Where Does An Accent Come From?

An accent is just a pronunciation difference or pronunciation pattern that is associated with a particular dialect of a language. Simply put, we all have one. 

Most people think that their accent comes from where they grew up and their parents. This is only half true. Your accent does not necessarily come from your parents but it does come from the area that you grew up in. 

"Yes, but my parents are from that area, too."

Well, what can happen is if speakers from a different part of your country or even another country move somewhere else they start to interact with people who are already there and they pick up features of the way the language is used, and the way the words are pronounced. But in turn, they may bring their own patterns and introduce them into that melting pot as well. So, by the time you came along, the composition of that area may have changed. 

Do you know that you are born with the ability to perceive the 600 consonant sounds and the 200 vowel sounds that are spoken and heard around the world?! But, slowly you start to focus on the speech sounds in your own environment and begin to ignore the rest. By the time you are a toddler you cannot distinguish the sounds that do not exist in your language. 

Once you hit school, your peers are the dominant influence on the way you speak. You know that from when you were school-age and you picked up your generational slang- some of which you have dropped and some of which you still use. Well, it's the same with your peers' accents. You spent most of your time with them- at school, recreational activities, and social activities. It was much more time than you spent with your parents. That's the teenage way of life!

The history of a 'pineapple on the beach' means welcoming friends, neighbours, and visitors.

Do you think you have a different accent than your parents?