the science of accents
To the average ear, your accent is simply the way you sound when you speak. But to the ear with a little know-how, your accent is way more than that. It’s your culture and history. It’s your parents’ family tree. The way you pronounce your ‘o’s is probably due to the movement of forgotten people hundreds of years ago. Your accent can hint at your trustworthiness, and determine how well Alexa can understand your pizza order. It’s a verbal signature that, in some cases, can geotag you, right down to a particular neighbourhood in a particular town at a particular time.
“Your voice is like a fingerprint,” says Hollywood dialect coach Erik Singer. “It reveals a great deal. Speech is by far the most complex thing we do with our bodies, and everyone’s an expert. That’s the thing:
