accent1 nounaccent2 verb
accentac‧cent1 /ˈæksənt $ ˈæksent/ ●●○ noun [countable] 
WORD ORIGINaccent1
Origin:
1500-1600 French, Latin accentus, from ad- ‘to’ + cantus ‘song’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Alex spoke Portuguese with a Brazilian accent.
- Her companion had a broad Australian accent.
- His accent was so strong that I couldn't understand a word he was saying.
- I knew from his accent that he was from the South.
- Maria speaks Spanish with a Mexican accent.
- She spoke with a distinctly upper class accent.
- Anyone with a foreign accent, including refugee children, were labelled as potential saboteurs.
- Are the accents strongly regional and therefore perhaps unfamiliar to your students?
- Her acquired accent sounded suddenly very strong.
- It was the peculiar accent that puzzled me before; it made Alice's words sound garbled, nonsensical.
- Margy comes from Newcastle and speaks with a Geordie accent.
- National regional accents sound very attractive on radio.
- The accent on non sequiturs and non-linear thinking echoes the Ono sensibility and much else in determinedly avant-garde circles.
THESAURUSdifferent kinds of language
a form of a language that is spoken in one area of a country, with different words, grammar, or pronunciation from other areas: · Cantonese is only one of many Chinese dialects.· the local dialect
the way that someone pronounces words, because of where they were born or live, or their social class: · Karen has a strong New Jersey accent.· an upper class accent
very informal spoken language, used especially by people who belong to a particular group, for example young people or criminals: · Teenage slang changes all the time.· ‘Dosh’ is slang for ‘money’.
formal the technical words or expressions that are used in a particular subject: · musical terminology· Patients are often unfamiliar with medical terminology.
especially disapproving words and phrases used in a particular profession or subject and which are difficult for other people to understand: · The instructions were written in complicated technical jargon.· ‘Outsourcing’ is business jargon for sending work to people outside a company to do.· The letter was full of legal jargon.
Longman Language Activatorwhen something is particularly emphasized special attention that is given to a particular activity, subject etc, because it is believed to be more important than other things: emphasis/stress on: · There is a greater emphasis on environmental issues nowadays.put emphasis on something: · The school puts a lot of emphasis on discipline and respect for authority.with the emphasis on something: · an exciting new French course for beginners, with the emphasis on fun
if something is done with the accent on a particular quality or feature, that quality or feature is emphasized - used especially in written descriptions of products and services: · Toptours Travel is now offering numerous special vacation packages with the accent on choice.· a new range of children's toys with the accent on creativity
the way someone speaks the way someone says the words and sounds of a language: · Gianni has problems with his grammar but his pronunciation is very good.
the way someone speaks a language, which shows which country or which part of a country they come from, and that sometimes shows which social class they come from: · Maria speaks Spanish with a Mexican accent.· I knew from his accent that he was from the South.· She spoke with a distinctly upper class accent.a strong/broad accent (=an accent that is easy to notice): · Her companion had a broad Australian accent.· His accent was so strong that I couldn't understand a word he was saying.
the way someone speaks - use this especially when this is affected by illness, drugs etc: · His speech was slurred and he was having trouble standing straight.speech impediment (=a permanent speech problem, which makes it difficult to pronounce particular sounds): · Natalie was born with a slight speech impediment.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRYverbs
Olga speaks English with a thick Russian accent.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE
· The man had a Spanish accent.
· She spoke with an accent that I couldn’t understand.
· During his stay in England, he had picked up an English accent.
(=no longer speak with an accent)· After 9 years in London, Ben had lost his French accent.
(=deliberately speak with a different accent from your usual one)· When Mum’s on the phone, she puts on a funny accent.
ADJECTIVES/NOUN + accent (=very noticeable)· She spoke with a strong Scottish accent.· a broad Australian accent
· He has a very slight accent.
· I noticed that he had a Spanish accent.
· The woman had a Chicago accent.
· I got a call from a man with a foreign accent.
· He spoke with a lovely soft southern accent.
(=from a particular area of a country)· If you have a regional accent, don’t try to hide it.
· Sebastian spoke with an upper-class accent.
British English informal (=an upper-class accent)· a tall man with a posh accent
nouns· I could detect the hint of a German accent in her voice.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES Olga speaks English with a thick Russian accent.· That evening Charlie hardly opened his mouth as he listened to the different accents of the men babbling around him.· I had a different accent and vocabulary.· The strange thing was that he spoke to everybody with a different accent.· Leavis, Lewis, and Gardner shared traditional values, even though Cambridge and Oxford spoke with different accents.· There was a score of different accents and tongues around her as she stood there, but not the one she wanted.
· Anyone with a foreign accent, including refugee children, were labelled as potential saboteurs.· His friends enjoyed his flights into foreign accents and mimicry.· This creates a very strong impression of a foreign accent, and is something that should obviously be avoided.· They're around 30, some victims thought they had foreign accents.· It can apparently recognise an impressive variety of regional and foreign accents.
· In rural areas the heavy regional accents added to the problem.
· In Minnesota and states of the northern Midwest a Scandinavian lilt is apparent in the local accent.· He was wearing a green suit and spoke with a local accent.· Some nights we've company, local accents in the dusk.· Birds even have local accents overlain on the basic language patterns with which they are born.· He has short, dark, spiked hair and speaks with a local accent.
· Worse, I Was a slow runner and had a Northern accent.· You can usually spot Reeves on the programme by his larded-on northern accent.· John, of course, had long since lost his northern accent and took delight in his appearance as the well-heeled businessman.· A car-driving, home-owning, polytechnic lecturer with a fake northern accent, was a bleating guilty liberal, not a socialist.· It was his voice and his northern accent.· He supposed that the man with the Northern actorish accent had given her all the advice she needed.
