What is the Difference between Accent Reduction and Accent Modification?
October 11, 2017
Merriam-Webster defines reduction as “the act or process of reducing.”
Merriam-Webster defines modification as “the act or process of changing parts of something.”
When talking about speech therapy for accents, the two are interchangeable and simply a matter of semantics. We prefer to call it accent modification while most of our clients search for and call it accent reduction.
Accent Modification
At Carolina Speech Services, we have a love of accents and an acceptance of the fact that accents are a matter of perspective. A Southerner would say that a Midwesterner has a strong accent, while a Midwesterner says a Southerner has a strong accent. Your point of origination is relevant to your perception of an accent’s existence and strength. While we approach pronunciation from a neutral American English perspective, we don’t want to remove your identity. We simply wish to help you communicate as clear as possible in situations when precise English pronunciation is necessary. Our hopes are to give you the ability to modify your accent, at will, when the situation necessitates it. Our perspective of accents makes us refer to it as accent modification because removal of your accent is never our goal.
Accent Reduction
Accent reduction is the most commonly used term for what we do. And we understand why you want to reduce your accent. While it is technically correct to say we are reducing your accent, whether it be Hindi, Mandarin, Nepali, Russian, New York, Californian or otherwise, our goal is to bring you closer to neutral for clearer communication in American English with every English speaker you meet. It is entirely impossible to remove your accent, but we can reduce your accent to a level that makes you much easier to understand.
No matter if you call it accent reduction or accent modification if your accent is causing you to have to repeat yourself, or limiting your ability to communicate effectively with others, we can help. Call today to learn more about our accent reduction classes. (704) 845-1605 We offer them online and in our office for your convenience.