Non-native English speakers' pronunciation

Kathy   Wed Oct 10, 2007 12:42 pm GMT
Can a non-native English speaker pronounce just like a native speaker?
I know a lot of people who study or live in USA for a long time, and they speak English fluently; nevertheless, they still have their own accent when speaking English.
What I want to know is, is it possible that a non-native English speaker speaks just like an American's accent?
If so, what should I do to have a beautiful pronunciation like American?
Native Korean   Thu Oct 11, 2007 10:46 am GMT
I personally believe there is a turning point age to learn a new language without a foreign accent.
Once you get the turning point age (probably around 12~13 years old), it's almost impossible to speak a new language "totally native-like."

I have never been to US or Canada yet (I'm going there next year!)
But I often heard that I had North American accent.

I'm shadowing American accent while watching Holywood movies or American TV shows. So this can be one way to have a native-like accent.

Below is link to my voice file of English accent:
http://media.putfile.com/Comma-Gets-A-Cure-76
Guest   Thu Oct 11, 2007 11:01 am GMT
Your accent is superb. Very clear. You still have a tinge of your native accent. I can tell from listening to your recording that you are not American but it is a goddamn good job at imitating an American accent if you were managed to do this without moving to the US. Tell me what techniques did you use in reducing your native accent? What TV shows did you watch? How did you shadow hollywood movies/shows?
elvanshalle@yahoo.com   Thu Oct 11, 2007 5:58 pm GMT
No offense meant but why would you want to? I guess as an American I find the variation of accents to be beautiful. I will admit that American's don't all have the same accent either so which one do you want? After all do you like a Texas drawl, the clipped speech of a New Yorker, the California slang, Southwestern Spanglish, or a Midwestern slur? I have always lived in the US and never travelled farther than just over the Candian border yet everywhere I go I am told I have an accent. Funny thing is that most of my life has been spent in the same area and even there I have an accent. I wouldn't worry as much about accent as I would just learning the language. I will also admit that a good friend of my family had lived in the US for 30 years and her Japanese accent was so strong many people had a hard time understanding her. A friend of mine in college was from Romania and her accent after 15 years was still pretty strong also. She spoke in Romanian to her famliy and explained to me that it wasn't the accent that was important but the fact that she learned English.
Gabriel   Thu Oct 11, 2007 10:52 pm GMT
<<No offense meant but why would you want to?>>

I've seen this objection before. Here's a short list of why a serious learner might want to change his/her accent towards a more native-like variety.

1- To be more easily understood. Even though you might perceive a strong foreign accent as "beautiful" or quaint, it can get in the way and impair comprehension. Having to repeat yourself 3 times in your beautiful accent can get tiresome pretty quickly.
2- To blend in with one's peers. Speaking like those around you can have a big impact on how you think of yourself in your community. Are you a member of the group, or an outsider?
3- To have better opportunities at getting certain jobs, whenever speaking and interacting with native speakers is fundamental.

<<I wouldn't worry as much about accent as I would just learning the language.>>

Learning a language is not just learning vocabulary and grammar, but also the sounds of the language, its intonation, etc.
K. T.   Fri Oct 12, 2007 5:15 am GMT
Amen to Gabriel.
Native Korean   Fri Oct 12, 2007 10:19 am GMT
<Tell me what techniques did you use in reducing your native accent? What TV shows did you watch? How did you shadow hollywood movies/shows?>

Thank you for the compliment =)
I began to learn English at a fairly young age. (from the 4th grade)
I watched TV shows like Sesame Street, Young People and Silver Spoons.

My Korean American cousin(born and raised in the US) lived in my house for a year when I was in the 8th grade. She was an exchange student to Korean University back then, and she really helped me with improving my accent. She was like my private accent trainer. lol

I am going to the US next year as an exchange student and I hope I can improve my English skills significantly.
Guest   Fri Oct 12, 2007 10:37 am GMT
NK, your accent is already awesome. You write very well. It would not take longer before you are called a native American.

<<She was like my private accent trainer. lol >>

That explains a lot ;)
elvanshalle@yahoo.com   Fri Oct 12, 2007 1:03 pm GMT
Your points are valid but one must remember that even within one's own country the region a person is from influences how they speak. In the US if a deep Texas drawl (yep I like that one because all Texans sound alike) moves to "Ooper Michigan" {pronounced Mitch-i-gan} (yep that's a direct quote from a native there) the possibility of having to repeat one's self many times is there. For one Texans talk slower than those in Michigan and the speech patterns are different. Michiganites talk faster and have strong Scandinavian influences in their speech patterns. Even my husband and I have some issues with communication as he is from Northern California and I am from the Midwest. Terminology is different as well.

NK your accent from an American Midwesterner is very Californian. It is great but definately not as lyrical as your native language. :) Keep up the great work and don't fret. I think the hardest part of learning a new language is thinking in that language to produce smoother speech patterns.