Walk into any bar outside your hometown, and the first question you’ll likely face is, “Where are you from?” Our accents are powerful markers of identity, connecting us to specific regions and sometimes even shaping how others perceive us. But how much do you really know about accents? Prepare to be surprised!
Sign Language Has An Accent
You might think accents are only for spoken languages, but American Sign Language (ASL) has its own regional variations. Just like spoken dialects, different ASL communities have unique signs and ways of expressing themselves.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania are diving deep into the Philadelphia deaf community’s unique “accent.” They’ve found that certain signs, like the one for “hospital,” have evolved differently compared to other regions. These subtle yet significant differences highlight the rich diversity within sign language.
These researchers are dedicated to preserving these unique aspects, interviewing native Philadelphians to document their version of ASL. This project could even uncover unique sentence structures used within the community, showing how vibrant and distinct this regional dialect truly is.
‘Ax’ Has A Surprisingly Long History
The pronunciation of “ask” as “ax” is often seen as a marker of certain cultural or educational backgrounds. However, this pronunciation has a history stretching back centuries. Dr. Richard R. Green, a head of New York City’s schools in 1988, famously declared war on “ax,” but the term has surprisingly distinguished roots.
According to Jesse Sheidlower, president of the American Dialect Society, the pronunciation dates back to the eighth century, with the Old English word “acsain” as its origin. The evolution to “ax” is a logical linguistic step, embraced by historical figures like Geoffrey Chaucer. “Axe” even appeared in early English versions of the Bible!
While “ax” might not be standard English today, it persists in regions like the Caribbean and the American Deep South. This makes it a sensitive topic—a pronunciation rooted in family history for some but a stigmatized regional accent for others.
Your Accent Might Make You Untrustworthy
Do people trust you less because of your accent? Researchers at the University of Chicago, Boaz Keysar and Shiri Lev-Ari, explored this very question. Their findings suggest that people with unfamiliar accents are often perceived as less trustworthy. We tend to view people with different accents from ours as untrustworthy.
In their study, statements were recorded in native, mild (Polish, Turkish, Austrian-German), and heavy (Italian, Korean, Turkish) accents. Volunteers rated the believability of each statement, and those read in a native accent were considered far more truthful.
The researchers believe this bias stems from cognitive fluency. When we struggle to understand an accent, our brains work harder, and we subconsciously doubt the speaker’s truthfulness. It’s our “lazy brains” at play! This is also why rhyming phrases are easier to remember and companies with shorter names often thrive.
The Deadly Biblical Accent
Accents have even had deadly consequences throughout history. The Bible recounts a story in Judges, Chapter 12, illustrating the dangers of accent-based discrimination. The men of Gilead, having defeated the Ammonites, controlled the fords of Jordan. The men of Ephraim, who didn’t assist the men of Gilead, quickly became enemies.
When the Ephraimites attempted to cross the fords, they were asked to pronounce “shibboleth.” Their accents caused them to say “sibboleth,” marking them as enemies. The result? Forty-two thousand Ephraimites were seized and killed.
The story highlights how accents can instantly mark someone as an “outsider,” with potentially dire consequences. It also poses translation challenges for languages lacking the “sh” sound, underscoring the accent’s crucial role in the narrative.
The News Anchor Accent
Have you ever noticed that news anchors across the U.S. tend to speak with the same accent? This “news anchor accent” is a deliberate, standardized way of speaking designed to eliminate regional intonations.
Broadcasting classes, like those at Temple University in Philadelphia, teach students to enunciate every word, minimize regional phrases, and adopt a bland, neutral tone. This aims to make the news accessible and understandable to a wide audience. However, the traditional news anchor accent might be fading.
While the “big announcer” voice of radio’s past has largely disappeared, the news anchor accent remains surprisingly resilient. Deviations from this norm can provoke strong reactions, as seen when Phoenix NBC anchor Vanessa Ruiz, a bilingual newscaster, received hateful responses for her authentic pronunciation of certain words.
