<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!--Generated by Squarespace Site Server v5.9.3 (http://www.squarespace.com/) on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:57:11 GMT--><feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"><title>theAccentGuy.com Blog</title><subtitle>Blog</subtitle><id>http://www.theaccentguy.com/blog/</id><link rel="alternate" type="application/xhtml+xml" href="http://www.theaccentguy.com/blog/"/><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.theaccentguy.com/blog/atom.xml"/><updated>2009-08-28T21:10:08Z</updated><generator uri="http://www.squarespace.com/" version="Squarespace Site Server v5.9.3 (http://www.squarespace.com/)">Squarespace</generator><entry><title>Does your new accent make you "a fake"?</title><id>http://www.theaccentguy.com/blog/2009/8/28/does-your-new-accent-make-you-a-fake.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.theaccentguy.com/blog/2009/8/28/does-your-new-accent-make-you-a-fake.html"/><author><name>Kevin</name></author><published>2009-08-28T19:57:47Z</published><updated>2009-08-28T19:57:47Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[Clients have told me that they feel like they're somehow being "dishonest" or "deceitful" when speaking with an American accent... like they're being a "fake". But actors put on new characters — sometimes with new accents — all the time. Are they being deceitful? Or are you like an actor???]]></summary></entry><entry><title>Adopting an American accent: It's like wearing a suit</title><id>http://www.theaccentguy.com/blog/2009/8/24/adopting-an-american-accent-its-like-wearing-a-suit.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.theaccentguy.com/blog/2009/8/24/adopting-an-american-accent-its-like-wearing-a-suit.html"/><author><name>Kevin</name></author><published>2009-08-24T10:00:06Z</published><updated>2009-08-24T10:00:06Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[In my previous post, I shared why I feel terms like "accent reduction" and "accent modification" reveal a negative approach to accent acquisition. Now let's consider a more positive perspective. I encourage my clients to take on the mindset of adopting a new accent... and I often use the example of putting on a suit.]]></summary></entry><entry><title>I don't like "accent reduction"!</title><id>http://www.theaccentguy.com/blog/2009/8/20/i-dont-like-accent-reduction.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.theaccentguy.com/blog/2009/8/20/i-dont-like-accent-reduction.html"/><author><name>Kevin</name></author><published>2009-08-20T20:14:03Z</published><updated>2009-08-20T20:14:03Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[I don't like the term "accent reduction"... or even "accent modification". Why??? Because these terms imply that your accent is a bad thing. The term "accent reduction" begins with the premise that you are trying to get rid of something bad, or fix something that is broken. But you are not broken!]]></summary></entry><entry><title>Which accent is best?</title><id>http://www.theaccentguy.com/blog/2009/8/17/which-accent-is-best.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.theaccentguy.com/blog/2009/8/17/which-accent-is-best.html"/><author><name>Kevin</name></author><published>2009-08-17T18:39:00Z</published><updated>2009-08-17T18:39:00Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[I'm often asked this question. And sometimes, because I train people to speak English with an American accent, people will presume that I think American English is better than other varieties of English.]]></summary></entry><entry><title>What a great line... you can use this!</title><id>http://www.theaccentguy.com/blog/2009/8/10/what-a-great-line-you-can-use-this.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.theaccentguy.com/blog/2009/8/10/what-a-great-line-you-can-use-this.html"/><author><name>Kevin</name></author><published>2009-08-10T07:01:19Z</published><updated>2009-08-10T07:01:19Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[If you’re concerned about the impression that your accent may give to your audience in a public speaking situation, here’s a great line to use from an Indian immigrant (quoted in an article entitled “7 Things Never to Say to Asian-American Executives” on DiversityInc.com)…]]></summary></entry><entry><title>Don't Harsh My Mellow: Americans messing with adjectives</title><id>http://www.theaccentguy.com/blog/2009/8/3/dont-harsh-my-mellow-americans-messing-with-adjectives.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.theaccentguy.com/blog/2009/8/3/dont-harsh-my-mellow-americans-messing-with-adjectives.html"/><author><name>Kevin</name></author><published>2009-08-03T23:45:00Z</published><updated>2009-08-03T23:45:00Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[This isn't related to accent... but I heard a clever turn-of-a-phrase the other day while listening to a podcast. Ken Ray (of "Mac OS Ken" fame) was reacting to a disturbing (and definitely NSFW) commentary on a recent news story and, referring to the author of the article, said...
 
