Neutral Accent: A Perspective

An accent the world understands

Neutral Pronunciation: The standardization of English pronunciation for communication with the majority of the audience. This is accomplished through the study and knowledge of neutral pronunciation of English, one that is free of regionalisms and that conforms to the norms of the theatrical stage and public usage - that is, the pronunciation of news broadcasters, television actors and national mass media performers.

Neutral English: This is not to imply that neutral pronunciation has greater merit than any of the regional dialects. It is also a dialect, but one without any regionalisms. It is, however, the dialect that is used by trained speakers and performers for public usage. The way we speak English regionally is part of our personal identity. It is something that should be used and mentioned in our everyday speech. However, when we are speaking or performing in a public forum, neutral English should be used, so as to erase regional barriers and communicate effectively with the most people. - Kathryn LaBouff

'A CCA(Call Center Associate) would have to be a good listener and cultivate a neutral accent'.

An actor's job is to be neutral, to be a tabula rasa, and a little kid who wants to be an actor starts learning that right away. Actors may want to sound more neutral.

Gone are the days when call centres required candidates to sound like Brad Pitt or Julia Roberts. The stress now is on a neutral accent that can be understood globally.

A neutral accent, according to Ashish Gupta, CEO from a call centre training institute, is one that removes "regional biases".

But when it was time for them to talk, they spoke in American English, in an accent nearing what is known in the call center industry as the Holy Grail: the neutral accent.

IT, BPO FIRMS ON SAME HEAD-HUNT (IT sector is gauging candidates on voice clarity, neutral accent, fluency and grammar).

It is called, in rather Orwellian fashion, "voice and accent neutralisation". "When I was training I was told to adopt a neutral accent, like the BBC news presenters," says Gaurav, whose mother tongue is Hindi, but who learned English from kindergarten and thus needs little coaching.

Voice and accent training: The objective of the trainer is to improve the speech and diction of the trainees and help them develop a 'global, neutral accent'.

A neutral accent is important, as you would be interacting with a global customer base. A heavy regional accent may hinder comprehension.

A neutral accent is safe; you can't offend anyone with it. ... What is popularly known in current parlance as 'neutral accent', a diction devoid of mother tongue influence is a primary requirement.

IBM teaches English skills in India: The focus of the software is on building English speaking skills in a neutral accent that will be universally understood, Verma said.

Why should an employee at a call centre try and develop a British or American accent to her English, or in the least develop a `neutral accent'?

So, having a neutral accent allows an employee the flexibility of switching from an American client to a British one and vice-versa.

Professionals were supposed to speak with a "neutral accent."

Accent neutralisation means achieving an accent that is 'neutral' and therefore understandable to a global audience. ...

"A neutral accent, one that doesn't betray where you come from, is still very necessary," says Henderson

Although anonymous voice actors are paid for their services, even the biggest stars generally donate their time --and that's what they were looking for in this case -- some sort of neutral accent that could be understood ...

Having an accent can be OK, just as long as everyone else around you has the same one. But accents really can be a problem if your job depends on ... Much like broadcast journalists, actors must replace their accents with the "neutral speech" pattern

Accent-neutral is the sound of a coming media culture.

Actors nowadays are making a conscious effort to eliminate these accents. In addition, it is vital that actors speak neutral.

Acting & Dubbing: A central element is speaking a "neutral" accent, free of regional accent. The actor who is dubbing has to merge vocally, temperamentally, and emotionally with the actor onscreen. "The lip-synching is a very big challenge. The timing has to be precise. But one of the most important things is the script, which has to be translated and adapted to lip-synch."

The neutral accent is comprehensible to everyone. In that, there's no regional stereotype to obscure the meaning of the lines.

The accent characteristic of most of the Midwest is considered by many to be "standard" American English. This accent is preferred by many national radio and television broadcasters. This may have started because many prominent broadcast personalities – such as Walter Cronkite, Johnny Carson, David Letterman, Tom Brokaw, John Madden, Rush Limbaugh and Casey Kasem – came from this region and so created this perception. A November 1998 National Geographic article attributed the high number of telemarketing firms in Omaha to the "neutral accents" of the area's inhabitants.

In American English the neutral accent is usually " (Emerging)General American English" and occasionally "Network English" and Broadcaster English." In British English, the neutral accent would be RP (or Received Pronunciation) based primarily on the upper middle-class speech of London.