Nicole Kidman live on tv and hear her australian accent. I had no idea from all the movies and things I saw her in. I think it is possible to completely change your accent, but you must work dilligently at it - and I would think it would help to stay away from others with your native accent for a while to help make it a habit for yourself.

Peace!

Answer 8

Absolutely. I grew up with a very strong regional accent. At university, I purposefully taught myself to speak with a more standard accent. Now I only speak with my regional accent when I'm with family, or at home. At work and etc., I speak with my adopted accent.

People can often teach themselves a more standard accent. In addition, there are accent reduction classes, CDs, tapes, and books. There are even coaches that you can hire to give you private tutoring in diction and accent.

My favourite example of accent change is shown in the film Radio Days. One woman, a cigarette girl with a very strong, low class accent, attends accent reduction classes and ends up speaking in a very cultured manner - so much so that she gets a job as a "society" radio reporter.

Answer 9

My grandparents moved to America in 1951 & they had English accents till the day they died. It was faded a little but I thought they sounded great. Be who you are accent & all

Answer 10

yeppers,
I have a friend that was oringally from canada and then he moved to england, he picked up that accent and now he's in Nova Scotia and that accent is slowly coming out when he talks now... so he sounds like a nova scotia with a hint of english, it's kinda entertaining.