· National regional accents sound very attractive on radio.· Sure, there were some differences due to regional slang and accents.· Dialects are spoken with pronounced regional accents.· Do not correct any regional accent he may have. 4 Give him time to look at the word.· It can apparently recognise an impressive variety of regional and foreign accents.· In rural areas the heavy regional accents added to the problem.· And heaven forbid that you should be served by some one in a chain coffee house with a regional accent.
· A slight but unmistakable accent suggested that his name was not Leblond.· There had been some sort of slight accent too.
· It was a country voice with a soft accent which was an intonation more than a dialect and was hard to place.· The taxi nosed its way back into the traffic as she introduced herself with a soft Cockney accent and a shy manner.· That was clear from the soft, seductive accent.
· But I pointed out that Sergei's Southern accent had been perfect.· There gas Sam, short for Samanthagray-green eyes and a Southern accent.· The victim was forced to hand over his watch to the youths, who spoke with southern accents.· The Picketts dance deftly, two-stepping through songs not made for a southern accent.· They all have southern accents. 5.
· Not merely that, I was putting my strongest accent on the syllable that wasn't!· Two young men, both slightly overweight, have lost their strong Liver pool accents during their years in the secure units.
· Her immigrant father with his thick mustache and accent and three-piece suit would only bring her more ridicule.· With his thick accent, Lygizos should get a stall in the Sharks locker room.
NOUN· A new girl called Laura is in my class she has a real cockney accent and she's hilarious!· It was Sid, the Commando with the Cockney accent who had worked in the Kent coalfields.· This is characteristic of a Cockney accent.· The taxi nosed its way back into the traffic as she introduced herself with a soft Cockney accent and a shy manner.· Sharp featured, with a Cockney accent and a biting wit, Mr Bowles was a gifted teacher.· The attacker was described as 30 years old with short dark hair, slight build and a Cockney accent.
VERB· I was glad to hear the accent, for it reminded me of my exciting days in Northern Ireland, recounted elsewhere.· As soon as I heard de Niro's accent I laughed.· She heard the various accents and identified them without thinking, Cockney, West Country, and a thick nasal Mancunian.
· John, of course, had long since lost his northern accent and took delight in his appearance as the well-heeled businessman.· Captain Robins was a Yorkshireman in his fifties who had long since lost his accent amidst the welter of a dozen dialects.
· She speaks with a London accent, though her father knows the Royal Family.· Margy comes from Newcastle and speaks with a Geordie accent.· He was wearing a green suit and spoke with a local accent.· Dialects are spoken with pronounced regional accents.· The victim was forced to hand over his watch to the youths, who spoke with southern accents.· She continued: They didn't speak with Oxford accents.
· I am not talking here about accents.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRYPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► mid-Atlantic accent
1the way someone pronounces the words of a language, showing which country or which part of a country they come from: - With the Royal Philharmonic, the accent is on the positive.
- In the word "spoken," the stress falls on the first syllable.
- Not merely that, I was putting my strongest accent on the syllable that wasn't!
He had a strong Irish accent.2the accent is on something if the accent is on a particular quality, feeling etc, special importance is given to it: accommodation with the accent on comfort3the part of a word that you should emphasize when you say it SYN stressaccent on In the word ‘dinner’ the accent is on the first syllable.4a written mark used above or below particular letters in some languages to show how to pronounce that letterCOLLOCATIONSverbshave an accent· The man had a Spanish accent.speak with an accent· She spoke with an accent that I couldn’t understand.pick up an accent· During his stay in England, he had picked up an English accent.lose your accent (=no longer speak with an accent)· After 9 years in London, Ben had lost his French accent.put on an accent (=deliberately speak with a different accent from your usual one)· When Mum’s on the phone, she puts on a funny accent.ADJECTIVES/NOUN + accenta strong/broad/thick/pronounced accent (=very noticeable)· She spoke with a strong Scottish accent.· a broad Australian accenta slight/faint accent· He has a very slight accent.a French/American etc accent· I noticed that he had a Spanish accent.a New York/London etc accent· The woman had a Chicago accent.a foreign accent· I got a call from a man with a foreign accent.a southern/northern accent· He spoke with a lovely soft southern accent.a regional accent (=from a particular area of a country)· If you have a regional accent, don’t try to hide it.an upper-class/middle-class/working-class accent· Sebastian spoke with an upper-class accent.a posh/plummy accent British English informal (=an upper-class accent)· a tall man with a posh accentnounsa hint/trace of an accent· I could detect the hint of a German accent in her voice.accent1 nounaccent2 verb
accentac‧cent2 /əkˈsent $ ˈæksent/ verb [transitive] VERB TABLE
accent
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | accent |
| he, she, it | accents | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | accented |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have accented |
| he, she, it | has accented | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had accented |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will accent |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have accented |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am accenting |
| he, she, it | is accenting | |
| you, we, they | are accenting | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was accenting |
| you, we, they | were accenting | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been accenting |
| he, she, it | has been accenting | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been accenting |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be accenting |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been accenting |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Skillful use of make-up can accent your cheekbones and hide small blemishes.
- The side tables were accented by fresh flower arrangements.
- The opening chase sequence, accenting its violent end, is exhilaratingly choreographed.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES Olga speaks English with a thick Russian accent.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB
Olga speaks English with a thick Russian accent.· All the foreign students sat together in the Student Union, at the same table, exchanging heavily accented platitudes.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► mid-Atlantic accent
1to make something more noticeable so that people will pay attention to it SYN highlight: - In the word "spoken," the stress falls on the first syllable.
- Not merely that, I was putting my strongest accent on the syllable that wasn't!
Use make-up to accent your cheekbones and eyes.2 technical to emphasize a part of a word in speech