Everyone Struggles with Their Identity Essay

Identity is an intrinsic idea of one’s life. Whilst there are no certainties, the struggle of identity often happens, and the conflicts may depend on the individual himself. The conflict may occur due to various factors in one’s identities including their sexual orientations, skin colour and religious background. These variables may cause noticeable damages to one’s mentality and psychology, and hence lead the individual to struggle with who they are. Individuals with homosexual preferences often experience conflicts in terms of their identities. Homosexuality is considered wrong by part of the society because the majority- heterosexual human beings- partially as a result of religious influences over the past centuries due to the mass control the several religious convictions had over the human’s civilisation as a whole, sees homosexuality as breaching the norm of the social order. Homosexual individuals often try to avoid the controversy caused by confessing their sexual preferences, as ignorant people often judge them by being different to the society. In ‘The First Kiss’ written by Lian Low, Lian was a typical example of homosexual individuals struggling with their identities. She has failed to embrace the fact that she was interested in women instead of men during her teenage years. ‘‘You’re not the L-word, are you? ’ Of course I denied it. ’ She didn’t want her ‘Malaysian Christian friends’ or ‘badminton buddies’ to judge her by her sexuality which caused a conflict throughout her high school life. Lian has been in a conflict between whether she should confess her sexual preference to her loved ones, or just pretending to be interested in men like all her peers. Like Lian, some homosexual individuals may have same issues as Lian faced and struggled in the same way with their character as she did. Although homosexuality causes a lot of people to struggle with their identity, the damage caused by racism due to diverse skin colours is worse. As a result of historical factors, coloured races are often ignorantly considered inferior to Caucasian people, especially those with white skin throughout the world. Examples such as the 2005 Cronulla riots in Australia, a racial conflict involving Middle East Appearance, show that until today, people with coloured skins are still targets of racism due to bigotry and conservatism. In the movie ‘Skin’, Sandra Laing has been struggling to figure out whether she was a ‘black’ or ‘white’ throughout her school life which can be shown when she said to her maid, ‘Am I black? ’ Sandra has been discriminated for her skin colour all through her tragic life. From her primary school classmates calling her ‘monkey’, the boy she went for a ‘date’ with saying, ‘you don’t have to feel bad for looking like a coloured person’, finally to her husband Pietrus who said ‘her skin is a curse’. Sandra’s miserable life was a classic situation of a coloured person in the last century. She has been exploring her identity throughout the entire film including a change of skin colour identification twice, before she finally defined herself as nobody else but her children’s mother. Under the influence of bias opinions over coloured appearance individuals, for instance the apartheid system in South Africa, a vast amount of people are possibly undergoing similar conditions as Sandra, persevering to figure out there true identity. Besides racism, a personal choice of approach to an event, one’s cultural background can also possibly cause struggle to their identity. As the modern society involves more immigrants changing their nationalities, children in recent generations may have multiple identities in terms of where they are from, and has become a social norm for the new decade. For instance, the Australian-born-Chinese people, also known as ‘ABC’ in general, has developed into a stereotype or even a race over the history of Chinese immigrating into Australia since the gold rush. However, it is difficult for these immigrant’s offspring to relate to their family’s culture as they may not have had any type of interaction with it. In the short story ‘Sticks and Stones and Such’ written by Sunil Badami, Sunil failed to understand the meaning of his name due to the lack of understanding to the Indian naming culture, was however conscious of his peers not pronouncing his name correctly, which further led him into obstacles of fitting into his friends’ groups and referring himself as ‘Neil’. These immigrant’s offspring may even find it challenging to answer questions like, ‘where are you from? Using the ‘ABC’s as an example, should they answer Australia, where they have grown up in, or China, where their parents are from? According to a survey done by the Herald Sun in January, 77% of the participants answered ‘I don’t know’. The result has portrayed the difficulty of self-identification by ‘ABC’ racial groups, which also may apply to various societies with similar cultural conditions. Despite the main causes of identity struggling mentioned above, every individual in the human’s society will somehow doubt their identities in their own manner, including you and me. Let us think back together, have we ever felt left out in a group of people? Did we question ourselves on sporting fields when we had a bad game? Did we ever think why are we even born in this world? The answer is yes. We have all questioned ourselves at some stage throughout our lives. It isn’t something to be ashamed of. By doubting ourselves, we can revise what actions have we done wrong, it is a motivation for ourselves to do better in all areas, with the ultimate goal to not doubt ourselves ever again-noting it isn’t possible. One’s identity is intrinsic to the individual. Without the desire to explore their own identities, human beings are not very different compared to beasts like monkeys or chimpanzees. Although some particular individuals may experience conflict in their process of discovering their identities, but please note, a perfect elite in all areas only exist in fairy tales. As an ordinary human being like everybody else, I would like to say, ‘please keep on questioning yourself’.

