If you speak with the "r" more drawn, we know that you are from the center-west of Brazil; if you squeak the “s” of the sentences, knowmox that you are from Rio. All its interjections and grammatical structures denounce its origin. Having an accent is having an “identity” in speech, in addition to being a sign of belonging.
However, I bet you know one, two – or more! – people who have lost their accent throughout their lives. Either for professional purposes (as is the case of some artists or journalists) or because they moved to another state or country and living together undid this characteristic of speech.
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For example, a person from Goiás leaves his home state and moves to São Paulo to work. For sure, when I get back to Goiaswill bring with it several mannerisms from São Paulo: abbreviating people's names with just the first syllable, will turn the drawn “r” into a drier “r” and should also add specific slang to your phrases.
But why does this happen? Continue reading and find out.
The accent is intrinsically linked to a person's sense of identity and their belonging to a social group, point out speech scholars. This is something rooted in the core of our being. After all, even before we are born, we are already exposed to the way people talk around us.
In fact, studies with newborns have shown that even crying has a certain accent.
As we grow, consciously and unconsciously, we incorporate the mannerisms of the environment in which we live in our speech. In addition to the region where we live, social class, schooling and particular interests also influence the way we talk.
Let's take the example of the man from Goiás who moved to the jungle of stone at the beginning of this article. Changes in your accent may be due to a need or desire to be more clearly understood and/or accepted in the new city you live in.
There is, even if unconsciously, a fear of “ridiculousness”. According to experts (via The Conversation.com) change is linked to a desire to belong.
However, for some people to lose the accent It's a Herculean job. That's because the way you speak is a way of remembering where you came from. So losing him is an affront and, in a way, denying his roots.
According to The Conversation, in some cases – such as brain damage or a cerebrovascular accident (stroke) – a person can develop foreign accent syndrome. It is the result of physical damage to the brain, to the regions that control speech.
The condition causes people to lose the ability to make changes to the way they speak.
Source: The Conversation
Graduated in Social Communication at the Federal University of Goiás. Passionate about digital media, pop culture, technology, politics and psychoanalysis.