to consider taking accent reduction classes?

[Lilylo]

Hi everyone! I would love to hear impartial opinions on this.

I am originally from Italy, hence Italian is my mother tongue. I moved to the UK a couple of years ago and I have been working FT in a high-skilled job ever since. DH and I plan to settle and start a family in the UK (he is British). Prior to moving to the UK I lived abroad for several years in English speaking environments/ workplaces (US, Hong Kong, Beijing, Copenhagen), therefore I am pretty fluent in English.

I am often told by British colleagues and friends that my English is really good, but I still feel very conscious about my accent. I admit it is probably not terribly strong and most native English speakers understand virtually 99.9% of what I say, but you can still tell I am not a native English speaker.

For some reason lately I have been feeling more and more conscious about this "flaw", up to the point that I am thinking about paying £££ for accent reduction classes, in order to get rid of my foreign accent for good and possible sound a bit more native.

AIBU to spend £££ on getting rid of my foreign accent? If you are British, do you mind foreigners who are fluent in English but with an accent? If English was not your mother tongue and you have an accent too, how do you feel about it?

Many thanks for your comments!

I love accents, but it's not about that is it?!

It's about you being comfortable and confident, and making your accent work for you.

Currently sounds like you're feeling limited by your accent, and like its out of step with yourself somehow.

So if so go for it... Only you know how difficult you find it so lots of people like me saying we love accents won't help you in daily life.

As an aside I do find accents fascinating, and especially Italian as it cues very different things than 'uneducated lack of competence' to me! Which is a stereotype nonetheless, even if positive...

In general, I have positive associations about accents, but then I work in an industry where international perspective and cultural insight are core skills, needed to get ahead. In these circumstances, an accent becomes a cues of this skill set so become a highly desired characteristic! Me with my very British accent have to work harder to prove my expertise, but not enough to mind it :)

I wonder if you can soften the accent, rather than lose it completely?

It would be great if you could dial it up and down turn to make your voice work for you across a range of contexts? Not in an artificial way but in the way that people have a range of linguistic registers that they can switch according to situation.

My husband is Brazilian and his accent is beautiful. After 15 years speaking arguing with me in English he is fluent and can pull off a pretty funny southern accent in public sometimes, much to the children's horror but it's still obvious he's foreign. Everyone can always hear a foreign twang, no matter how well hidden. Even native speakers who live in areas with different accents. You get a watered fown version but something is always there.
We live in Brazil, I can never sound native. What would £££ achieve that practice can't? YABU for thinking that anyone can change your voice if you pay them.

I wonder if you can soften the accent, rather than lose it completely?

I think I softened it quite a lot already compared to how it used to be 2 or 4 years ago. Nonetheless, it is still easy to detect after a couple of sentences, especially for an English native speaker

What would £££ achieve that practice can't? YABU for thinking that anyone can change your voice if you pay them.

Well I did a quick research online and it seems like actors take accent classes to play characters convincingly. According to Google, classes in London should be somewhere around £80-£90 an hour. So yes, lots of money really.

Well if softened isn't enough to bring it in line with how you feel inside - do the lessons!

If it's to please other people rather than yourself I wouldn't do it, but it does sound mostly about you I think?

I'd make sure you really like the tutors own accent before you take the plunge. And maybe get a second opinion from a native English speaker to make sure it is really neutral vs Edwardian drawing room comedy :)

OP, speaking as another foreigner - once you get a British accent, your troubles are only beginning. Some people will judge you because they think you're posh. Some will judge you because they think you're pretending to be posh. Some will secretly think you're trying to sound more "common" than you are. People from north London will question whether you're from Sarf Landaan. People from South London will wonder if you're trying to sound like you're from north London. Chelsea types will still look at you bemused. And that's just London - what if your elocution coach is -gasp!- Northern? (And don't even get me started on what happens if you come out with an Estuary accent.)

In this country, accent is a marker of class above all else. You should thank God daily that your accent removes you from this nonsense.

MiscellaneousAssortment

If we want to look at it from a "psychological" perspective, I think what triggers my accent self-consciousness is that DH lived around the world a lot as a kid and went to international schools, which means he is perfectly fluent (with a neutral, non-foreign accent) in three languages. Most of the people we hang out with (well, the ones that come from his social circle at least) are just the same, trilingual, multiple passports and so on. They are truly international people.