The Double Ten Day Holiday in China

The Double Ten Day Holiday in China Double Ten Day (é›™å  Ã§ ¯â‚¬) is celebrated yearly on October 10. Double Ten Day is the anniversary of the Wuchang Uprising (æ ­ ¦Ã¦ËœÅ'è µ ·Ã§ ¾ ©), a revolt that led to a declaration of independence from the central government by Wuchang and several other provinces in China in 1911. The Wuchang Uprising led to the Xinhai Revolution (è ¾â€ºÃ¤ º ¥Ã©  ©Ã¥â€˜ ½) in which revolutionary forces overthrew the Qing Dynasty, ending more than 2,000 years of dynastic rule in China and ushering in the Republican Era (1911 to 1949). The revolutionaries were upset over government corruption, the encroachment of foreign countries into China, and resentment over Manchu rule over Han Chinese. The Xinhai Revolution ended with Emperor Puyi being ousted from the Forbidden City in 1912. The Xinhai Revolution led to the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC) in January 1912. After World War II, The ROC government lost control of the Chinese mainland to the Chinese Communist Party in the Chinese Civil War (1946 to 1950). In 1949, the ROC government retreated to Taiwan, where its constitution has remained in force to the present day. Who Celebrates Double Ten Day Nearly all Taiwanese have the day off from work on Double Ten Day in Taiwan. In mainland China, Double Ten Day is referred to as the Anniversary of the Wuchang Uprising (æ ­ ¦Ã¦ËœÅ'è µ ·Ã¤ ¹â€°Ã§ º ªÃ¥ ¿ µÃ¦â€" ¥) and memorial celebrations are often held. In Hong Kong, small parades and celebrations are held though they have not been as lavish since the transfer of Hong Kong’s sovereignty from the United Kingdom to China on July 1, 1997. Overseas Chinese living in cities with large Chinatowns also host Double Ten Day parades. How People Celebrate Double Ten Day in Taiwan In Taiwan, Double Ten Day begins with a flag-raising ceremony in front of the Presidential Building. After the flag is raised, the National Anthem of the Republic of China is sung. A parade from the Presidential Building to the Sun Yat-sen Memorial is held. The parade used to be a military parade but now government and civic organizations are included. Afterward, Taiwan’s president gives a speech. The day concludes with fireworks.

