All things being equal. They are not.
It can take just 30 milliseconds to identify your non-native accent. Non-native accents often sound untrustworthy, illiterate and unintelligent. Says research. What say you?
I say, stop it! Come and join The Accent Revolution and let’s stop it! Yes, you can!
You work harder. One billion of non-native speakers of English have it harder. When they talk, it’s often harder to follow. Sadly, hard to follow means untrustworthy and unintelligent for the human brain. Brains are hardwired that way.
But there is hope!
Interactions between speakers of different accents re-wire our brains and can help stop the bias! Speaking great, clear English will help you communicate and have more meaningful interactions. By speaking clearly you let others concentrate on your message and provide a positive exposure to your accent. And you can speak clear English while keeping your accent and personality!
The Accent Revolution is a grass root effort raising awareness about accent issues and democratizing hard to find linguistic knowledge that will let everyone speak great English. For FREE.
Join and spread the message that it is absolutely OK to speak with an accent! In fact, we all speak with an accent, including native speakers. And use the simple principles below to sound clear and understandable:
The 5 principles of The Accent Revolution
- Know your heritage. Your heritage. In case you’ve been wondering – the reason why your English isn’t perfect is your first language. For best results use materials that compare and contrast English with your first language to show you where you are making errors and how to correct them e.g. use a pronunciation guide that shows the most common errors made by speakers of your first language. Teachers from your home country will know those best.
- New language means new sounds. Your study book mentioned the English TH sound but didn’t tell you English has 40+ other sounds you need to master? How many vowel sounds does your language have? English has 12! Learn every single English sound using mouth and tongue positions, pro instructions and reference recordings.
- English is not a phonetic language. Don’t guess. Over 40 sounds but only 26 letters. Blame the history! The fact, it is impossible to just guess how to pronounce the English words right. Solution: learn the International Phonetic Alphabet which has symbols for every single sound and use a dictionary to look up phonetic transcriptions.
- English is a stress-timed language. Contrast. Unlike many other languages, English uses syllables which have variable length either longer (stressed) or shorter (compressed). Look for tips on how to contrast syllables at word and thought phrase level to be well understood in English.
- Reference pronunciation recordings. Your government and your non-native English teacher may not like it but studies show that only native level English materials can help you master pronunciation. Thankfully, now we’ve got the internet with plenty of reference level recordings in all accents! American, British, Aussie, first Global English materials and more. And your non-native teacher can use them too!
Any form of discrimination is unacceptable! Accent bias is largely subconscious which makes it very hard to stop. But remember, interactions between speakers of different accents can help stop the bias. Speaking great, clear English will help you communicate. You can speak clear English while keeping your accent and personality, too.
Join the Revolution and put a stop to accent discrimination! Start with our free materials created with the 5 principles of The Accent Revolution in mind!
Join the revolution. Share the message!
on behalf of The Revolutionary Movement
Paul, the father of The Accent Revolution
According to well documented studies of the last four decades accent discrimination sadly is a fact of life. 80% of UK employers admit they discriminate based on accent. In the US, employers can legally deny employment if the accent interferes with job performance or safety. Accent can get you fired. It can lower your job interview score by up to 30%. It can make you appear less intelligent and knowledgeable.
The Accent Revolution provides free advice on how to speak great, clear English! The Accent Revolution does not advocate losing accents. We all speak with an accent, including native speakers. The Accent Revolution condemns any form of accent discrimination.
If you want to help stop accent discrimination grab one of the revolutionary badges and educate others.
