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50-603: The Bhil languages are a group of lects spoken by the Bhil that are classified as dialects of Indo-Aryan languages such as Gujarati and Rajasthani . They are spoken by around 10.4 million Bhils in western and central India as of 2011 and constitute the primary languages of the southern Aravalli Range in Rajasthan and the western Satpura Range in Madhya Pradesh , northwestern Maharashtra, and southern Gujarat. According to

100-402: A standard variety , some lect that is selected and promoted prescriptively by either quasi-legal authorities or other social institutions, such as schools or media. Standard varieties are accorded more sociolinguistic prestige than other, nonstandard lects and are generally thought of as "correct" by speakers of the language. Since the selection is an arbitrary standard , standard forms are

150-740: A critical "window," which may vary from one individual to another and depend on factors other than age, such as length of residence, similarity of the non-native language to the native language, and the frequency with which both languages are used. Nevertheless, children as young as 6 at the time of moving to another country often speak with a noticeable non-native accent as adults. There are also rare instances of individuals who are able to pass for native speakers even if they learned their non-native language in early adulthood. However, neurological constraints associated with brain development appear to limit most non-native speakers' ability to sound native-like. Most researchers agree that for most adults, acquiring

200-510: A language characterized by its own phonological , syntactic , and lexical properties." A variety spoken in a particular region is called a regional dialect (regiolect, geolect ); some regional varieties are called regionalects or topolects, especially to discuss varieties of Chinese . In addition, there are varieties associated with particular ethnic groups (sometimes called ethnolects ), socioeconomic classes (sometimes called sociolects ), or other social or cultural groups. Dialectology

250-718: A language variety other than their own. For instance, an actor may portray a character of some nationality other than their own by adopting into their native language the phonological profile typical of the nationality to be portrayed, in what is commonly known as "speaking with an accent". Accents may have stereotypical associations in entertainment. For example, in Disney animated films, mothers and fathers typically speak with White, middle-class American or English accents. On another note, English accents in Disney animated films are frequently employed for one of two purposes: slapstick comedy and

300-600: A litmus test for exclusion, and excuse to turn away, to recognize the other. In the English speaking world, speakers with certain accents often experience discrimination in housing and employment. For example, speakers who have foreign or ethnic-minority accents are less likely to be called back by landlords and are more likely to be assigned by employers to lower status positions than those with standard accents. In business settings, individuals with non-standard accents are more likely to be evaluated negatively. Accent discrimination

350-618: A native-like accent in a non-native language is near impossible. When a group defines a standard pronunciation , speakers who deviate from it are often said to "speak with an accent". However, everyone speaks with an accent. People from the United States would "speak English with an accent" from the point of view of an Australian , and vice versa. Accents such as Received Pronunciation or General American English may sometimes be erroneously designated in their countries of origin as "accentless" to indicate that they offer no obvious clue to

400-400: A person's early twenties, after which a person's accent seems to become more entrenched. Nonetheless, accents are not fixed even in adulthood. An acoustic analysis by Jonathan Harrington of Elizabeth II 's Royal Christmas Messages revealed that the speech patterns of even so conservative a figure as a monarch can continue to change over her lifetime. Accents of non-native speakers may be

450-401: A preference for non-native speaker instructors as long as the instructor's speech is intelligible. This was due to the psychological impacts such circumstances has on the students requiring them to pay closer attention to the instructor to ensure they understand them. Studies have shown the perception of the accent, not the accent by itself, often results in negative evaluations of speakers. In

500-524: A result, many English-speaking Germans pronounce "wish" as "vish" and "this" as "zis". A similar disjunction occurs in German-speaking native English speakers, who may find it difficult to pronounce the vowels in German words such as "schön" (beautiful) and "müde" (tired). An important factor in predicting the degree to which the accent will be noticeable (or strong) is the age at which the non-native language

550-465: A second or foreign language involves more than the correct articulation of individual sounds. It involves producing a wide range of complex and subtle distinctions which relate sound to meaning at several levels. Teaching of speech/pronunciation is neglected in part because of the following myths: Inadequate instruction in speech/pronunciation can result in a complete breakdown in communication. The proliferation of commercial "accent reduction" services

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600-425: A specific community". More recently, sociolinguists have adopted the concept of the community of practice , a group of people who develop shared knowledge and shared norms of interaction, as the social group within which dialects develop and change. Sociolinguists Penelope Eckert and Sally McConnell-Ginet explain: "Some communities of practice may develop more distinctive ways of speaking than others. Thus, it

