foreign accents
Non-native speech patterns
A foreign accent is the distinctive pronunciation pattern that emerges when someone speaks a language other than their native tongue.
The sounds, rhythms, and intonations of the first language carry over, marking the speaker as non-native: She spoke English with a heavy foreign accent.
Foreign accents range from barely perceptible to strong enough to affect comprehension.
The term sometimes carries condescension—what counts as "foreign" depends on who's listening.
- dialectRegional language variety
- pronunciationManner of speaking words
- intonationPitch variation in speech
- bilingualSpeaking two languages
- immigrantOne who resettles abroad
exotic · native · tongue · lilt · brogue · twang · native speaker · multilingual · second language · ESL · code switching · fluency · cadence · speech · broken · language barrier · lost in translation · linguistic
- immigrationimmigrant, immigrants, visa, refugee, citizenship
- representationproportional representation, diverse casting, visibility, representation matters, marginalized voices
foreign, foreigner, foreigners, foreignness, accent, accents, accented, accentuate, accentuated