10 Best Mobile Apps to Learn English

10 Best Mobile Apps to Learn English 10 Best Mobile Apps to Learn English 10 Best Mobile Apps to Learn English By Ali Hale If you’re learning English as a second language, you might want some extra help and support beyond your regular lessons. Alternatively, you might decide to dispense with lessons altogether and learn from websites or apps. There are loads of great apps out there, whether you want an entire course of tuition or simply a bit of help. Some are free (and all will at least have a free trial), so do try out a few different ones: they all take slightly different approaches, and some are great for specific styles or learning or for different needs. These are ten of the best, ordered alphabetically: #1: Babbel (Android and iOS) Babbel offers bite-sized English lessons, which are connected to one another and work progressively to build up your knowledge. The lessons are engaging and aimed at beginner to intermediate students. Cost: Varies, but if you want to pay monthly, it’s $12.95/month. Pros: Great way to learn the basics, without spending a huge amount of time. Works by getting you to match words to the appropriate images, and will repeat words the next day if you make a mistake (or immediately if you make a mistake more than once). Has lots of conversational language that you’re likely to use in real-life situations. Cons: A bit more expensive than many other alternatives. Free trial is restricted to just one lesson, which you may not feel is enough to get a good sense of whether you’ll get on well with the app or not. #2: Beelinguapp (Android and iOS) This app is designed to help you to read English texts (and to some degree to help you with listening to spoken English). It takes an innovative approach, compared with most other language-learning apps: it shows books and other texts in your native language plus English, side by side, and reads out the English for you too. Cost: Free, but you’ll need to pay for access to many of the longer texts. (You can pay about $1 per text, or $1.99 for monthly membership, or $24.99 to remove all ads and unlock all current and future texts.) Pros:   The audio recordings are from native speakers: they’re not machine-generated. If you want to improve your pronunciation, this is a great and fun way to do so. The texts include novels, but also fairy tales, news stories, and science papers. If you’re studying English literature or other texts, this app could help you feel more confident reading in English. You might even find it helpful if you’re learning to translate from your native language into English, or vice versa. Cons: Pricing plans are a little complex, and it might be tricky to work out the best deal. Focuses on reading comprehension; you may want to pair this with another app to help you with speaking English. #3: BBC Learning English (Android and iOS) The BBC Learning English app simply brings together lots of different lessons into one place. It includes transcripts and quizzes, and you can watch the videos with subtitles. The lessons appear on the app before they arrive on the website, and there’s new content every weekday. Cost: Free, with no ads. Pros: Great way to watch the BBC’s most popular programs aimed at English learners (you can find the full list, and the publishing schedule, on their website here). If you already enjoy the BBC’s content online, this is a handy way to get it on your mobile device. Lessons are short and bite-sized (normally 2 -6 minutes), so they’re easy to take in. There are no ads or â€Å"pro† options: this app is completely free. Cons: The quizzes are scored, but there aren’t other â€Å"game† type elements, so if you’re used to apps like Duolingo, you might find this harder to stick with. Some users reported difficulties with the interface of the newest version of the app. #4: Duolingo (Android and iOS) You’ve almost certainly heard of Duolingo, which can help you learn a large number of languages, including English. It’s designed to be fun (and addictive!) with bite-sized lessons and a system where you earn points for correct answers and â€Å"level up† once you’re doing well enough. You can earn virtual coins, unlock new levels, and see your â€Å"fluency score† rise. Cost: Free, but if you want to remove ads and download courses to use offline, you’ll need to pay for Duolingo plus, which is $6.99/month. Pros: It’s designed to be fun and work like a game, so if you enjoy playing games on your mobile phone, this could be a great way to learn while you’re doing so. The interface is slick and well designed. Many, many people use Duolingo it’s hugely popular around the world and is even used in many classrooms for language learning. Cons: A number of people have criticised it for using unrealistic computer-generated sentences that won’t particularly help you in real life situations. Duolingo is monetized, in part, by selling user translations of web content you may not feel happy about this. #5: FluentU (Android and iOS) FluentU takes a different approach to language learning, using videos sourced for YouTube with captions so you can immerse yourself in hearing and understanding the language. It’s available for a number of other languages as well as English, too. Cost: Free trial, then $30/month (which includes all languages). Pros: It’s