Does a native accent really matter?

Published on TaipeiTimes
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2006/09/19/2003328333

Does a native accent really matter?

The desire to learn English is spreading all over the world. People commonly believe that individuals are not likely to succeed in modern society without a good command of English.

In Taiwan, there is a phenomenon called English Fever, the overwhelming desire to learn English, and at the earliest age possible. Many young children in Taiwan begin learning English in grade one or even kindergarten.

Actually, a great deal of research into second-language acquisition has shown that early learning does not guarantee impressive final results. So what's all the fuss about learning English as early as possible? One of the central concerns of many students and parents is to acquire a standard, "native" accent. Linguistically, the term "accent" often refers to the language use of non-native speakers. However, we should not be obsessed with acquiring a "native" accent, because it can neither be clearly defined nor represent a person's general language proficiency.

Many studies have shown that there are many elements that affect second-language learners' accents, including their age, native language, language exposure, inborn phonetic facility, attitude toward native speakers, motivation and concern for good pronunciation and accent, with the last having been proven to be the most influential.

The extent to which English learners are motivated to reduce the deviation of their accent from the standard will probably exert the strongest influence. This means that age is absolutely not the only factor enabling second-language learners to acquire native accents. It is indeed wishful thinking to suppose that any second-language learner can pick up English naturally and effortlessly, and develop a native accent, if they learn the language at a young age.

At least, any second-language learner should not be overly concerned with the age factor, as it is a misconception that it is impossible to acquire a native or near-native accent if someone starts learning English after the age of 13.

If you begin learning English after puberty and still speak English with your own accent, so what? Does it really matter?

First, what is the native, standard English accent? It's rather vague and hard to define. There are a wide variety of accents in the US, and all of them are native accents. The important thing is that Americans can understand each other. I am not saying that accent is not important. Rather, a so-called native accent cannot represent a second-language learner's English proficiency and should not be a deterrent to learning English.

For this reason, if your foreign accent interferes with your communication with other second-language learners or native speakers, your accent does matter, and you need to improve your accent and make it understandable.

However, speaking English with a native accent is not a realistic goal for most learners. In addition, your success in speaking English lies in your competence in speaking with a clear and comprehensible accent, not a native accent.

Moreover, the status of the English language is dramatically changing in this era of globalization. There is a rapidly growing trend in which non-native English accents are much more acceptable than ever owing to the huge population of non-native speakers.

According to a Newsweek survey last year, the number of non-native English-speakers in Asia alone has reached more than 350 million. This number is roughly equal to the combined populations of the US, the UK and Canada. It is estimated that within a decade, 2 billion people will be studying English and about half the world (about 3 billion people) will speak it. Non-native speakers of English currently outnumber native speakers 3 to 1.

What do these numbers tell us? The English language does not only belong to Americans and Britons any more; rather, it is an international language and has become the common linguistic denominator among global citizens, blurring the boundaries of all countries.

Comprehensibility, rather than a native accent, plays an important role in cross-cultural communication. As a result, people are now more open-minded about English. Pursuing an accent indistinguishable from that of a native speaker is not only a vague goal but also unrealistic and often frustrating to second-language learners. The epoch of English as a global language is certainly coming.

Therefore, accent is important to a certain extent, but it cannot be representative of both speaking ability and general English proficiency.

A preoccupation with acquiring a native accent can be frustrating and disappointing in the language-learning process. After all, it is your communicative competence, not your accent, that counts as a gauge of your overall language proficiency.

Kao Shih-fan is an assistant professor at Jin Wen Institute of Technology.