650-473: A study conducted by Rubin (1992), students listened to a taped lecture recorded by a native English speaker with a standard accent. They were then shown an image of the "lecturer", sometimes Asian-looking, sometimes white. Participants in the study who saw the Asian picture believed that they had heard an accented lecturer and performed worse on a task that measured lecture comprehension. Negative evaluations may reflect

700-566: A uniform language is spoken. In some cases, such as regional accents of English in the United States, accents can be traced back to when an area was settled and by whom. Areas like the city of New Orleans in Louisiana that are, or at one point in time were, semi-isolated have distinct accents due to the absence of contact between regions. Isolated regions allow dialects to expand and evolve independently. Social and economic factors can also influence

750-399: A voice on an audiotape "sounded black". The police officer based this "identification" on the fact that the defendant was the only African American man in the room at the time of the transaction and that an audio-tape contained the voice of a man the officer said "sounded black" selling crack cocaine to a European American informant planted by the police. Actors are often called upon to speak

800-425: Is adept at detecting an accent typical of a language differing from their own. Accents have even found to be more impactful on perception of babies than known perceptual dividers like race, religion, or sex. In a PNAS study, babies were told to choose a toy from two recorded speakers with varying characteristics. Ahead of all variables tested, including race and gender, recordings speaking with an accent native to

850-714: Is also present in educational institutions. For example, non-native speaking graduate students, lecturers, and professors, across college campuses in the US have been targeted for being unintelligible because of accent. Second language speakers have reported being discriminated against, or feeling marginalized for, when they attempted to find a job in higher ranking positions mainly because of their accents. On average, however, students taught by non-native English speakers do not underperform when compared to those taught by native speakers of English. Some English native-speaker students in Canada reported

900-428: Is defined as "the language use typical of an individual person". An individual's idiolect may be affected by contact with various regional or social dialects, professional registers and, in the case of multilinguals , various languages. For scholars who view language from the perspective of linguistic competence , essentially the knowledge of language and grammar that exists in the mind of an individual language user,

950-611: Is general social acceptance that gives us a workable arbitrary standard, not any inherent superiority of the characteristics it specifies." Sociolinguists generally recognize the standard variety of a language as one of the dialects of that language. In some cases, an authoritative regulatory body , such as the Académie Française , maintains and codifies the usage norms for a standard variety. More often, though, standards are understood in an implicit, practice-based way. Writing about Standard English, John Algeo suggests that

1000-683: Is often due to their association with the elite part of society. For example, in the United Kingdom , Received Pronunciation of the English language is associated with the traditional upper class . The same can be said about the predominance of Southeastern Brazilian accents in the case of the Brazilian variant of the Portuguese language , especially considering the disparity of prestige between most caipira -influenced speech, associated with rural environment and lack of formal education, together with

1050-412: Is seen as a sign that many ESL teachers are not meeting their students' needs for speech/pronunciation instruction. The goals of speech/pronunciation instruction should include: to help the learner speak in a way that is easy to understand and does not distract the listener, to increase the self-confidence of the learner, and to develop the skills to self-monitor and adapt one's own speech. Even when

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1100-459: Is the study of dialects and their geographic or social distribution. Traditionally, dialectologists study the variety of language used within a particular speech community , a group of people who share a set of norms or conventions for language use. In order to sidestep the vexing problem of distinguishing dialect from language , some linguists have been using the term communalect – defined as "a neutral term for any speech tradition tied to

1150-477: Is within communities of practice that linguistic influence may spread within and among speech communities." The words dialect and accent are often used synonymously in everyday speech, but linguists define the two terms differently. Accent generally refers to differences in pronunciation , especially those that are associated with geographic or social differences, whereas dialect refers to differences in grammar and vocabulary as well. Many languages have

1200-563: The Gujarati language and the Rajasthani–Marwari languages. Grouped geographically, the Bhil languages are the following: Other Bhil languages include Gamit (Gamti) and Mawchi . Vasavi is spoken by ethnic Bhils, but may be closer to Gujarati. Similarly, Malvi and Nimadi may be closer to Rajasthani. The recently described Vaagri Booli may also be a Bhil language. This article about

1250-403: The "correct" varieties only in the sense that they are tacitly valued by higher socio-economic strata and promoted by public influencers on matters of language use , such as writers, publishers, critics, language teachers, and self-appointed language guardians. As Ralph Harold Fasold puts it, "The standard language may not even be the best possible constellation of linguistic features available. It

