[General] What's the line between accent and wrong pronunication?

[John_Maddox]

I often hear the theory that so long as intelligibility is achieved, accent is not a problem. I guess wrong pronunication is less tolerable than heavy accent, for the former is corriable and the latter is not. But in terms of intelligibility, thick accent can be as poor as wrong pronunication.

I'm gonna use a short speech given by a Chinese celebrity as an example:
John Maddox?

The degree of comprehensibility of this speech (evidently scripted) is low to me, and I'm wondering which can be categorized as accent or wrong pronunication.

 

[Rover_KE]

What do you mean by 'corriable'?

Please don't use non-standard words like 'gonna'. Say 'going to'.

The man's accent makes his speech hard to understand.

 

[bhaisahab]

I often hear the theory that so long as intelligibility is achieved, accent is not a problem. I guess wrong pronunication is less tolerable than heavy accent, for the former is corriable and the latter is not. But in terms of intelligibility, thick accent can be as poor as wrong pronunication.

I'm gonna use a short speech given by a Chinese celebrity as an example:
John Maddox?

The degree of comprehensibility of this speech (evidently scripted) is low to me, and I'm wondering which can be categorized as accent or wrong pronunication.

Please give correct information in your profile.

 

[MikeNewYork]

I often hear the theory that so long as intelligibility is achieved, accent is not a problem. I guess wrong pronunication is less tolerable than heavy accent, for the former is corriable and the latter is not. But in terms of intelligibility, thick accent can be as poor as wrong pronunication.

I'm gonna use a short speech given by a Chinese celebrity as an example:
John Maddox?

The degree of comprehensibility of this speech (evidently scripted) is low to me, and I'm wondering which can be categorized as accent or wrong pronunication.

My guess is the word that you wanted was corrigible, not corriable. You raise an interesting question. For me, there is not much difference between mispronunciation and accent in many cases. In New York, for example, many people say "ax" instead of "ask" as in "I want to 'ax' you a question". If it is common enough in a region, it could be considered part of the accent, but it also a mispronunciation. Either can be corrected with proper training. There is a great British actor, Hugh Laurie, who has a television show called "House". There is no hint of a British accent in his speech on the television show. The man sounds as if he grew up in Michigan. I chose Michigan because at one point it was considered the part of the US that was accent-neutral. Many singers have heavy accents, but when they sing, the accent disappears.

 

[Raymott]

I agree that it would be difficult to say whether a particular word was incomprehensible because of a bad accent or mispronunciation. But accent generally refers to the whole of speech. So a "bad accent" is simply a concatenation of systematically incorrect pronunciations.
Are you sure a bad accent is not corrigible?

 

[tzfujimino]

In New York, for example, many people say "ax" instead of "ask" as in "I want to 'ax' you a question".

I've always wondered why Billy Joel sings "Don't 'ax' me why."
Billy Joel - Don't Ask Me Why (Live At Tokyo 2006) - YouTube (2:23)
(He might be doing it intentionally.)

 

[Tdol]

The degree of comprehensibility of this speech (evidently scripted) is low to me, and I'm wondering which can be categorized as accent or wrong pronunication.

Can the two be separated that neatly?

 

[MikeNewYork]

I've always wondered why Billy Joel sings "Don't 'ax' me why."
Billy Joel - Don't Ask Me Why (Live At Tokyo 2006) - YouTube (2:23)
(He might be doing it intentionally.)

I don't hear "ax" in that song. He clearly says "ask" As far as I know he is from Long Island. The "ax" thing is more Queens and Brooklyn.

 

[probus]

I've always wondered why Billy Joel sings "Don't 'ax' me why."
Billy Joel - Don't Ask Me Why (Live At Tokyo 2006) - YouTube (2:23)
(He might be doing it intentionally.)

He does it automatically because it is correct in his mother tongue. It is an accepted form in some dialects, including those of Jamaica, West Indies and Brooklyn, New York (which Billy Joel hails from according to a a radio interview I once heard of a distant cousin of his who said they both lived in Brooklyn when they were teenagers).

 

[Tdol]

Some South Asian speakers do it and some regions in the UK too- you'll hear it sometimes in London.

 

[tzfujimino]

I don't hear "ax" in that song. He clearly says "ask" As far as I know he is from Long Island. The "ax" thing is more Queens and Brooklyn.

Well, I'm a big fan of his, and I've listened to the song millions of times, but it (=the part at 2:23 in the video clip above) sounds like "ax" to me.

Here are the lyrics:

All the waiters in your grand cafe
Leave their tables when you blink
Oh, every dog must have his everyday
Every drunk must have his drink
Don't wait for answers
Just take your chances
Don't ask me why

All your life you've had to stand in line
Still you're standing on your feet
Oh, all your choices make you change your mind

Now your calendar's complete
Don't wait for answers
Just take your chances
Don't ask me why

Umm, you can say the human heart is only make-believe
But I am only fighting fire with fire
You are still the victim of the accidents you leave
As sure as I'm a victim of desire

All the servants in your new hotel
Throw their roses at your feet
Oh, fool them all but baby I can tell
You're no stranger to the street
Don't ask for favors
Don't talk to strangers
Don't "ax" me why (This is the part I'm talking about.)

(break)

Yesterday you were an only child
Now your ghosts have gone away
Oh, you can kill them in the classic style
Now you parlez-vous francais
Don't look for answers
You took your chances
Don't ask me why
Don't ask me why

When he comes to that part, he always sings "ax". (Well, it sounds like it to me.)
And that's why I said "he might be doing it intentionally."

Here's another clip from Youtube: Billy Joel - Don't Ask Me Why - YouTube
(Please listen carefully at 2:12)