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| TELL US YOUR STORYFeatured Article |
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We would like to hear from you and are very interested in the story of how you have created a successful and prosperous life in the United States.
We are featuring one such story in this issue.
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OUR PROGRAMS
Transforming
accents from
communication
barriers to
charming
cultural flavors!
Individuals-Groups
Basic Level:
Compton P-ESL: 2008 Revision!
Specialized:
Medically Speaking
Regional Dialects:
Speak Standard, Too!
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Advanced:
MEEC (Mastering Effective English Communication)
RULES for Medically Speaking (Rules for Using Linguistic Elements of Speech)
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We are passionate about helping our clients speak English clearly and with confidence! YOU CAN DO IT and we will help you! You can switch from a local American "accent" to Standard English in the corporate world.
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We at Triangle Speech Services are licensed speech-language pathologists who specialize in foreign accent and regional dialect modification.
This month's "My Story" was contributed by an American business woman from North Carolina who wanted to learn to "code switch" to Standard English in corporate settings without losing her charming, soft Southern regional dialect or "accent." She also hoped to improve her public speaking or "presentation" skills.
In response to Ms. B's story, we offer a discussion of regional dialects vs. "Standard English" in the corporate world,
The Dilemma of Dialects.
We also include a link so that American readers can take a quiz that will analyze their own speech roots and another link to an interesting article by a theatrical "accent coach" titled "How Hamlet Lost His Drawl."
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MY STORY by Ms. B.
[Ms. B. and her husband are prominent business people in their community who support philanthropic causes and also travel widely. Her earlier educational background was in pre-law and she often finds herself in the role of "presenter" or public speaker.]
I grew up speaking "Southern" with a soft, regional dialect pattern that was comfortable and familiar and was used by my family and friends in our part of North Carolina. However, as my business responsibilities increased and I traveled and attended business conferences, I received unexpected feedback. When conversing in a hotel elevator, I was asked, "Where do you come from? Is that a Texas accent?" I also felt that I needed more confidence when I was asked to be a speaker at a conference or had to make a presentation at my company.
I decided to inquire about speech and presentation skills training and enrolled in a seven session tutorial with Triangle Speech Services using the
Speak Standard,Too!
Program and also working with a wonderful book,
The Exceptional Presenter
, by Timothy J. Koegel. Ms. Bergman added regular
and practical assignments from this resource and tailored my practice using the audio CDs from the
Speak Standard, Too
program to address my unique version of Southern speech patterns which she had analyzed in an initial evaluation.
I thoroughly enjoyed the instruction. She recorded me with her speech display software as I gave "mini-presentations" and played them back, pinpointing words and phrases that needed "standardization." as well as volume and rate. My "ear" became much more acute and, while not rejecting my familiar local dialect, I learned to switch to "Standard English" in my business activities.
It has been noticed and well received by those business contacts that I interact with on a regular basis. One business friend called me after six months and said, "Something about your speech sounds different!" I highly recommend this training to Americans speaking with regional dialects who wish to impact their professional persona.
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The Dilemma of Dialects!
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 A dilemma is "a state of indecision between two alternatives." (Oxford Dictionary) A dialect reflects one's roots in one's family, community and region. Mary I. Berger, author of Speak Standard, Too, defines Standard English (SE) as "the dialect of English that is spoken by those people who carry on the business and educational affairs of this country" (p. xi). "It is the most widely accepted and socially prestigious English dialect." (p.xiii)
Our clients want to belong to and honor both groups: family and friends and business colleagues; local and global. Their desire is expressed by Mary Berger's quote from a 1963 speech by Ralph Ellison,"Show me how I can cling to that which is real to me, while teaching me a way into the larger society."
Important things to remember about SE vs. Regional Dialects which Ms. Berger points out in her introduction:
- SE has more social prestige but is not superior lingistically to other dialects.
- All dialects, including BE (Black English) are as systematic and rule-governed as SE.
- SE, BE and all other dialects including "Southern" retain many of the phonetic (sound) and grammatic features of their root African, European or Asian languages. YOUSE (as in "Youse guys") comes from the Irish-Gaelic plural YOUS. The American Southern Y'ALL comes from the Scots-Irish and Appalachian translation of YOUS(E). BE expresses the past tense using the rules of various West African languages, rather than with "ed" or irregular verb forms. "She write me yesterday." (Berger, p. xii)
Linguist, Walt Wolfram honors the unique sound patterns and vocabulary of a remarkable dialect enhanced by the relative isolation of its speakers, but now "dying out." His book, Hoi Toide on the Outer Banks: The Story of Ocracoke Brogue investigates the roots and features of this local and colorful dialect and is fascinating reading.
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We invite you to click on Triangle Speech Services to visit our informative website. Here is another link to a fun quiz for American readers to test their dialect. Select the quiz titled "What American Accent Do You Have?" Read an article by an acting coach, "How Hamlet Lost His Drawl." And again, we hope this month's newsletter has informed and inspired you!
Sincerely,
Judith L. Bergman M.A. CCC, Founder & Director
Triangle Speech Services |
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