Accent Reduction Treatment

There are many variations of English spoken by people in the United States. Some of these variations are regional (Southern English, New England dialects, etc.). Other dialects are associated with specific cultural groups (e.g. African-American English, Hispanic English, various Asian dialects of English). It is the position of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) that dialects of English, whether regional or ethnic, are legitimate forms of communication used by definable cultural groups and do not represent disorders. Sometimes, however, a person who speaks a dialect of English wishes to develop the ability to modify their accent for specific occasions. This ability is called "style shifting". Style shifting is not the elimination of a person’s dialect, but rather developing techniques for switching between the dialect and a more "standard" version of English when the speaker feels that it is appropriate. For example, an African-American teacher might wish to speak with less of an accent when in the classroom, yet retain his/her dialect in less formal situations. An attorney with a Southern dialect may wish to speak Standard English in the courtroom while still using Southern dialect with family and friends. An Asian graduate teaching assistant may want to reduce his/her dialect when teaching classes so students will understand the material more easily.

If a person wants help with accent reduction, the speech-language pathologist is a natural choice for such assistance. The SLP has expertise in helping people with communication disorders change their speech sounds, sentence structure and other aspects of communication and many of these same techniques are used to modify a person’s dialect. The Auburn University Speech and Hearing Clinic has a long history of providing accent reduction services to international students who are employed as graduate teaching assistants. The clinic has also conducted an intensive accent reduction program for Japanese students attending Nihon University in Tokyo who visit the United States each summer as part of their curriculum. Finally, the clinic has established a fine reputation providing accent reduction services for the corporate sector in both Alabama and Georgia.