Each language and dialect has its own characteristics of articulation (pronunciation). These features are manifested to a greater or lesser extent when a person speaks a non-native language. Some of the nuances of speech betray the origin of man. This is called accent.
What is accent?
The original meaning of the word "accent" is stress or intonation. With its help, it is possible to highlight and emphasize the part of the statement that is significant for the speaker. For instance:
- He uttered this phrase, emphasizing the last word.
- That is, the speaker highlighted the word with the help of intonation and logical stress, emphasizing its significance.
But more often the word "accent" is used as a characteristic of a language or dialect. For example: "The French accent sounded distinctly in the young woman’s speech."
Some accents are very distinctive, others are more vague and less recognizable. Foreign accent is, most often, a very noticeable phenomenon. A Russian speaker will easily notice a foreign accent in the interlocutor’s speech. However, having lived in the country of the studied language for many years, one can almost completely get rid of the accent over time. This is especially easy for children.
Emphasis can serve to emphasize social status. For example, in the United Kingdom there is normative pronunciation (Received Pronunciation). It is characteristic of the upper strata of society and educated people.
Common accents in Russian
The territory of Russia is huge, so it is not surprising that in its various parts there are dialects. Moving from one locality with a pronounced dialect to another, it is not easy to get used to the new pronunciation standards.
For example, often in the speech of some residents of the country, especially the northern regions, such a feature as “dipping” is manifested.
The pronunciation [x] instead of [g] is an accent typical for residents of the southern regions, geographically close to Ukraine.
We should also dwell on the Moscow accent. It is characteristic of him:
- "hiccups";
- trailing vowels;
- pronouncing -chn- and -cht- as -shn- and -sht- (“bullish”, “brownish”);
- Old-Moscow pronunciation: -hiy, -which are pronounced -hiy, -kiy (-hoy, -koy): scarlet - scarlet, bright - bright, etc.
Other meanings of the word "accent"
In another sense, emphasis is any underline or emphasis on a significant detail. For instance:
- Bright accents must be added to this image.
- The artist with the help of light colors emphasized the eyes.
In some languages, for example, French, the accent refers to special icons placed above the letters. These are the so-called diacritical marks.
Thus, the word "accent" has several meanings, the main of which is the phonetic features of a language or dialect.