easy to use, and you can commit as much or as little time as you want †¦ many videos are just a minute or two long. You can easily pause the video player to look up words or even get example sentences. If you enjoy watching YouTube videos, then this is a great way to do so while also learning English. Cons: No requirement to speak or write the language: this is fine for passive learning but you’ll want to use another app or method to do more active learning. FluentU is expensive compared with other apps, especially if you want to learn just English (rather than several of the other languages included too). #6: Hello English  (Android and iOS) This beginner-friendly app has instructions in your native language (with 22 different languages to choose from here). It’s easy to get started with, and you can select your level of English from â€Å"beginner†, â€Å"intermediate†, or â€Å"advanced†. Cost: Free; the pro version is $59.99/year. You can also make in-app purchases for a wide range of advanced features (e.g. access to live tutors.) Pros: Like many other English-learning apps, it uses features like ranks and levels to keep you motivated. Encourages you to complete lessons and activities each day, which are assigned to you. If you complete all the lessons, you can get bonus coins from extra lessons. Helpline is responsive, even on the free version. Cons: The free version, while extensive, has a lot of ads that you may find quite intrusive. #7: Lingbe  (Android and iOS) Lingbe takes a very different approach to most other language learning apps. Instead of watching videos or matching photos to words, the app connects you with a real native speaker of the language you want to practice (i.e. English). Cost: Free, so long as you’re happy to act as a teacher of your own language too! You can purchase coins to buy minutes to talk with native English speakers. Pros: Really simple to use: press the call button and wait for someone to answer! Great way to practice speaking English if you don’t know any native English speakers. You can use it completely free of charge, so long as you’re willing to reciprocate by talking to people who are learning your language. Cons: Not ideal for complete beginners, as you’ll already need to know at least a bit of English in order to hold a conversation. Only allows voice calls: if you want video calls or the option to text, then try HelloTalk instead. #8: Memrise  (Android and iOS) Memrise is another app with a bit of a difference: it’s a learning platform which has thousands upon thousands of different courses related to language and vocabulary. Most of the courses are created by users, rather than being provided by Memrise itself. Cost: Free (and doesn’t even have ads) at the basic level. You can pay for a Pro version if you want more features, though, which is $9/month. Pros: Loads of courses available †¦ whatever your level and learning style, there’ll be something for you. Uses a â€Å"flashcard† system to help you learn new vocabulary, which is helpful when you’re just beginning to learn English and need to acquire a reasonable amount of new vocabulary. You can even create your own course: teaching English to beginners could be a brilliant way to consolidate your own learning. Cons: There’s not any quality control on courses, so you might need to look through a lot before figuring out which you want to take. Only useful for getting a fairly basic vocabulary: beyond that, you’ll want to move on to another app. #9: MindSnacks: SAT Vocab and Kids’ Vocab  (iOS only) While it’s aimed at US college students rather than people learning English as a second language, mindSnacks is a great app to try out if you’re already reasonably good at English and you want to improve your vocabulary. Like Duolingo, it takes a gaming approach. The SAT Vocab and Kids’ Vocab apps are both fun ones to try. Cost: $4.99 per app (or $19.99 if you want all the MindSnacks apps). Pros: If you’re a native English speaker but want to improve your vocabulary, the Kids’ Vocab and SAT Vocab apps are great ones to try out. There are multiple different games included to keep things interesting as you learn. Fairly cheap compared with some other apps, if you just want to focus on growing your vocabulary. Cons: The Kids’ Vocab app is designed for children, so you might find the interface a bit garish. The free level only gives you access to a small amount of content, so you can’t try it out in any amount of detail before paying. #10: Rosetta Stone  (Android and iOS) Once the most popular language learning software out there, Rosetta Stone has been displaced for many English learners by other software. Many users still find it really useful, though, especially if they’re travelling. The app links with the full version of Rosetta Stone, which isn’t cheap. Cost: Varies, but