1300-403: The (potential) employee's accent would interfere with communication or performance, without any objective proof that accent was or might be a hindrance. Kentucky's highest court in the case of Clifford vs. Commonwealth held that a white police officer, who had not seen the black defendant allegedly involved in a drug transaction, could, nevertheless, identify him as a participant by saying that

1350-455: The 52nd report of the commissioner for linguistic minorities in India, Ministry of Minority Affairs , Bhili is the most commonly spoken language of the district of Dadra and Nagar Haveli constituting 40.42% of its total population. Bhili speakers are also significant in the states of Gujarat (4.75%), Madhya Pradesh (4.93%) and Rajasthan (4.60%). The Bhil languages form a link midway between

1400-668: The Portuguese spoken in some other communities of lower socioeconomic strata such as favela dwellers, and other sociocultural variants such as middle and upper class paulistano (dialect spoken from Greater São Paulo to the East) and fluminense (dialect spoken in the state of Rio de Janeiro ) to the other side, inside Southeastern Brazil itself. In linguistics, there is no differentiation among accents in regard to their prestige, aesthetics, or correctness. All languages and accents are linguistically equal. Negative perceptions of accents,

1450-558: The basis of which may relate to the speaker's social identity, can manifest as stereotyping , harassment or employment discrimination . Researchers consistently show that people with non-native accents are judged as less intelligent, less competent, less educated, having poor English/language skills, and unpleasant to listen to. Not only people with standard accents subscribe to these beliefs and attitudes, but individuals with accents also often stereotype against their own or others' accents. Research demonstrates that an average listener

1500-482: The brain that link each sound with a meaning. The more frequently a word is heard, the more its connection is solidified and the same goes for accents. There is no "standard" accent for the child to practice; as far as they are concerned, the accent they hear from their parents is not the "right" way but the only way. Eventually children graduate from the conscious act of recalling each word, and it becomes natural, like breathing. As children grow up, they learn vocabulary of

1550-515: The child were selected at a considerably higher frequency. Unlike other forms of discrimination, there are no strong norms against accent discrimination in the general society. Rosina Lippi-Green writes, Accent serves as the first point of gate keeping because we are forbidden, by law and social custom, and perhaps by a prevailing sense of what is morally and ethically right, from using race, ethnicity, homeland or economics more directly. We have no such compunctions about language, thus, accent becomes

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1600-686: The course of a communicative event as the relationship between speakers changes, or different social facts become relevant. Speakers may shift styles, as their perception of an event in progress changes. Consider the following telephone call to the Embassy of Cuba in Washington, DC . Caller: ¿Es la embajada de Cuba? ( Is this the Cuban embassy? ) Receptionist: Sí. Dígame. ( Yes, may I help you? ) Caller: Es Rosa. ( It's Rosa. ) Receptionist: ¡Ah Rosa! ¿Cóma anda eso? ( Oh, Rosa! How's it going? ) At first,

1650-493: The culture of India is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about Indo-Aryan languages is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Lect Variation at the level of the lexicon , such as slang and argot , is often considered in relation to particular styles or levels of formality (also called registers ), but such uses are sometimes discussed as varieties as well. O'Grady et al. define dialect : "A regional or social variety of

1700-466: The following sentence as an example of a nonstandard dialect that is used with the technical register of physical geography: There was two eskers what we saw in them U-shaped valleys. Most speakers command a range of registers, which they use in different situations. The choice of register is affected by the setting and topic of speech, as well as the relationship that exists between the speakers. The appropriate form of language may also change during

1750-441: The formation of the different varieties of North American accents. It is difficult to measure or predict how long it takes an accent to form. Accents from Canada , South Africa , Australia and the United States for example, developed from the combinations of different accents and languages in various societies and their effect on the various pronunciations of British settlers. Accents may vary within regions of an area in which

1800-429: The idiolect, is a way of referring to the specific knowledge. For scholars who regard language as a shared social practice, the idiolect is more like a dialect with a speech community of one individual. Accent (sociolinguistics) In sociolinguistics , an accent is a way of pronouncing a language that is distinctive to a country , area , social class , or individual . An accent may be identified with

1850-439: The language they are immersed in, whether assisted by parents or not. However, their first few encounters with words determine the way they will pronounce them for the rest of their lives. This is how accents are cultivated in groups as small as towns and as large as countries; it is a compounding effect. Though it is possible to develop a new accent or lose an old one, it is difficult because the neural pathways created when learning