It is almost like they were part of this special group of global people who can comfortably and effortlessly switch from one language to other, from one culture to another. It is so fascinating.

I guess I wish I was like them, and the reality is that I just am not! I was born and educated in Italy, I am Italian and my identity is much less fluid and global than theirs.

(Sorry for the rant! Just thought providing a bit of context would be interesting for the sake of the thread!)

*OP, speaking as another foreigner - once you get a British accent, your troubles are only beginning. Some people will judge you because they think you're posh. Some will judge you because they think you're pretending to be posh. Some will secretly think you're trying to sound more "common" than you are. People from north London will question whether you're from Sarf Landaan. People from South London will wonder if you're trying to sound like you're from north London. Chelsea types will still look at you bemused. And that's just London - what if your elocution coach is -gasp!- Northern? (And don't even get me started on what happens if you come out with an Estuary accent.)

In this country, accent is a marker of class above all else. You should thank God daily that your accent removes you from this nonsense.*

This made me chuckle. Very good point essential

Your Italian accent and fluent English works for you not against you! Someone with a foreign accent knows at least one more language than I do so impressive.

Also, it doesn't stop. Regional accents are so identifiable - I have lived in Liverpool for 15 years and sound the same as I did when I moved away from London. I get asked questions about where I'm from, if I get a taxi the drivers assume I'm not local.

Plus, I have a foreign surname. Not that people think I'm Greek, but it prompts questions when they hear it.

So losing your accent won't help if you move away from the area it belongs to. People will still want to know about where you are from and things like that.

I think it's one thing for a native Australian to pull off an American accent or a Scottish accent like Mel Gibson. It can even be said that for some people this is easier than others. But that is in the same language, he can probably sound like an Italian speaking English too, but would he be able to go to Italy and sound Italian while speaking Italian? This is a whole different level of accent mastery. Different languages use their sounds/mouth/noses and throats in different ways and after a certain age I'm not sure how much money it would cost to undo that, thousands if it can be done at all. We have something that is password protected with the word Bournemouth. Simple you might think. But only the kids and I can get it right. A 3 year old Brazilian child of a friend can mimic the word perfectly but I have yet to meet a Brazilian over the age of about 7, including my husband that can say Bournemouth properly. That's just one example.

It's going to be a subtle balance between sounding like your almost a native because you have been in the UK/Speaking English so long and sounding like you are trying to sound like a native. The reception you get from those two scenarios will be extremely different.

YANBU.

You are obviously ambitious and very accomplished, and the accent feels a bit like a bit of a failure in your mind ie something which needs to be worked on. (And perhaps a distraction for others in your working life.)

So I would try the accent reduction if I were you, if it is not too expensive and assuming you have the time. Then just see how well it works? (Nb I have never heard of this sort of thing before!)

I have a foreign DH who has an accent. Like you, he speaks and writes almost perfectly (ie a better than many Brits do) but he has never completely lost his foreign sound. (Tho most ppl cannot work out where he is from!) I have helped him reduce his pronunciation errors over the yrs. (Which he hasn't always enjoyed as appears like nagging to him!) I did this as it seemed important to me that he sounded educated. (As he is educated, and a professional.)

No-one (sensible) working in the UK (or in an international company) minds a foreign accent when speaking English, and many (in the UK) will say that it is sweet or charming, but the nearer you can get to a native educated sound, the better for communication purposes.

FYI, I am currently trying to improve my (very poor) French as I really don't want to have a "sweet British accent", and because it feels quite patronising to be told "you speak quite well for a Brit". (Plus I lack confidence.)

So I think I understand how you feel. Even though my French is well below your level in English therefore lots for me to work on before having only my accent to worry about!

My pet hate is Brits speaking French with a horrible English accent and thinking it is fine, or not even realising how bad it sounds. (If I were French, I think I would want to cry.) So I am worried and conscious of how how I sound. (But quite hard to self-assess and make improvements alone?)

I accept that (at my age) I will probably always have an English accent (when I speak French) but I would still dearly like to reduce and minimise it. (If only for my own reasons/pride.)

