Neutral accent

1. Neutral Accent: An Accent The World Understands
Neutral accent is a way of speaking a language without regionalism. Speaking with an accent
affects our communication and sometimes at its worst spoils our image in public. To make
ourselves understand better we should speak in neutral accent. Let us learn about how to speak in
neutral English.
By speaking in a neutral English, we can make people to understand us better. We can speak
well in our Job interviews, public forum and work places. We can interact with the society
smoothly. We can avoid frustration, inferiority complex and disappointments from people asking
us to repeat what we've said.
Steps to speak in neutral accent.
1. Listen how native speakers speak the language.
2. Try to watch some good movies that can improve your overall communicative skills.
3. Do not speak too fast. Keep your rate of speech under control.
4. Read dictionary to learn the meaning of the word, spelling and pronunciation.
5. Listen to audio clips and videos to boost your confidence while speaking.
6. Record your speech to realize you problems and difficulties and correct them immediately
7. Increase your reading ability by going through newspapers and magazines.
8. Learn sounds of English. Familiarize with vowel and consonant sounds
9. Follow newsreaders and listen them daily to enhance your clarity of speech.
10. Do some jaw exercises to modulate your voice and accent to our requirements.
Language specialist and programmers work jointly to develop software that can recognize
voices. To make the machine understand what we speak, we need to speak in a neutral English
that the computer can recognize our speech. Hence try to speak neutral accent.
An Overview of Accent Neutralization and Neutral English Accent
The basic criteria of communication or accent is that one should understand what the other
person is saying and vice versa. Communication is a crucial part of globalization. This
globalization has created revolution in entrepreneurship and outsourcing. The need for speaking
in a neutral accent has been growing today because the customers and the clients have to interact
in a universal language in a globally acceptable style and accent.

Initially people focused only on American accent as Americans were the clients for many
projects handled by different developing nations. Today many countries including developing
nations outsource their projects for the sake of cost, quality and resource. People other than USA
are not understanding American accent. This communication barrier is solved after the arrival of
accent neutralization concept.

During accent neutralization training, pupil are taught how to speak neutral accent. This training
helps to remove mother tongue influence. It helps you to speak English with a certain rhythm
which doesn't sound bad at all.

2. Neutral English training includes the following modules.

1. Phonetics
2. Jaw Exercises
3. Vowel & Consonants Sounds
4. Syllable and Word Stress
5. Sentence Formation
6. Working on Thought process
7. Voice modulation & Speech therapy
8. Articulation Exercises

Few people believe that neutral accent belongs to Britain, Australia and North America. Few
more says, "There is no place called Neutralia where Neutralians have always spoken the Neutral
dialect of English". But these are not true. Neutral accent is an oxymoron, widely considered as a
classy accent which develops clear communication. Learning neutral English ensures smooth
social interaction and clear international communication in our daily life.
Neutral Accent Training
In general accent training helps us in sharpening our language skills towards clear pronunciation
and easy understanding. Neutral accent training helps us to reduce our regional accent to speak a
language in an elegant style and pronunciation.

This training majorly deals with accent neutralization, jaw movements for vowels and
consonants, voice and accent, phonetics, sounds of English, pronunciation and mock practices.

This training is mostly required by BPO workers and call center executives whose profession is
to speak with foreign clients. Voice overs, actors, pilots, business people, leaders and socialites
show much interest to learn neutral accent.

This Module teaches you to reduce the mother-tongue-influence while speaking the native
language. Native speakers never expect you to speak English in their way of pronunciation. They
expect you to speak English clearly so that they can communicate well.

No one can be able communicate without a hint of accent. But if you speak with heavily
accented English, no one can get what you are trying to say. So speak in a neutral English. This
training develops you to communicate in a standard way that is universally accepted.

Today the word 'neutral' is often used in accent training centers. Trainers teach about neutral
American accent, neutral British accent, neutral Spanish accent, neutral pronunciation, neutral
English, etc.

The main objective of the neutral English trainer is to improve the communicative skills of the
trainees and guide them develop a neutral accent that is globally understandable. They have to

3. make use of software and modern techniques to modulate the voice and reduce the accent to
ensure the pupil speak neutral English perfectly.
Importance of Speaking in a Neutral Accent
The most preferable accent today is a neutral accent. It is otherwise called as neutral English or
neutral English accent. Though its definition is vague and controversial, many people believe
that speaking in this style helps them to avoid mother-tongue-influence and regional accent.
Further it ensures the clear mode of communication.

Neutral accent training helps the ESL students and language enthusiast to speak the language in a
universally accepted style and standard. The training module normally includes chapters on
sounds, phonetics, jaw exercises, syllable stress and intonation, voice control, fluency, style of
communication, pronunciation, clarity of speech, active listening, communication improvement,
grammar, word power and sentence formation.

BPO workers, call-centers employees, marketing executives, aviators, business officials, voice
overs and all those who want to communicate in a better style and accent prefer neutral English.
Linguists say that BBC, CNN, national geographic channel, discovery channel are some of the
telecasts who speak in this way.

Countries like USA, India, Philippines, England and Australia have many institutes to train on
neutral English. People from California, Chennai and New york show greater importance to learn
this accent.

Though few people say that there is no such thing as neutral accent, many people prefer it to
speak the language in a globally acceptable standard accent. Most of the time, problems in
communication occurs due to fake accent, heavy accent, imitating an accent and MTI. To
overcome these difficulties while communicating, speak in neutral way of pronunciation.

While you speak English with your friends or family, you can speak casually. When you speak
English for official purpose or business related, speak in a neutral English accent.
Ref: http://www.neutralaccent.com