accent

Hello, Actuaryalfred, welcome!

To me, if someone speaks without any accent, it means that, from the way they speak, you don't get any hint about which country/area they come from.

If your first language is not English and you are told that you speak (English) without an accent, it means that you speak without a foreign accent. In other words, it's a complement.

CJ

One piece of advice for all non-native speakers: ask a stranger whether he/she thinks you have an accent. If you ask your friends, chances are they'll tell you they can hardly detect an accent.

Julielai -- but I think the accent adds a richness and depth to the spoken word. I love the accents people speak in English! I think they are beautiful! For example, the French accent is full of connations of love and romance. Those with certain British accents are thought to be educated and intelligent. Granted, there are accents which are unfortunately and unjustly stereotyped, too. However, I d

It depends on the person. I have a friend whose first language is French. He has a French accent. He hates hates hates it if that is ever pointed out or mentioned -- even by people who enjoy hearing his French accent. He always interprets it as a criticism, no matter how many times you explain that it is not! For him, this would be exactly the wrong conversation starter; he would find

Am learning Freanch My Teacher said (Please make sure you set your keyboard to type accents before you start Quiz 1. WebCT will not allow you to "copy and paste" accents. You need to type accents directly on your keyboard.)

And your teacher is right, Anon! French wouldn't be French without the "accents", but here you are talking about the written/typed "accents", not about the way you speaka language.