"He really harshed my mellow."]]></summary></entry><entry><title>Gaining freedom through speech</title><id>http://www.theaccentguy.com/blog/2009/7/27/gaining-freedom-through-speech.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.theaccentguy.com/blog/2009/7/27/gaining-freedom-through-speech.html"/><author><name>Kevin</name></author><published>2009-07-27T23:33:00Z</published><updated>2009-07-27T23:33:00Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[Here’s a nice article highlighting the benefits that students of Missouri University’s Accent Modification Program are experiencing. The story quotes Robyn Kim, a participant in the program…

“I learned these things, and I found that it’s more than language. It’s more about my confidence. It’s more about my empowerment,” said Kim, who was a translator in South Korea but quit partly out of frustration. “I got more power, and I began to speak up” after taking the accent classes twice last year. “And I just felt all the people understood me. … “This is a new Robyn,” she said. “You’re seeing a very happy woman now.”]]></summary></entry><entry><title>American English spelling</title><id>http://www.theaccentguy.com/blog/2009/7/20/american-english-spelling.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.theaccentguy.com/blog/2009/7/20/american-english-spelling.html"/><author><name>Kevin</name></author><published>2009-07-20T23:29:00Z</published><updated>2009-07-20T23:29:00Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[If you think English spelling is bad now… it could be much worse, if it were not for the efforts of Noah Webster! It was 180 years ago today that he published the first edition of his dictionary (from The Writer’s Almanac)…]]></summary></entry><entry><title>Is your speech too nasal?</title><id>http://www.theaccentguy.com/blog/2009/7/13/is-your-speech-too-nasal.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.theaccentguy.com/blog/2009/7/13/is-your-speech-too-nasal.html"/><author><name>Kevin</name></author><published>2009-07-13T23:27:00Z</published><updated>2009-07-13T23:27:00Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[An article from the UK’s Guardian newspaper discusses accent in the context of public speaking, and makes the point that even when speaking with an accent, it will sound much more pleasant to the listener if it is not nasal.]]></summary></entry><entry><title>Americana as a business asset</title><id>http://www.theaccentguy.com/blog/2009/7/6/americana-as-a-business-asset.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.theaccentguy.com/blog/2009/7/6/americana-as-a-business-asset.html"/><author><name>Kevin</name></author><published>2009-07-06T23:18:00Z</published><updated>2009-07-06T23:18:00Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[Here’s a great article about a program at Arizona State University’s business school that helps foreign-born students to adapt to American culture — specifically, business culture — by providing specific training in American mannerisms and speech patterns. They call it “a crash course in Americana”. The article includes interviews with MBA students from Venezuela and India.

I really appreciate the comments made near the end of the piece by Pragya Pandit from India…]]></summary></entry><entry><title>Improve your career prospects with accent training</title><id>http://www.theaccentguy.com/blog/2009/6/29/improve-your-career-prospects-with-accent-training.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.theaccentguy.com/blog/2009/6/29/improve-your-career-prospects-with-accent-training.html"/><author><name>Kevin</name></author><published>2009-06-29T23:10:00Z</published><updated>2009-06-29T23:10:00Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[As the economy tightens, the Wall Street Journal has republished an article from 2004 about efforts to increase diversity in the American workforce — and the increasing demands that investments in job skills training pay off. One important skill mentioned near the end of the article is (you guessed it!) accent reduction; it’s a good example of how investment in this skill really does pay off, both for the individuals receiving training, and for the companies that sponsor such training...]]></summary></entry></feed>