Professional Speech Services of Alabama

PSSA helps people improve their accents

This information is taken, in part, from the American Speech-Language Hearing Association.

An accent is the unique way that speech is pronounced by a group of people speaking the same language. Accents reflect the unique characteristics and background of a person. A person's accent depends on many factors; however, accents are usually grouped in the following way:

Regional Accents - for example, people who are from Texas often sound different than people who are from New York. Culturally-based accents fall into this category, like the "southern accent" or the "African-American accent."

Foreign Accents - for example, someone who was raised speaking English will sound different than someone who was raised speaking Spanish and learned English as an adult.

Accents are a natural part of spoken languages. It is important to realize that no accent is better than another. It should also be stressed that accents are NOT a speech or language disorder.

Many people take great pride in their accents. However, some people may have difficulty communicating because of their accent. These difficulties include the following:

People not understanding you
Avoiding social interaction with those who may not understand you
Frustration from having to repeat yourself all the time
People focusing on your accent more than on what you are trying to say

This may have negative effects on job performance, educational advancement, and everyday life activities. It may also negatively affect your self-esteem if you are having trouble communicating because of an accent. For all of these reasons, some people want to modify or change their accent. You can change your accent!

PSSA helps clients in North and Central Alabama with accent modification and other speech services.