accent
Distinctive pronunciation pattern
Accent has its roots in the Latin word for song and that’s a clue to its many meanings, most of which relate to the sounds that come out of people’s mouths.
In extended use, accent can refer to anything that stands out from its surroundings (accented syllable, the room’s decorative accent).
When preceded by the name of a language or dialect, accent denotes the prosody and pronunciation typical of native speakers: He has a German accent.
Manner of speaking words
- intonationPitch variation in speech
- inflectionWord form alteration
- cadenceRhythmic pulse or pattern
- prosodyStudy of verse rhythm
articulation · elocution · enunciation · diction · stress · emphasis · tone · pitch
Regional language variety
- vernacularEveryday regional speech
- patoisRegional informal speech
- creoleNativized pidgin tongue
- pidginImprovised contact language
regionalism · brogue · twang · drawl · lilt · foreign · native · British
Intensely severe or perceptive
- graveSerious and worrying
- circumflexPeaked accent mark
- umlautDouble-dot diacritical mark
- tildeWavy diacritical mark
cedilla · diaeresis · mark · symbol · character · orthography · spelling · typography
pronunciation
Manner of speaking words
- intonationPitch variation in speech
- inflectionWord form alteration
- cadenceRhythmic pulse or pattern
prosody · articulation · elocution · enunciation · diction · stress · emphasis · tone · pitch · lilt
dialect
Regional language variety
- vernacularEveryday regional speech
- patoisRegional informal speech
- creoleNativized pidgin tongue
pidgin · regionalism · brogue · twang · drawl · lilt · foreign · native · British · American
acute
Intensely severe or perceptive
- graveSerious and worrying
- circumflexPeaked accent mark
- umlautDouble-dot diacritical mark
tilde · cedilla · diaeresis · mark · symbol · character · orthography · spelling · typography · vowel
beat
Rhythmic pulse or strike
emphasis · syncopation · rhythm · meter · marcato · forte · staccato · articulation · attack · pulse
highlight
Most notable part
- emphasisStress given to something
- contrastNotable difference between things
- focal pointCenter of interest
pop · detail · trim · embellishment · feature · statement · bold · color · pattern · accessory
- languagelanguage, word, words, grammar, spelling
- speechspeech, speaking, talk, diction, conversation
- cultural heritagefolklore, traditions, customs, folk music revival, museum collections
- language learningvocabulary lists, lessons, acquisition, basic vocabulary, grammar books
- language termsgrammar, word, vocabulary, syntax, synonym
- Learning Frenchvocabulary, grammar, verbs, nouns, adjectives
accentde-emphasis
Reduction in importance
de-emphasize · downplay · minimize · understate · underemphasis
accentunstressed
Without rhythmic emphasis
unaccented · monotone · monotony · flatness · atonic
- French accentDistinctive pronunciation from Paris
- broad accentPronounced regional inflection
- accent piecesDecorative items adding character
- British accentUK speech pattern
- foreign accent
- thick accentPronounced regional inflection
accents, accentuate, accented, accentuation, accenting, accentuating, unaccented, accentuated, accentuates