What we do

Solutions

Learning Lab

About the Lab

Discover the confident communicator in you!

Does Your Accent Matter?

I am a strong supporter of the argument that your accent doesn't matter; it's the clarity of your speech and your message that's important. But looking at the news lately, it seems that I am in the minority.

Every headline has something to do with U.S. vice presidential candidate, Sarah Palin's accent. All I have to say is that if an accent is enough to tip the election scales (either way), America is in even more trouble than we thought.

But this debate brings up an important issue. If your accent is too heavy or different from the norm, it can be a distraction - so much so that no one listens to your message. This in itself is motivation to work on one's diction and pronunciation.

Many people have cut Palin down for lax pronunciation. One example is how she drops her 'g' in words like 'going' so they sound more like 'goin.' Plenty of Americans speak this way on a daily basis (including me). The problem here is that Americans don't expect to hear this informal speaking style in a formal debate or televised interview. It's not so much that the accent is 'wrong' but that, according to a large number of people, it is inappropriate for the situation.

Here in Singapore, speakers are acutely aware of how important it is to use the right type of language at the right time. The Singlish you speak with your friends over coffee is not appropriate in the company’s boardroom where a more Standard English rules, especially if your colleagues and/or clients are non-Singaporean. It also wouldn’t be appropriate when dealing with a supplier who doesn’t have strong English. You’d be better off using dialect along with bits of English to make sure you get what you want.

Being able to manage these different styles of speaking and switching between them on command is an art. It takes a great command of interpersonal skills and a dose of emotional intelligence to judge the comfort level of your listener with different languages, dialects and accents.

Although I can’t do much to help you with your Singlish or Chinese dialects, I can help you to perfect your Standard English so you can be confident speaking with foreign clients and colleagues and express yourself fluently in more formal local situations.

Singapore English, the formal variety of English spoken here (which is different than the informal “Singlish”), is not that different from Standard International English. That said, it still seems like there are more misunderstandings than necessary.

These misunderstandings are usually caused by differences in word stress, intonation and the articulation (or should I say the lack of articulation) of word endings. It takes dedication and practice to make improvements upon these elements of your speech.

Standard word stress, for example, can be complicated. Some words follow a basic pattern, for example these 3-syllable words are all pronounced with stress on the first syllable in Standard English:

CAL-en-dar, LAV-en-der, CHAR-ac-ter, PASS-en-ger

In Singapore English however, you will often hear the stress on the 2nd syllable so the words sound more like cal-EN-dar or lav-EN-der. If you aren’t aware of this difference, misunderstandings can and will happen.

Whether or not English is your first language is not always the issue in Singapore. Even speakers who speak English natively can have problems communicating with people outside Singapore simply because the English used here is different. Not good or bad, better or worse – just different.

So how can you learn to speak more Standard English? Listening to Standard English speakers and comparing their pronunciation to your own is one place you can start. You can also work on your own articulation by practicing tongue twisters and minimal pairs.

If you are really serious about improving your pronunciation and having a better understanding about what differentiates Singapore English from Standard English, then you should definitely join my Speak Clearly 8-week Intensive course. You’ll learn how to improve the clarity of your speech in a small group setting, and I’ll be there to help you every step of the way. You can get more details about this course here

No matter what you do, think of improving your communication skills as an investment in yourself. Build confidence in yourself, your ideas and your speaking style and you’ll guarantee that the world will never be focused on your accent, but instead will be focused on you and your message.

(c) 2010 Hansen Communication Lab Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved.

30 Cecil Street    #15-00 Prudential Tower    Singapore 049712    +65 6232 2822