Reading Analysis
Please use a desktop/laptop computer (works much better than on a mobile device).
When you click the green button above, a new window will pop open so you can begin recording. You may need to give SpeakPipe permission to use your microphone.
Babies are born capable of speaking any of the world’s languages. They have all of the mechanisms and muscles necessary to produce any sound in all languages. Why is it that by the time a person is fourteen or fifteen years old any second language that’s acquired is usually accented?
When a person is a grown adult they will tend to be introduced to a second language through reading books and writing first. Also to blame is that adults have speech habits and producing new sounds can feel unnatural. When a small child is introduced to a second language it’s more likely to be through speaking and listening, as there ability to read and write is not yet established. This is a more natural sequence of learning.
Each language has a sound system with a set of rules that govern production. An accent is the carry-over of the rules of production from your native language to another. Small children don’t have this issue, as the rules that govern production are not concrete allowing for greater flexibility in rule acquisition.
As an adult you need to understand and incorporate the production rules of English to speak clearly. This is often referred to as accent reduction. I avoid this expression; I think it’s inaccurate because you aren’t reducing your accent, but learning a new one!