Resort and Casino Management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Resort and Casino Management - Case Study Example Sun City Casino Resort is a big casino and entertainment resort that’s located in the northern province of South Africa. Its niche is that it is a resort that attracts people who like going to casinos along with enjoying adventurous trips and great scenic beauty. It is a part of the Sun City chain of hotels that have four different hotels with different themes and attractions. It is located next to the Pilanesberg National Park and is surrounded by natural vegetation and an old inactive volcano. The hotel complex has 2 casinos that provide the visitors the Vegas atmosphere and entertainment. It has 4 luxury hotels that include the fabled Palace of the Lost City, Cascades, Main Hotel and Cabana. The casinos are situated within the complex and are open throughout the year. There are hundreds of slots machines and all the basic and popular table games such as stud poker, Texas Hold’em, blackjack, American roulette and Punto Banco.Apart from its main attraction, it caters t o many other common management characteristics that make it appealing to people. It provides sporting facilities that allow the visitors to play their favorite sports and games. It has a world famous Golf course which hosts â€Å"home of the Sun City Million Dollar Challenge which is an extravagant event and the main attraction for international professional tour calendar every year.Big singing celebrities such as Queen, Black Sabbath, Frank Sinatra and Bryan Adams have performed concerts at the Sun City Super Bowl venue. This is very important for any resort as one of its management functions is to provide customers unique experiences and events that would make their trip memorable and create goodwill for the resort as well. As the services business is all about making the customer happy, Sun City Resortprovides many facilities and rewards for its guests. As Sun City is global and is a part of the Sun International hotel and casino group the guests are eligible for rewards such as the Most Valued Guest program. This program has four different categories which are termed as maroon, silver, gold and platinum. these categories are decided by the no. of loyalty points you have earned as a guest of the Sun

Quality Function Deployment of Dell Company Coursework

Quality Function Deployment of Dell Company - Coursework Example The E-Business unit is in charge of running the company’s website, which is the primary source of order information. The Manufacturing department is also integrated into the production system and takes orders from clients through the primary website. Also, Suppliers have a strong partnership with Dell and this enables them to keep various stock levels of Dell products at different time intervals. There is the Customer Service unit that is outsourced and tries to ensure that customer satisfaction is at its maximum(Spulber, 2007). In the UK, like other parts of the world, Dell operates through online sales. Normally, Dell takes orders from its websites. Through these sites, Dell customers give them specifications of what kind of computer they actually want. For orders that are already in stock, the nearest available supplier ships it to the customer and it should arrive in less than 2 weeks. For customized orders that are not already in stock, the details are sent to the nearest manufacturing department, which assembles it and ships it directly to the client in about two weeks. When the customer receives an order, and s/he has some issues with it, the next point of call is to get in touch with the customer care department and present a complaint. This complaint is transferred to the technical and after-sales unit which gets in touch with the customer either directly or through the customer care and makes the necessary move to rectify the problem(Khosrow-Pour, 2004). This process is illustrated in the diagram below: The main competitors of Dell UK are HP and Acer. These two companies also provide similar products and specialize in the same activities that Dell handles. Although this is done with some differences, they are neck-to-neck with Dell in terms of market share and service delivery.  

Online Higher Education In UAE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Online Higher Education In UAE - Essay Example The study aimed to evaluate on general overview of E learning in UAE learning institutions.Based on the collected data from the UAE students and staffs, the information will assist the institutions to understand on the barriers affecting adaptation of the E learning system. The higher learning institutions can then begin to analyze on how to combat the challenges at their disposal. The institutions can assess the source of the faculty and students’ negative attitudes in order formulate effective measures like online games or training to alleviate the issue. The institutions can also evaluate which course programs or courses have high E learning registrations to expand their acceptability. The UAE government can also utilize the information to assess the challenges students and higher learning institutions face while using the E learning system to formulate ways of promoting its user-ability and popularity within its borders. The system being expensive to implement, the UAE gov ernment can chip in through offering free technical training or subsidies to spearhead its adaptation among higher learning institutions. This paper makes a conclusion that one of the limitations that the study is likely to face is completion irregularities of the online questionnaire. Most of the students and staffs are normally occupied or busy where they may ignore the questionnaires. Some of the questionnaires can also be returned late, hence hindering the research.