We Have An Accent Before We Can Speak
Accents aren’t just learned through spoken words. Research from Wurzburg University in Germany suggests that babies develop an accent even before their first words.
Researchers discovered that newborns’ cries mimic the speech patterns and accents of their parents. French babies tend to raise the pitch of their cries at the end, mirroring the cadence of French speech, while German babies do the opposite, reflecting their language’s intonation. It’s an attempt to bond with their mother!
These accents appear as early as three days old. This suggests that crying is a fundamental building block for language, communication, and the development of a baby’s future accent.
We’re Largely Stuck With Our Accents
If we start learning our accents before we even talk, it’s no surprise that they’re hard to shake. While exposure to other accents can lead to subtle changes, completely adopting a new native accent is incredibly rare.
Linguists at UC San Diego explain that during childhood, we’re so focused on mastering communication with our immediate circle that we don’t have the capacity to worry about other accents. By the time we’ve solidified our communication patterns, our brains start to filter out the nuances needed to learn new accents. This helps explain why foreign actors trying to do an American accent can sound like John Wayne.
Learning a new accent requires conscious effort, identifying and practicing individual sounds. It requires a lot of work to make a credible change in the way you speak.
Singing And Accents
While mastering a new accent for speaking can be challenging, singing in a different accent is quite common. The British Invasion offers a classic example: bands like the Beatles often dropped their strong Liverpool accents when they sang.
Studies suggest that many foreign singers adopt an American accent due to the perceived association of rock and roll with American culture. This creates the chance to break into the U.S. market. Researchers at the University of Auckland found that the rhythm and slower pace of rock and pop music make it easier to sing in an American accent. Some groups, such as The Proclaimers, retain their accents when they sing.
The “pop music accent” isn’t universal. Singers often adopt different accents depending on the genre, with country singers channeling a twang and reggae artists embracing a Jamaican accent.
Foreign Accent Syndrome
Imagine waking up one day with a completely different accent. This is the reality for people with foreign accent syndrome (FAS), a rare condition that causes a person’s speech to suddenly change to sound like a foreign accent.
The causes of FAS remain largely unknown, with most of the 150 documented cases occurring after a stroke or head injury. Patients with migraines may potentially cause brain damage and trigger FAS. Julie Matthias, after a car accident, only spoke in a Chinese or French accent. Sarah Colwill struggled to keep her vocabulary.
Research suggests that the “new” accent isn’t usually a perfect replacement. People with FAS often stress words differently or more frequently than native speakers, making it noticeable.
The psychological impact of FAS can be devastating, with many sufferers experiencing depression and feeling alienated from their own identity. The condition is often a brain tumor interfering with signals. Those who suffer from FAS deal with depression as well, stemming from the feeling that they no longer recognize this aspect of themselves and are treated differently.
Chimpanzees And Goats Have Accents
Humans aren’t the only ones with accents. Even animals, like chimpanzees and goats, exhibit regional variations in their vocalizations. When a group of Dutch chimpanzees moved in with a group of Scottish chimps at the Edinburgh Zoo, the staff saw a good chance to see how their vocalizations changed.
Zoo staff observed that the chimpanzees gradually adjusted their calls to become more similar to each other. The Scottish chimps communicated in a much lower tone than the Dutch ones, and during three years, they adjusted their calls. Researchers from the Universities of Zurich and York suggest that such vocal adjustments indicate a capacity for cultural learning and adaptation. However, critics debate whether the chimps were merely changing their pronunciation of the same “words” or learning entirely new ones.
Goats also demonstrate this phenomenon. Young goats introduced to new groups will modify their calls to match those of their new peers. These studies suggest that animal communication could be far more complex than previously thought, potentially mirroring early human communication developments.
Accents are more than just the way we pronounce words; they’re windows into our history, identity, and even our trustworthiness in the eyes of others. Whether it’s the subtle nuances of sign language or the deadly implications of a biblical mispronunciation, accents shape our world in surprising ways. What’s your favorite accent? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
