Date:  Mon, 14 Mar 1994 09:15:32 EST

From:  Bruce Southard <ENSOUTHA[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]ECUVM1.BITNET>

Subject: Re: Conscious Learning of Accent



Many years ago as a Peace Corps English teacher in the Philippines, I

suddenly became conscious that I was surrounded by a great number of

teenage Filipinos who sounded as if they came from the Texas Panhandle.

In learning English, they had copied my West Texas sounds. Not wanting

to burden them with the complications that a Texas accent would pose for

a Filipino, I consciously tried to change my vowel patterns in

particular. As a result, I think that I've ended up with an accent

modeled after some subconscious "standard" that probably exists nowhere

except in the mind of a once-young displaced Texan. I don't know whether

this constitutes "conscious learning of accent" in the sense of Tim

Fraser's original inquiry, but I certainly made the choice to change my

speech in a particular direction.



BRUCE SOUTHARD

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY

ENSOUTHA[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]ECUVM1

ENSOUTHA[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]ECUVM.CIS.ECU.EDU

919-757-6041

919-757-4889 (FAX)