An accent is an aspect of a dialect, but a dialect isn’t an accent. Instead, a dialect is the way words are used, while an accent is the way those words sound. For example, someone from England might ask, “What do you have under the bonnet there mate?” Meanwhile, someone from the U.S. will ask, “What have you got under the hood pal?” In both instances, the person making the inquiry is asking, “What sort of engine does your car have?” They’re just using different dialects. With that in mind, let’s explore the differences between accents and dialects.
What is a Dialect?
According to the experts at Rosetta Stone, one of the most recognized language learning companies in the world, the version of a language spoken by a specific group of individuals is referred to as a dialect. They also note dialects can vary based upon geography, social class, ethnicity and education. The fundamental elements of a dialect include vocabulary, syntax and pronunciation (also known as an accent).
For example, in the Southeastern U.S. a soft drink is referred to as a “pop.” The same beverage is called a “soda” on the west coast of the United States. The tone and cadence of speech can also vary from region to region. Residents of New York City tend to speak rapidly and use terms like “you guys,” regardless of the gender of the group they’re addressing. Meanwhile, rural Texans speak more slowly and are prone to using the term “y’all” when addressing a group of people.
What is an Accent?
As previously noted, while accents are an aspect of a dialect, a dialect isn’t necessarily an accent. In fact, accents reside within the parameters of dialects. While dialects are distinguished by word choices and phrasing, the way the words are pronounced within a dialect is referred to as an accent.
Everyone has an accent, regardless of where they are from. Most people are unaware of this because everyone around them tends to pronounce words the way they do, so it goes unnoticed. Accents usually only become apparent when we venture outside of our normal circles of influence. For example, a person from Portland, Oregon might find themselves an object of curiosity were they to wander into a mom and pop store in rural Arkansas and ask where to find the sodas.
How Dialects Develop
James Lantolf, of Penn State University says dialects across the United States largely resulted from the patterns of European settlement. As an example, he states the regional dialect of New Orleans is largely attributable to the many different nationalities that put down roots in the area. French, Irish, African American, Creole, Spanish and other European influences can all be heard within the region’s version of American English. Similarly, Lantoff points out that much of the Pennsylvanian dialect is a reflection of the influence of English, Irish and Italian settlers.
Now, with that said, some people are making the case that television and air travel have contributed to the decline of certain regional accents. There was a time when Americans were isolated from one another by the nation’s geographical features. The people on one side of a mountain pronounced words one way, while people on the other side of the mountain said things differently. These patterns of speech remained largely intact because they were insulated from one another. Today, mass media, along with the ease of travel around the country, are contributing to the evolution of a monolithic “American” dialect.
How Accents Develop
Accents are typically influenced by how, when, and where a person learned to speak. However, people sometimes change their accents to fit into a group they perceive to be more desirable. Human beings, as individualistic as they may consider themselves to be, are largely herd creatures. As outlined in the results of the study The Need To Belong: Desire For Interpersonal Attachments As A Fundamental Human Motivation, researchers R.F. Baumeister and M.R. Leary found buried within the psyches of most people an inherent need to “belong.”
Adopting the patterns of speech exhibited by a group one considers superior is a means of manifesting one’s affinity for that group. And, they tend to judge—sometimes harshly—people whose accents they consider to be inferior. This can be of particular consequence in business situations.
Accents and Linguistic Profiling
The differences between accents and dialects aside, Linguistic profiling (judging people based upon the way they speak), has been shown to result in reduced employability for those whose patterns of speech are considered undesirable. This is particularly true when the work entails a great deal of verbal communication.
One of the places where this is most obvious is in customer service call centers. Consumers have been shown to exhibit impatience, afford less trust and speak rudely to call center employees whose accents they consider “foreign.” Tomato.ai is working to resolve this with an AI-powered linguistic filter that clarifies offshore agent’s voices as they speak. Callers hear reps pronouncing words more like native speakers of a language, which improves intelligibility, reduces customer frustration and helps bring people closer together.
