Different accents of English in Simultaneous Interpretation

Welcome to our Micro-lecture of Simultaneous Interpretation. It’s great to have you with me today. In this section, we will learn about and understand different accents of English in Simultaneous Interpretation. It’s not uncommon that even people who live in the same country may have different accents, let along people from different countries, so it’s quite necessary for us to understand and interpret those special and strong accents correctly to the target audience.

The world English can be divided into three large groups according to the theory called “three concentric circles of English”. Let’s take a look at this theory first.

1. Three concentric circles of English

The three concentric circles of English are respectively the inner circle , the outer circle and the expanding circle. The three circles represent the type of spread , the patterns of acquisition , and the functional allocation of English in diverse cultural contexts.

1.1 The inner circle

The inner circle is the place where English is the native language of the country such as the US , Britain , Australia and Canada. They are also called ENL countries. Although English includes lots of accents , the norm or standard of the language itself is determined by speakers from ENL countries. The American English represents the English mainstream of America. And the British English represents the English mainstream of Europe. These two types of English are most well-known than other types and have a huge impact over the globe , which are first choices of accents for non-native speakers.

1.2 The Outer Circle

The outer circle is the place where post-colonial countries take English as one of their official languages such as India , Nigeria , Singapore , Philippines and South Africa. English is of great importance in these countries’ education , history, culture and so on. These countries are also called ESL countries. Indian English is quite unique that it reflects common features of the South Asian Subcontinent. Accents in this circle can be hard to understand because their accents are deeply influenced by their native language as English is considered as the 2^nd language. Consequently, “new standard” of English has come into being.

1.3 The Expanding Circle

The expanding circle is the place where countries don’t take English as an official language but English is widely spread and learned as a foreign language. Countries include France , China , Japan , Germany and so on. These countries are also called EFL countries. As English is not taken as an official language , English learners of EFL countries strictly follow the rules and standards of English from the inner circle.

2. American English And British English

2.1 American English(AE)

I know most of you may like watching U.S TV series and movies. They are of high quality and extremely excellent for good acting skill and perfect special effects. But can you understand what they are talking about or what the series and the movies try to convey to us without looking at the subtitle? As we all know , American English is very fast because of liaison, stop sounds , omission and abbreviation. For example, phrase “want to do” is often replaced by “wanna do”, phrase ”have got to do” is replaced by “gotta do”. Words like “latter and ladder’, /t/ is called “flap t” and can be pronounced as /d/.

2.2 British English(BE)

Generally speaking , we are more familiar with British English even though we might not realize this because during our middle school and high school , our textbooks often employ British English. British English sounds clear and loud, along with fraction. And you don’t have to roll your tongue when saying words like “Water”, “Sugar” and “Major”. It’s like /r/ is swallowed by /ə/. Maybe due to the gentility vibe , British English is said with your mouth opening a little bit. That’s why British English sounds more formal and serious.

2.3 American English vs British English

Known as two most popular accents, AE and BE both have their own unique features. First of all , let’s see some simple differences in the pronunciations of the two. ①The word “student”. In British English , it is read as /'stjuːd(ə)nt/. In American English , it is read as /'studnt/. So the letter “u” is often pronounced as /ju:/ in British English, and as /u/ in American English.②The word “clock”. In British English , it is read as/klɒk/. In American English , it is read as /klɑk/. So the letter “o” is often pronounced as /ɒ/ in British English and as /a/ in American English.③ The word “sugar”. In British English , it is read as /'ʃʊgə/. In American English , it is read as /'ʃʊgɚ/. So it seems that the letter “r” is often left out when it is at the end of a word or before a consonant in British English Accent. And it’s clear that /ɚ/=/ər/. The difference can be reflected in the use of your tongue. Reading words with letter “r” , you need to roll your tongue more if you choose American Accent. So the pronunciation of letter “r” will sound more clear. ④ The word “matter”. In British English , it is read as /'mætə/. In American English , it is read as /'mætɚ/（/‘mædɚ/）. In this situation, “t” becomes “flap t” in American English. It’s a special phenomenon in which /t/ is often put between two vowels.⑤ The word “after”. In British English , it is read as /'ɑːftə/. In American English , it is read as /'æftɚ/. So the letter “a” is pronounced as /a:/ in British English and as /æ/ in American English.⑥ The word “population”. In British English , it is read as /pɒpjʊ'leɪʃ(ə)n/. In American English , it is read as /ˌpɑpju'leʃən/. Obviously , this is a multiple-syllable word. Regarding words of this kind, they often have one stress in British English , but two stresses in American English. So it may sound like the last but two syllable is weakened in American English. And that’s why words often have secondary stress in American Accent.

