Newsgroups: sci.lang
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From: mthomas@gdstech.grumman.com (Mike Thomas)
Subject: Re: Accent Elimination
Message-ID: <1994Dec6.174519.2225@gdstech.grumman.com>
Sender: Mike Thomas
Reply-To: mthomas@gdstech.UUCP (Mike Thomas)
Organization: Grumman R&D Center
References: <D0BFoI.B8J@news.cis.umn.edu> <42651@dog.ee.lbl.gov>
Date: Tue, 6 Dec 1994 17:45:19 GMT
Lines: 21

In article <42651@dog.ee.lbl.gov> veklerov@spindle.ee.lbl.gov (Eugene Veklerov) 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 
>
>I think there is a rule of thumb that if you are under 12 when you
>move to a new country, you can get rid of your accent.  And if you are
>over 12, you cannot.
>
>Eugene Veklerov

Actually, accent has more to do with ethnic identity than it has to
physical or mental development. People often maintain accents for many
years (including regional dialects) not because they can't abandon
them, but because they won't. Any actor/actress can affect an accent
with a little coaching. I bet your mom feels uncomfortable sounding
like a native English speaker because she doesn't claim membership in
that group.

mike


