Keeping on yesterday's theme of pronunciation: do you think it is important for foreign speakers of the English language to attempt to speak in an "English" accent, or is it only important that one is understood?
It is clear that learners don't have to speak like the Queen to be understood. Arguably what is most important is that the communication is efficient, and if that means attempting to make one's English accent sound more neutral, and therefore understood by more English speakers and learners, then so be it.
'The real key to having good pronunciation is what we call ‘comfortable intelligibility’. In other words, the person or people listening to you should be able to understand what you are saying with minimal strain. This is something completely different from losing your accent entirely.'1
Are you a non native English speaker? If so, we would very much like to hear your views on this topic.
For more tips on how to improve your pronunciation, take a look at the pronunciation section of our online Language Lab page.
It is clear that learners don't have to speak like the Queen to be understood. Arguably what is most important is that the communication is efficient, and if that means attempting to make one's English accent sound more neutral, and therefore understood by more English speakers and learners, then so be it.
'The real key to having good pronunciation is what we call ‘comfortable intelligibility’. In other words, the person or people listening to you should be able to understand what you are saying with minimal strain. This is something completely different from losing your accent entirely.'1
For more tips on how to improve your pronunciation, take a look at the pronunciation section of our online Language Lab page.
Thanks for sharing this nice post. There are many people who suffer from English pronunciation.There are different ways through which they can Improve English pronunciation . It is very important to choose the correct type of method.
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