Video Clip：

①American English

VOA Despite Corona-virus, K-pop Theater Show Seeks Performers

00:08 “letting” →“ledding”

00:09 “stop” /a/

00:17 “pop” /a/

00:22 “casting” /æ/

②British English

TED How my mind came back to life — and no one knew

10:30 “share” /ʃeə/

10:35”work” /wɜːk/

10:39”nobody” /'nəʊbədɪ/

10:59 “words” /wɜːd/

3. Indian Accent

Indian Accent is largely influenced by the official language of India- Hindi Language. Because of its history that it was once colonized by Britain , English has become quite widespread and accepted in every corner of India. So people in India who use English account for a large proportion and they has their ways of expressing the meaning of English words with their own Hindi words. That’s why Indian Accent sounds so special and hard to understand but still stable. And Indian Accent is a typical accent of South Asia. Getting familiar with this accent is very meaningful for us to dip into accents of south Asia. Let’s learn about some features of Indian Accent.

① They tend to confuse /t/ and /d/. For example , the word “but”. It sounds like “burd” with Indian Accent. The point is that when you say “but”, you move your tongue further back in your mouth. And it is really confusing when they say tin and din, because they sound just almost the same with Indian Accent.

② Consonant/tʃ/ sounds like /dʒ/ but not exactly the same, you need to snap your tongue at the same time. Sentence “Don’t try it” sounds like “dorn’t trrri id”.

③ Consonant /p/ and /b/ are often confused in Indian Accent . Like, the two words “price ” and “bryce”. They also sound the same.

④ Consonant/k/ and /g/ are confused too. Words like “coal” and “goal” sound the same as well.

⑤ Consonant/v/ and /w/ are confused. Words like “vary” and “wary” sound the same.

⑥ Special /r/: Hindi language doesn’t have a sound that is the same as /r/ so they replace it with the most resembling sound ɾ, which sounds like /d/ with your tongue springing →drrrrrr. “Shrink” sounds like “Shdrrink”.

Clip:

4. French Accent

Although English is not taken as an official language, French English is influenced by French Language just like Indian English and the amount of people who can speak English is very large because of the trend of globalization. French people have the habit that they speak with their mouth opening a little bit. Maybe this is one of the reasons why French English sometimes can be puzzling. Since grace, romance, and vividness represents the French language, how about French English Accent? Let’s learn about some features of French Accent.

① /h/: Most of the time, sound /h/ is not pronounced. The reason is that letter “h” is often silent in French. Word “ Health” sounds like “ealth”. “Hello” sounds like “ Ello”. “History” →”istory”. “Hate” → “ ate”

But it is really really confusing that sometimes some French people add /h/ in the front of a word beginning with vowels. Like ，“air” sounds like “hair”. “own” sounds like “hown”. So we cannot even tell the difference between “air” and “hair” in this situation. But if this does happen , we have to rely on the context.

② /r/: In French Accent , /r/ is replaced by/h/ because in French letter “r” is an uvular consonant which sounds like /h/. Word “Very” sounds like “Vehi”/vehi/. “French” sounds like “Fhench”. Word “rapid” sounds like “ hapid”. “Rich” sounds like “Hich”.

③ “th”:The consonant /ð/ as /dz/ like letter “z”. “This” / ðis/ → /dzis/.

④ Consonant /p/ /t/ /k/ ,like Indian Accent, are often pronounced as /b/ /d/ /g/. Like word  “pink”→”bink”. “Keep” →” Geep”.  “Type” → “Dype”.

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5. Ways of Learning About Different Accents

Sometimes accents can be hard to understand , so it is the duty of interpreters to master those accents to provide better service for both sides of listeners. Here I want to introduce some ways of learning about different accents.

① Communicate with people who say English with the accent you are not familiar with.

② Watch films or Tv series in which the actors have the accent you would like to learn about. Listen carefully and try your best to understand at the first time. And then shadow the lines to make yourself closer to this accent.

③ Learn the rules , features and details summarized by linguists and teachers that speak English as fluent as native speakers.

④ Try Ben Franklin Exercise

6. Conclusion

Simultaneous Interpretation is a profession that is full of uncertainty and diversity. Because source information can be really different in topic , data , and accent.

Even if you understand standard foreign languages and you think you have mastered the language, you still can’t cope with those strange and unique accents. So the preparation for different accents is very important. Sometimes an accent can change a language and as an interpreter you need to get familiar with it and make sure you can translate and convey the source information accurately to target audience.

 The circumstance in which accents of source information and target audience are different is quite common. So it’s necessary for interpreters to learn multiple accents of a language.

Different accents reflect different regions’ culture , history ,etc. Learning different accents can be meaningful and interesting! Try our best to enrich our knowledge and strengthen our professional ability while enjoying the variety of accents.

Assignments:

1. What are the three concentric circles of English?

2. List three differences between American Accent and British Accent

3. Recall features of Indian Accent and French Accent.(list one common feature)

4. What is Ben Franklin Exercise?

5. Choose one of your favorite accent , watch a film of this accent and try shadowing the lines.

6. Listen to several clips and guess the speakers’ countries.