Accent Strength And Regional Accents

Accent Strength And Regional Accents At a party one night a visitor from another country remarks that You dont have so strong an accent as your friends. You had previously believed that you had no accent and that you spoke like your friends, but the statement helps you to realize that you carry a regional accent, just like everyone else around you. What explanation could you offer your visitor for why you never realized that fact before and why you really do have an accent just like the one your friends have? What explanation could you offer your visitor for why you never realized that fact before? What explanation could you offer your visitor for why you really do have an accent just like the one your friends have? 1) Why I never realised that: a) I had no accent. b) My accent is not as strong as my friends. c) I have an accent just like one of my friends. WHY I NEVER REALISED THAT I HAD AN ACCENT. Most people dont realize that they have an accent because they are accustom to the pronunciation and rhythm of speech in their country. It sounds normal hearing other Trinidadian speak. Whenever I meet foreigners, it intrigues me to hear their accent and I try to figure out which country they are from. Hearing a foreigners accent sounds strange to me because it is not the norm in my place of abode. Although most people have an accent they do not acknowledge this greatly. We live in a society where mostly everyone speaks and sounds the same, with the exception of foreigners and those with speak difficulties. We always consider the main accent as normal and any other accent as funny or strange. I never realized this because I lived my entire in Trinidad and never travelled or lived abroad where my accent was not the popular. Hearing you speak to me makes me realize that the way I speak CUNNING LINGUISTICS Everyone has an accent. Some readers might think, No shit! Thats obvious! But its not obvious, smart arse. A survey held in Britain in 2005 revealed that 7% of respondents dont believe they have an accent. I would claim that the actual figure is even much higher than that. Were all prisoners of our own culture. Living within a society, were surrounded and bombarded by a majority accent. To us, that accent sounds natural and other accents sound different. Sometimes we confuse the familiar accent as being right, and the different ones as being wrong. It may sound silly, but I never realised I had an accent until I set foot in England at age 25. Having lived in Trinidad for my whole life, to me when Trinis spoke it sounded normal. But in England, as soon as I said something people would look at me. The funny thing too is that I had to learn what my accent sounded like by listening to my other Trini friends, and still I didnt think they had an accent. Then I realised I had to listen to intonations of how Trinidadians spoke. Some people change their accents to blend in. However, I think my accent got even thicker, as my way to hold on to my Caribbean identity, and I revelled in speaking Trinidadian Creole (which is a dialect that was formed by slaves mixing English with their own language, and includes unique words and sayings). People say Trinidadians accent sounds happy. To quote a previous boss, she said it sounded like a lilt. When I speak Standard English people understand it quite well. Like Paull says, it depends on how its delivered; its the slang/ dialect that can confuse people. Ive spoken with Paull, and another Aussie and had no problems understanding them. Seems they understood me quite well also, and our accents are quite different. Ask A Linguist FAQ What is an accent? An accent is a way of pronouncing a language. It is therefore impossible to speak without an accent. Some people may think they do not have an accent. Or you may think that there are other people who do not have an accent. Everyone has an accent. The term accentless is sometimes used (by non-linguists) about people who speak one of the high prestige reference accents (such as General American or, less commonly, RP), which are associated with people from a fairly wide region and with people of high social class. But these are also accents. I will mention them again later in this FAQ. MY ACCENT IS NOT AS STRONG AS MY FRIENDS CUNNING LINGUISTICS Accents dont just vary at the level of nationality (e.g., Aussie) or region (e.g., Boston). They also vary with the individual (e.g., you). Your accent is a fingerprint, a totally unique, distinctive way of talking (linguists call this an idiolect). It isnt fixed though. It can change, with the right combination of influence and interest. Recently, some twit asked me, Why dont you sound American yet? Okay, Ive been in the States for two and a half years now, and my accent now sounds a little different to me. But, by contrast, this difference is generally imperceptible to Americans (and non-linguists). Your accent does leave a Hansel and Gretel-like trail of where youve been. Obviously, it takes awhile for a new accent to kick in. Other factors can influence this process too, whether you want to adopt an accent (convergence) or dont want to adopt it (divergence). Accents are like tracking devices that can reveal where youve been. The field of Forensic Linguistics investigates this area. In August 2005, a militant video of an al-Qaeda fighter was found. A forensic linguist was able to determine several aspects of the fighters identity, that he had been raised in Australia and possibly had parents of Middle Eastern descent. This area is useful in legal cases, especially for identification, transcription and in authenticating recordings. Accent (linguistics) Prestige Certain accents are perceived to carry more prestige in a society than other accents. This is often due to their association with the elite part of society. For example in the United Kingdom, Received