So I wish you well with trying to weaken the Italian 'accent', though as others have mentioned, try to steer clear of sounding oddly regional or too rough/posh. (As that might just sound weird?!)

My DH is Italian born and bred. He's fluent in English, and he has an accent, but you can't tell where from. He tried very hard to get rid of the "Papa Dolmio" sound.

I don't think you need to spend thousands. All you need to do is practise not having vowels at the end of words that aren't there. I'm convinced that's why Italian Americans say things like Mozzarell, and Proscuit (instead of Mozzarella and prosciutto) as they took it a step too far!

So the word "hat" for example, ends with "t" you don't says "hat-a". I think this tendency to add vowels on the end of words makes it obvious one is form Italy. So I think, if you really want to tone down the Italian accent, you need to make words a bit abrupt sounding to begin with.

hope that helps,

In bocca al lupo

"This ain't exactly a good period to be a EU foreigner in the UK, IYSWIM"

No, I don't see what you mean.

Where I live there's a family run Italian restaurant. The owners are Italian but the waiters are most definitely not. In fact I know one of them and he's born and bred Yorkshire, not an Italian bone in him. However, despite not being remotely Italian, the waiting staff all put on a faux Italian accent when serving you . It's sooooo cringeworthy.

So my point is if there's Brits putting on an Italian accent it's quite clearly not an awful accent. It really isn't a bad accent, I wouldn't change a thing about it. I always think things sound more upbeat and bearable in an Italian accent.

In this country, accent is a marker of class above all else. You should thank God daily that your accent removes you from this nonsense.

One of the best things about having a neutral American accent (which is refer to as Mid-Western) is that in England no one can peg me. Not my education, not my class, not my region, not my economic background. It's brilliant because some Brits get very frustrated not knowing where to slot me in.

Ciao, OP, come stai?
Lots of us here are spending a fair amount of time and money studiare parlare Italiano, don't try and lose your gorgeous accent!

One of the best things about having a neutral American accent (which is refer to as Mid-Western) is that in England no one can peg me. Not my education, not my class, not my region, not my economic background.

That is exactly why I would like to acquire a neutral accent! Not to be immediately labelled.

*"This ain't exactly a good period to be a EU foreigner in the UK, IYSWIM"

No, I don't see what you mean.*

Let's just say that the whole Brexit conversation and the strong anti-immigration sentiments that many Brexit supporters manifest do not make EU foreigners feel very welcomed in the UK at the moment..

my husband went to an international school, grew up abroad etc

i guess he has a neutral accent but my northern family all think he sounds like a posh southerner

i come from a region famous for it's accent-mine has softened a lot but people still say 'can i detect a ...accent?'
it's usually just a way of starting a conversation tbh

i do think that an italian accent is very attractive though

Let's just say that the whole Brexit conversation and the strong anti-immigration sentiments that many Brexit supporters manifest do not make EU foreigners feel very welcomed in the UK at the moment..

Who are you hanging out with????

In a high-skilled career like yours, I strongly doubt that your colleagues and friends are anything but completely comfortable in a global and cosmopolitan environment.

Same for many of us.

I'm sorry you feel like that, but I've spent many hours discussing Brexit with my multinational colleagues, and none of them have expressed that sentiment.

I'm sorry you feel like that, but I've spent many hours discussing Brexit with my multinational colleagues, and none of them have expressed that sentiment

I guess I spend too much time reading through the comment section of The Guardian

People are always going to judge your accent, OP. Even if you had Sprink's Midwest USA accent, you would be labeled as a 'Yank' even if no one would be able to detect your class or educational level. You would then get asked where you are from in the USA, told about the time they went on holidays to Disneyland and asked if everyone really owns guns and is voting for Donald Trump.

Accent tells people something about where you are from, no matter where that is. I'm sure fellow Italians make assumptions about you too based on how you speak Italian. Do you sound well-educated and speak clear Italian and it's annoying you that you can't replicate that in English?

"Do you sound well-educated and speak clear Italian and it's annoying you that you can't replicate that in English?"

You got me there...

If you speak in the same way you write (sentence structure, grammar, etc) and it's obvious you are not a native speaker, everyone will see that you are well-educated.