1900-415: The language were developed with the "original" pronunciations. Children are able to take on accents relatively quickly. Children of immigrant families, for example, generally have a pronunciation more similar to people native to where they live compared to their parents, but both children and parents may have an accent noticeably differing from local people. Accents seem to remain relatively malleable until

1950-515: The listener does understand the speaker, the presence of an accent that is difficult to understand can produce anxiety in the listener that he will not understand what comes next, and cause him to end the conversation earlier or avoid difficult topics. "In speech the perceptual salience of the accent overrides other measures of competence and performance," wrote Ingrid Piller . Intelligibility of speech, in comparison to native-like accent, has been experimentally reported to be of greater importance for

2000-508: The locality in which its speakers reside (a regional or geographical accent), the socioeconomic status of its speakers, their ethnicity (an ethnolect), their caste or social class (a social accent), or influence from their first language (a foreign accent). Accents typically differ in quality of voice, pronunciation and distinction of vowels and consonants, stress, and prosody . Although grammar, semantics, vocabulary, and other language characteristics often vary concurrently with accent,

2050-510: The prejudices rather than real issues with understanding accents. In the United States, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on national origin, implying accents. However, employers may claim that a person's accent impairs their communication skills that are necessary to the effective business operation. The courts often rely on the employer's claims or use judges' subjective opinions when deciding whether

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2100-418: The receptionist uses a relatively formal register, as befits her professional role. After the caller identifies herself, the receptionist recognizes that she is speaking to a friend, and she shifts to an informal register of colloquial Cuban Spanish . The shift is similar to metaphorical code-switching , but since it involves styles or registers, it is considered an example of style-shifting. An idiolect

2150-541: The result of the speaker's native language. Each language contains distinct sets of sounds. At around 12 months of age, human infants will pick out which sounds they need to learn their language. As they get older it becomes increasingly harder to learn these "forgotten" sounds. A prime example of this can be seen between German and English—the "w" and "th" sounds, like in the English words "wish" and "this" respectively, do not exist in German—the closest sounds are "v" and "z". As

2200-433: The second language speakers. As such ways of increasing intelligibility of speech has been recommended by some researchers within the field. A strong accent does not necessarily impede intelligibility despite common perceptions. Certain accents, particularly those of European heritage, are perceived to carry more prestige in a society than other accents, such that some speakers may as a result consciously adopt them. This

2250-561: The speaker's regional or social background. Accents are an important dimension of social identity, both individual and communal, due to their ability to identify group or community belonging. One's accent can showcase their class, religion or sexual orientation . Many teachers of English as a second language for example neglect teaching speech and pronunciation. Many adult and near-adult learners of second languages have unintelligible speech patterns that may interfere with their education, profession, and social interactions. Pronunciation in

2300-566: The standard variety "is simply what English speakers agree to regard as good". A register (sometimes called a style ) is a variety of language used in a particular social setting. Settings may be defined in terms of greater or lesser formality, or in terms of socially recognized events, such as baby talk , which is used in many western cultures to talk to small children or as a joking register used in teasing or playing The Dozens . There are also registers associated with particular professions or interest groups; jargon refers specifically to

2350-489: The vocabulary associated with such registers. Unlike dialects, which are used by particular speech communities and associated with geographical settings or social groupings, registers are associated with particular communicative situations, purposes, or levels of formality, and can constitute divisions within a single regional lect or standardized variety. Dialect and register may thus be thought of as different dimensions of linguistic variation . For example, Trudgill suggests

2400-495: The way people speak. During the early period of rapid cognitive development in a child's life, it is much easier to develop and master foreign skills such as learning a new (or first) language. Verbal cues are processed and silently learned in preparation for the day the vocal system is developed enough to speak its first words (usually around 12 months). Before infants can identify words, they just hear "sounds" that they come to recognize. Eventually neural pathways are established in

2450-440: The word "accent" may refer specifically to the differences in pronunciation, whereas the word " dialect " encompasses the broader set of linguistic differences. "Accent" is often a subset of "dialect". As human beings spread out into isolated communities, stresses and peculiarities develop. Over time, they can develop into identifiable accents. In North America , the interaction of people from many ethnic backgrounds contributed to

2500-431: Was learned. The critical period theory states that if learning takes place after the critical period (usually considered around puberty) for acquiring native-like pronunciation, an individual is unlikely to acquire a native-like accent. This theory, however, is quite controversial among researchers. Although many subscribe to some form of the critical period, they either place it earlier than puberty or consider it more of

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