Pronunciation of the English language is associated with the traditional upper class. I HAVE AN ACCENT JUST LIKE ONE OF MY FRIENDS CUNNING LINGUISTICS Another twit drives around with a bumper sticker on his SUV proclaiming: Welcome to America. Nowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦speak English or get out! What a funny fuck! This pseudo-patriotic, prejudiced twit has no control over who speaks what and where. This is a dynamic process that he can only witness. American English may be the fastest growing version of Englishà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦but Spanish is the fastest growing language in Americaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ So, accents can reveal our regional origins, but they can also suggest what kind of social circles we move in. Compare the Queen of Englands accent to that of a miner in Yorkshire. Accent can also provide info about your economic background and education. Stop practicing your accentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦I can hear you right now! Accent (linguistics) As human beings spread out into isolated communities, stresses and peculiarities develop. Over time these can develop into identifiable accents. In North America, the interaction of people from many ethnic backgrounds contributed to the formation of the different varieties of North American accents. It is difficult to measure or predict how long it takes an accent to formulate. Accents in the USA, Canada and Australia, for example, developed from the combinations of different accents and languages in various societies, and the effect of this on the various pronunciations of the British settlers, yet North American accents remain more distant, either as a result of time or of external or foreign linguistic interaction, such as the Italian accent. In many cases, the accents of non-English settlers from Great Britain and Ireland affected the accents of the different colonies quite differently. Irish, Scottish and Welsh immigrants had accents which greatly affected the vowel pronunciation of certain areas of Australia and Canada Social factors When a group defines a standard pronunciation, speakers who deviate from it are often said to speak with an accent. People from the United States would speak with an accent from the point of view of an Australian, and vice versa. Accents such as BBC English or General American may sometimes be erroneously designated in their countries of origin as accentless to indicate that they offer no obvious clue to the speakers regional background. Groups sharing an identifiable accent may be defined by any of a wide variety of common traits. An accent may be associated with the region in which its speakers reside (a geographical accent), the socio-economic status of its speakers, their ethnicity, their caste or social class, their first language (when the language in which the accent is heard is not their native language), and so on. Regional accents of English Local accents are part of local dialects. Any dialect of English has unique features in pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. The term accent describes only the first of these, namely, pronunciation. See also: List of dialects of the English language. Non-native speakers of English tend to carry over the intonation and phonemic inventory from their mother tongue into their English speech. For more details see Non-native pronunciations of English. Among native English speakers, many different accents exist. Some regional accents are easily identified by certain characteristics. Further variations are to be found within the regions identified below; for example, towns located less than 10 miles (16 km) from the city of Manchester such as Bolton, Oldham and Salford, each have distinct accents, all of which form the Lancashire accent, yet in extreme cases are different enough to be noticed even by a non-local listener. There is also much room for misunderstanding between people from different regions, as the way one word is pronounced in one accent (for example, petal in American English) will sound like a different word in another accent (for example, pearl in Scottish English). Your accent results from how, where, and when you learned the language you are speaking and it gives impressions about you to other people. People do not have a single fixed accent which is determined by their experiences. We can control the way we speak, and do, both consciously and unconsciously. Most people vary their accent depending on who they are speaking with. We change our accents, often without noticing, as we have new life experiences. How accurate people are in knowing about you from your accent depends not only on the features of your accent, but also on who the listener is, and what they know about the other people who speak with a similar accent to you. Your accent might be one that is associated with people from a particular place (for example, with being from New York, London, or Delhi). Some people might just hear you as simply being from the US, England, or India. Your accent might give the impression that you spoke some other language before the one you are speaking at the moment (you might speak French with an English accent, or English with a Korean accent). Its impossible to speak without conveying some information through your accent. All languages are spoken with several different accents. There is nothing unusual about English. And not everyone who comes from the same place speaks the same: in any place there is a variety of accents. Language changes over time. We get new words, there are grammatical changes, and accents change over time. If you listen to recordings made by people from your own language community 100 years ago, you will hear for yourself that even over that time accents have changed. Try out some of the links from the Spoken