A friend of mine has a very thick accent. she came from pak abt 8 years ago and all throughout college and HS she’s had a very thick accent. SHe used to b OK with it but now that she’s graduated and is starting to go for interviews and stuff…she wants to eliminate it. she says that everytime she opens her mouth, someone has to ask her “Where are you from???” and she’s kinda getting annoyed by it… so where can she go to eliminate it? Are there classes available?? And how much time would it take for her to lose her accent??
Re: Accents
just because they ask her where shez from doesnt mean tht it because of her accent!
Re: Accents
sara516,
to improve her accent, she will have to practice phonetics. best place to get help is language arts/ speech therapy dept at a university and ask tell them specifically about this problem. with practice, she will be able to minimize her heavy accent.
best,
Dushwari
Re: Accents
I agree with Aana. I still have a little bit of accent but nobody asks me where I am from. Besides, accent is something EVERYONE has. I have seen AMERICANS who were born and raised here have worse accent than people from abroad.
I just thought of funny. I needed to order a little mirror for my office. So I went to our assistant and asked her if she could order one for me. She said oh sure, I can order a "mirrow" for you. I ignored it thinking some people have an accent and they can't say certain words, like I have trouble rolling my "R" sometimes. Anyway, she opened Staples website while I was there and put in the search box "Mirrow". Obviously no results were returned. She was embarrassed and said how do you spell "Mirrow". I spelled it out for her. Poor lady was embarrassed. She said I have no idea why I spelled it that way. I said it's okay, it happens :D
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just because they ask her where shez from doesnt mean tht it because of her accent!
Nah, its cz of hte accent. Cant be coz of her looks....anyway that wasn't the point! point is she wants to learn to eliminate it... so any suggestion?
Re: Accents
tell her to
talk english
eat english
and sleep english..
jokes apart..i am sure there much be lots of softwares to improve english pronunciation.
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I agree with Aana. I still have a little bit of accent but nobody asks me where I am from. Besides, accent is something EVERYONE has. I have seen AMERICANS who were born and raised here have worse accent than people from abroad.
I just thought of funny. I needed to order a little mirror for my office. So I went to our assistant and asked her if she could order one for me. She said oh sure, I can order a "mirrow" for you. I ignored it thinking some people have an accent and they can't say certain words, like I have trouble rolling my "R" sometimes. Anyway, she opened Staples website while I was there and put in the search box "Mirrow". Obviously no results were returned. She was embarrassed and said how do you spell "Mirrow". I spelled it out for her. Poor lady was embarrassed. She said I have no idea why I spelled it that way. I said it's okay, it happens :D
Oh you don't have much of an accent....like very little it comes out. At least thats hte impression i got. but this is hardcore. But in a nice way, not in an incomprehensible way but a very, uhmmm posh british boarding school type lahori accent... if that makes sense :D
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i have a speech thereapist who used to do accent reduction with friends. i'm sure she can find someone who'll dothat with her.
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I dont believe accents should be a verified strata for judging people.... But ... I adapt my speech according to the company I am in ..... as here the game is to Adapt. Migrate. Or die. You gotta be the change you want to see in the world..
Your friend should try *American Accent Training (Book and Audio CD, 2nd Edition) *. Might work out for her ..
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Oh you don't have much of an accent....like very little it comes out. At least thats hte impression i got. but this is hardcore. But in a nice way, not in an incomprehensible way but very nice really.....
Yeah but like I said, EVERYONE has an accent, some have it thick and some not as thick.
Let me ask you this (not that it really matters): Does she speak Punjabi at home or Urdu? Since Punjabi accent really goes up and down when it comes to accents, it's hard to lose it. However, I have noticed that people who speak Urdu find it easier to get rid of Pakistani accent. But then again, I know this Indian dude who spoke Hindi while he was in India but he's been in the US for a very long time. He's a doctor now and still has very thick accent.
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^ Someone said wheN I speak punjabi/urdu (i mix it up) i sound like i just got off the plane from the pind 
but somehow that accent disappears when i speak english 
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Sara , i think you should ask her record some extracts from a BBC website where you can find listening exercises and you can find the script as well
(here is one for ya … Ready-to-use EFL / ESL Lesson Plans & Podcast .. avaialble online : http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/ )
Ask her to Listen it twice and try to record her own pronunciation on another tape recorder.
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Some community colleges offer accent reduction classes under continuing education. She can check those out:)
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strange, I never saw a girl with thick accent. They may not know english but their accent is never think like men.
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I also don’ believe dat acccents should be used ta judge peeps. What about character, values, ethics an’ morals? 
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I agree with everyone that accents should not be used to judge peeps, but it happens and can be an issue.
so while we can and should talk about the unfairness of it, that should nto stop people from getting the help they need to reduce accents.
a little accent is no issue and is actually works for people giving a global appeal, but a heavy accent can be a problem, whether its a heavy desi, chinese, german or cockney accent.
sara as ppl have said, there are accent reduction classes available and she should look into it.
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i have a thick accent. :rotato:
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Tell her to watch a few episodes of the 80's show, she'll pick up the lingo in no time.
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ahh say capp’n bhuy ah flaah frum ahh paah gal… whtz wrong with cockeny china plate :pcg:
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As a gori who never met a desi till I was out of my twenties! I have to say that a desi accent is the most charming I've ever heard. And I'm not alone in that opinion. When I met my hubby at work, I wasnt sure where the heck he got his accent from, it sounded kind of Irish, kind of british, but not really. It was very hard to place but delightful to listen to. To this day, after more than a decade of knowing him, I just love the sound of his voice and his speaking and those of his relatives. So this may be the root of the fascination people express....they are admiring.
If your friend still has the desire to rid herself of such musical beauty she can go to acting classes at any local college or even community theater groups that have classes. But she would really not be doing herself a favor yeah?
There is a distinctive accent that Indians carry but the Pakistani accent is very different and very musical, SO pretty to hear and listen to.
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