Mastering a foreign language
is actually within everyone's reach.
But if on the one hand mastering syntactical
lexical and grammatical structures,
handling verbs or tenses
is something that everyone can achieve,
on the other hand, just a handful of people
can actually speak a foreign language
with a native or native-like accent.
Hi everyone,
I am Luca, from LucaLampariello.com
and today I will talk to you how the fact that being able to speak
a foreign language with a native accent
or native-like accent
is not as difficult as you think,
and I will talk to you how to pull it off.
In another video I made on YouTube
I explained how I succeeded in
moving from having an atrocious accent in English
to a native-like one
in a relatively short period of time.
And what happened is that
in that crucial moment
where I started moving from an atrocious accent
to a native-like one
and in the moment when I started
to speak almost like an American,
my schoolmates as well as my friends
used to make fun of me a bit.
As a matter of fact, American English
sounds more nasal than Italian.
What happened is that
my schoolmates found it strange
to hear me speak that way.
It was weird to them.
And that was the moment
that made the difference between speaking English like an Italian
- as a normal Italian would -
and speak almost like an American.
Here is the thing: fundamentally I resisted
to the social pressure of my schoolmates and friends
who are members of
"the Italian tribe"
and of Italians, and I decided to
acquire another identity other than mine.
Renowned linguist Stephen Krashen
- among other things -
wrote an article
on accent acquisition in a foreign language.
In his article
he makes an apparently disconcerting statement
which, come to think of it, makes sense.
Stephen claims -
and it is apparently a bold claim -
according to which
everyone - including adults -
can acquire a foreign accent
very quickly and accurately.
They only choose not to,
because they feel silly.
And this has to do exactly with
what I was saying a few seconds ago.
Acquiring an accent is not just a merely linguistic matter,
that is, it is not only about articulating new sounds,
or hear them.
It is, first and foremost, a psychological matter
and what has made a difference in my case
is that I attributed the act of acquiring a foreign accent
to that of acquiring another identity,
and as a consequence of that, to my will of belong to the "American tribe",
other than mine.
The will of belonging to another tribe
or embracing another tribe
other than yours
is a paramount psychological factor.
But in all this, it is quite important
to factor in the human factor. The people
with whom we develop an accent.
In my case, for example,
acquiring a native-like accent
coincided exactly with the moment
when I started working with my tutor Susan,
of whom I always talk
and whom I cannot thank enough.
Spending time with her
helped me not only acquire her own way of speaking
her accent and intonation,
but first and foremost her way of being
her way of behaving and relating to me,
and to others.
It is often said that
we are the result of the 5 people
with whom we spend our time.
Now, I am not sure whether it is 5, 6 or 7,
but I know that the important thing
other than quantity
is surely quality.
It is then paramount
when you acquiring a foreign accent
and if you want to sound authentic in a given language
that you spend time with people you treasure
and that you build a certain identity around them.
In his brief but intense academic paper,
Stephen Krashen explains how language and accent
play 2 fundamental roles.
The first role is obviously
that of allowing humans to communicate.
The second role or function though
- and here Krashen talks more specifically about accent acquisition -
is that accent is some sort of social marker.
Come to think of it, the first thing
that an Italian notices and asks himself
when he meets another Italian
is "where does this person come from?"
Does he come from Calabria and speaks like this? (accent from Calabria)
Does he come from Veneto and he speaks like this? (Accent from Veneto)
Does he come from Florence and speaks like this (Tuscan accent)
If on the one hand, accent defines then
the geographical region where you were born,
on the other one, it also defines
your social class.
What I am trying to say is that
accent can be associated
with a specific identity.
If you want to acquire a native-like accent
you have to identify with another human being (speaking that language).
It is not just a matter of imitating that person
but also BE that person, other than yourself.
This is a paramount point,
which also defines what you will do
in order to acquire that specific accent.
One thing I do often
- and which I do less often these days -
is to watch movies
focus on specific snippets
and imitate ad nauseam
what and how actors utter sentences.
It is not just a matter of imitating what they say
but also to factor in all those things
that accompany those words,
such as their face, gestures, behaviour etc
And this is quite important
and gave me the possibility of developing
a native-like accent
in other languages,
other than American English.
There you have it,
I hope that you liked the video
and that the information was useful.
I wanted to do a quick recap.
In order to acquire a native-like accent in a foreign language
it is important
1. To be ready and willing to embrace another cultural identity,
without having to abandon one's own.
2 It is important to spend time with people
because it is not only sounds
but experiences, smiles, glances,
mutual comprehension, gestures
that make and shape a linguistic identity.
And 3. Instead of imitating others like a parrot,
take into account
everything that has to do with human communication,
so, once again, factor in things such as
words and facial gestures,
gestures and sounds,
and try to imitate actors
imitate people
and it should be like a game.
If you liked the video and want to know more,
I have written an extensive article
on this fascinating topic
on my website www.lucalampariello.com.
How to land on the website?
Well, you just need to click on the link
in the description box,
you can read the article
as well as listen to the corresponding audio - all latest articles have audio and script
and leave comments.
So, I will be waiting for you there
thanks again for listening
and I'll see you very soon here on YouTube!