Word Archive Group , for example. Why do languages develop different accents? Human nature. In all sorts of ways, we behave like those we mix with. We are members of social groups, and within our social group we like to behave in similar ways and show that we belong. We do this in language as well as in other ways (e.g. what we wear, what we eat). When groups become distinct, the way they speak becomes distinct too. This happens socially and geographically, but is easiest to illustrate by geographical differences. If a single group splits into two (imagine that one half goes to Island A and one half to Island B), then once they have separated, their accents will change over time, but not in the same way, so that after just one generation the accent of Island A will be different from the accent of Island B. If they stay completely separated for centuries, their dialects may become so different that we will start wanting to say they are speaking two different languages. Why are the accents a particular place like they are? Separate development accounts for some accent variation. But sometimes we need to talk about the first generation of speakers of a particular language brought up in a new place. The first children to grow up in a new place are very important. The children who grow up together are a peer group. They want to speak the same as each other to express their group identity. The accent they develop as they go through their childhood will become the basis for the accents of the new place. So where does their accent come from? The first generation of children will draw on the accents of the adults around them, and will create something new. If people move to a new place in groups (as English speakers did to America, Australia and New Zealand) that group usually brings several different accents with them. The children will draw on the mixture of accents they hear and create their own accent out of what they hear. The modern accents of Australia are more similar to London accents of English than to any other accent from England this is probably because the founder generation (in the eighteenth century) had a large component drawn from the poor of London, who were transported to Australia as convicts. The accents of New Zealand are similar to Australian accents because a large proportion of the early English-speaking settlers of New Zealand came from Australia. The mix found in the speech of the settlers of a new place establishes the kind of accent that their children will develop. But the first generation born in the new place will not keep the diversity of their parents generation they will speak with similar accents to the others of their age group. And if the population grows slowly enough, the children will be able to absorb subsequent children into their group, so that even quite large migrations of other groups (such as Irish people into Australia) will not make much difference to the accent of the new place. Most parents know this. If someone from New York (US) marries someone from Glasgow (Scotland, UK), and these two parents raise a child in Leeds (England, UK), that child will not speak like either of the parents, but will speak like the children he (I know of such a child!) is at school with. About Accents By Shiromi Nassreen, eHow Contributor When we hear a voice, one of the first things we might notice is a persons accent, particularly if that accent happens to be different from our own. If we cant see the person, we may even come to conclusions based on the accent. Accents can give us perceptions about a person that are not always accurate, such as how intelligent the person is or how much money he makes. What is an Accent? 1. An accent is the way in which a person pronounces a word in a language. Accents are caused by a number of factors, primarily the region that someone is from, where he learned to speak the language and his social background. However, despite that fact that accents tend to give away information regarding a persons background, accents can be changed. In fact, people will often unknowingly change their accents to fit their current location and social group. Some believe that they dont have an accent because it is a more commonly known accent such as the General American accent or the British Received Pronunciation typically seen on television; however, it is still an accent. The Origin of Accents 2. Accents develop and change naturally over time. However, a primary cause for the changing of an accent is when groups of people migrate to new locations. People will usually speak with the same accent as their peers. This helps to create a group identity. When groups migrate, such as the settlers of North America, they find themselves among a group where a variety of languages and accents is being spoken. The children of that group will draw on the accents spoken around them and develop a new accent. Accents and Development 3. Accents are often developed during childhood. Generally, children often find it easier to pick up accents. If a child whose parents are from England moves to Australia, the child is unlikely to speak with an English accent, speaking instead with the accent of the childs peers. However, should the child as an adult later wish to change her accent, that is also possible. Accents and Social Factors 4. Accents can not only indicate a region that a person is from but also that persons social background. Often certain accents are stereotypically associated with a certain class. British Received Pronunciation is usually associated with the upper class and a well-educated person. According to a study at Bath Spa University, the Brummie accent of Birmingham is thought to be the least intelligent of all the British regional accents studied. However, a person unfamiliar with these stereotypesan American, for examplewould not have the same perceptions of the accent.