He speaks with a Tennessee accent.

[keannu]

I think "a" should be deleted here, as Tennessee accent is a proper noun. What do you think?

kk-21
ex)He speaks with [STRIKE]a[/STRIKE] Tennessee accent.

 

[Barb_D]

Absolutely not.

 

[emsr2d2]

We always use the indefinite article here.

He has an American accent.
She speaks with a strong Australian accent.
Apparently, I have a classic English accent.
You have an Italian accent.

 

[keannu]

What do you mean? Barb said it's not possible, while you say the opposite. I'm confused. Which is true?

 

[Chicken Sandwich]

What do you mean? Barb said it's not possible, while you say the opposite. I'm confused. Which is true?

Barb_D said that it's not possible to omit "a" and emsr2d2 said that you should use an indefinite article. I don't see how they contradict each other.

 

[keannu]

Is "accent" similar to dialect? In terms of regional accents, they are usually unique tones, stress, different words, pronunciations, etc. But can it be regarded same as "dialect"? What do you think?

 

[Chicken Sandwich]

Is "accent" similar to dialect? In terms of regional accents, they are usually unique tones, stress, different words, pronunciations, etc. But can it be regarded same as "dialect"? What do you think?

See https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/...erence-between-dialect-accent.html#post311345

 

[bhaisahab]

Is "accent" similar to dialect? In terms of regional accents, they are usually unique tones, stress, different words, pronunciations, etc. But can it be regarded same as "dialect"? What do you think?

No, an accent is not the same as a dialect.

 

[Tdol]

They may be used casually to mean the same, but they're not.

 

[keannu]

I read the link, and it seems to be saying "accent" is more like pronunciation variation, while "dialect" is more like vocabulary difference, but the distinction is kind of vague. Does it go like this?

1. We have different verb-endings in each region in Korea, some province says "-yo", some "-yoo", some "ye", etc
We call them dialects, but are they accents in English? For example, caught is pronounced as "kɑ:t" in California, but as "kɔ:t" in New York. Are these accents?

2.If they use jub(made-up one by me) is used in Florida, for cot(a baby bed), a totally different word, then is it a dialect?

 

[keannu]

What do you think is the function of "a" here? A note for "belonging to a group" or something? I still can't get it as there is only one Tennessee accent which is unique.

ex) He speaks with a Tennessee accent.

 

[birdeen's call]

I read the link, and it seems to be saying "accent" is more like pronunciation variation, while "dialect" is more like vocabulary difference, but the distinction is kind of vague. Does it go like this?

1. We have different verb-endings in each region in Korea, some province says "-yo", some "-yoo", some "ye", etc
We call them dialects, but are they accents in English? For example, caught is pronounced as "kɑ:t" in California, but as "kɔ:t" in New York. Are these accents?

2.If they use jub(made-up one by me) is used in Florida, for cot(a baby bed), a totally different word, then is it a dialect?

1. Well, it is kind of vague. It's sometimes difficult to say whether something is a different pronunciation of the same word or morpheme, or a different word or morpheme. The dialects of English in California and in New York are very similar in terms of vocabulary. But it's complicated. There are Californians (but also many people outside California), for example, who speak the so-called Valleyspeak. It has a distinctive vocabulary. Californians often pronounce things differently from New Yorkers, but neither of the accents is homogenous. There are plenty of social factors which can make neighbors speak with different accents.

2. Yes, that's the kind of thing dialects often differ in.

The word "dialect" has a broader scope.

 

[keannu]

I've always wondered if you are a native speaker from the UK or Polish.

 

[birdeen's call]

I've always wondered if you are a native speaker from the UK or Polish.

I'm Polish. English is my second language.

 

[SoothingDave]

Yes, pronunciation is "accent" while vocabulary is more "dialect."

Whether you call Coca Cola "soda" or "pop" is dialect. How you say "soda" is accent.

 

[5jj]

A personal note. I consider major dialect/accent groups such as American English (which I would prefer to call US English - Canadian English is different), what is generally known as British English (which would perhaps be better named Standard Southern English English), Scottish English, Irish English etc to be varieties of English. Within each variety there many be many dialects and sub-dialects.

Varieties/dialects differ from each other in any or all of lexis, grammar, pronunciation of phonemes, intonation, etc.

People who speak using the same grammar and lexis, but pronounce one or more of the phonemes in a different way, and/or use different stress/intonation patterns have different accents.

Informally, many people use the word accent when phoneticians would use dialect/variety.

Note that some dialects/varieties have phonemes that do not exist in other dialects/varieies, for example the sounds in Scottish loch, Irish lough, Welsh Llanelli.