On Kennedy’s famous accent

TED KENNEDY’S Massachusetts accent was such a part of him that it became synonymous with a certain kind of politician generally: think of Mayor Quimby from “The Simpsons”, whose accent was taken straight from the senator.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2009/08/_ted_kennedys_massachusetts_ac

the accent of Filipinos are neutral

Northgate Arinso chief executive Mike Ettling said that Filipino workers are service oriented who are well educated and speak good English. He noted that the accent of Filipinos are neutral. In addition to this, Ettling said that the cultural affinity of the Filipinos with the US has made it easier for Filipinos to serve Americans.

filipino

http://goodnewspilipinas.com/?p=9290

Accents: To fake it or not

Of all the criticism that Tom Cruise has received for playing a German soldier in his latest thriller Valkyrie, the one that stands out is for his lack of a Bavarian accent.

http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/entertainment/article/163145

What’s in an accent? A different career

In conversation, Alessandro Nivola couldn’t sound more American, his vowel sounds as open and free as his melodious name, which honors his father’s Sardinian roots.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/13/style/13iht-wolf_ed3_.html?pagewanted=1

Interest in Reducing Accents Grows

IT was like the scene from ”My Fair Lady” in which Henry Higgins drilled Eliza Doolittle on proper diction. ”Won’t, quote, smoldered,” Gloria Ashby said slowly and purposefully over and over as Meryl W. Aronin, a speech and language pathologist, sat across from her listening to each and every letter.

http://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/20/nyregion/interest-in-reducing-accents-grows.html

IBM Develops Program for Call Centers

NEW DELHI — Even as Indian call centers have thrived in the past decade, helping U.S. companies cut costs and creating hundreds of thousands of jobs here, they have faced a seemingly insurmountable problem: Most Indian employees speak heavily accented English.

http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_wires/2006Nov07/0,4675,OutsourcingAccents,00.html

Foreign employees lose heavy accents.

During meetings, he found that his staff of foreign engineers and geophysicists felt frustrated because their heavy accents made it difficult for co-workers to understand them.

http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-143413067/foreign-employees-lose-heavy.html

Call centres and the war of accents

“Earlier Americans were largely unaware that their calls were being outsourced, but now that it’s no more a secret there’s no point in trying to speak like them,”Says Payal Bhatnagar, a call center executive.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1275074.cms

 

Accent’s on neutrality for business success

The research, conducted by communications consultancy The Aziz Corporation, found 64 per cent of business leaders thought a

neutral accent was a strong advantage, compared to 49 per cent who disapproved of an upper-class tone.

http://business.scotsman.com/6983/Accents-on-neutrality-for-business.2614141.jp

Actors’ awful accents annoy

By Jeff Vice
Deseret News movie critic

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/927887/