native accent
Original regional inflection
A native accent is the pronunciation patterns, intonations, and speech rhythms someone acquires naturally while growing up in a particular region or language community.
It's the accent you develop before conscious learning intervenes—distinct from accents picked up later in life: She still has her native accent despite living abroad for decades.
The term often implies authenticity or belonging.
- dialectRegional language variety
- regional dialectGeographically distinct speech variety
- mother tongueLanguage acquired from birth
- first languageTongue learned from birth
- regionalRelating to an area
pronunciation · speech pattern · homeland · home country · old country · roots · fluency · intonation · twang · drawl · lilt · brogue · birthplace · authentic · speech · tongue · local · vernacular
acquisition origin
native accentforeign accent
native, accent, nativity, nation, national, nationality, nationalize, nationalization, nationalist