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From: dav@newt.phys.unsw.edu.au (Sasha Dotsenko)
Subject: Re: Accent Elimination
Message-ID: <1994Dec6.050432.25794@usage.csd.unsw.OZ.AU>
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References: <D0BFoI.B8J@news.cis.umn.edu> <3bvo5v$7di@uwm.edu> <3bvt16$j62@mizar.usc.edu>
Date: Tue, 6 Dec 1994 05:04:32 GMT
Lines: 34

In article <3bvt16$j62@mizar.usc.edu>
   mankin@mizar.usc.edu (Eric Mankin) writes:
#In article <3bvo5v$7di@uwm.edu>
#  corre@alpha1.csd.uwm.edu (Alan D Corre) writes:
##In article <D0BFoI.B8J@news.cis.umn.edu>
## miga0003@maroon.tc.umn.edu (Larisa Migachyov) writes:
###
### Does anyone know where one might go to get rid of a foreign accent? My 
###mother came to this country at an age when learning a new language is not 
###too easy, and now she speaks with a noticeable Russian accent.  Are there 
###special classes for this, and if there are, how do I find out about them?
##
##If she concentrates on two things much of her accent will disappear. (1) try
##to mimic correctly the English "h", avoiding using the Russian "x". (2) be
##aware that Russians palatalize many consonants when speaking English (to the
##English ear this sounds as though a "y" is being inserted, altho it isn't
##really.)
##			Alan D. Corre
#
#One peculiarity of the Russian accent in English bewilders me:
#the substitution of the "w" sound for a "v" in words like
#"valve."  Since Russian has a perfectly good "v" of its own,
#which it actually substitutes for "w" when transliterating
#English names (i.e.,"Vashington") I'm mystified. Any thoughts?
#  Eric Mankin

Also, often pronouncing 'R' in -er-, -ir-, etc for no apparent reason.

I found that it's useful to listen to English speakers' attempts to
speak Russian or whatever language is in question.

And of course, persistence is important.

Any other suggestions?
