小猪佩奇：你想有纯正的英伦发音吗？

Students commonly ask me how they can improve their accents, seeking to speak English like a native speaker. Some students want a British accent, thinking that speaking the Queen’s English may give them more social capital at school or work. Others seek an American accent, thinking they might “fit in” better with contemporary life.

On my last trip to Southeast University in Nanjing, I spoke on the American legal education system and how to improve your English. As I was walking around campus, I met a Peppa Pig mascot. Of course, I took a photo with her and sent it out in my WeChat Friends Moments—only to receive hundreds of “likes” within a very short period of time. 

Who is Peppa Pig?

Peppa Pig is a British preschool animated television series for children 6 and under, featuring Peppa Pig and her adventures with her porcine family and assortment of animal friends. Each episode is approximately 5 minutes long, having its own theme. Many of the themes are bland and inane, like Peppa Pig and her friends jumping in muddy puddles.

Peppa and her friends all speak with a British accent also use quintessentially British vocabulary. Although Americans and British readily understand each other, we sometimes have to adapt when we hear the other’s words. For example, I sometimes take pause when I hear the British “lift” instead of American “elevator.”

In China, we all know Peppa Pig, who has rocketed to stardom as we celebrate this Year of the Pig. Her Chinese New Year video went viral in China, receiving hundreds of millions of views. In the United States, she is one of many television offerings, although probably not as popular as Sesame Street or some of the many other TV shows available for preschoolers.

The Peppa Effect

Peppa Pig has been around for 15 years, but recently caused a bit of a controversy in the United States. Parents were concerned that their young children who watched the show were acquiring a British accent and vocabulary. One American mother was alarmed that her daughter called her “Mummy” (and not “Mom”) and asked to go on “holiday” (rather than on “vacation”).

Called the #PeppaEffect, parents ranged from amused to alarmed about how Peppa Pig caused their children to speak with British accents. As time went on, though, the children lost interest in the show after they entered kindergarten, and their accents went back to normal.

Perhaps you may be thinking that if you watch Peppa Pig for an hour a day, you might speak British English just like her and her friends.  So, if Peppa Pig can influence a preschooler's accent, can she influence yours as well?

Native speaking

An accent is the unique way that speech is pronounced by a group pf people speaking the same language. There are many regional accents, which explains why an individual from Philadelphia is likely to sound different than someone from Texas or London.

Foreign accents come about when non-native speakers substitute their native sounds for a non-equivalent sound in the target language. This results in a difference in stress, rhythm, and intonation between the two languages.

Research has shown that if you begin speaking a language after you are over 3- or 4-years-old, you will probably never acquire a native-like accent in that language. So when Chinese learners ask me if they can speak in English just like me, I tell them they can’t. But that’s not important. The good news is that you can always improve your speaking fluency and pronunciation.

So, even if you watch Peppa Pig for an hour a day, you will most likely still have a Chinese accent when you speak English. But that’s OK. Be proud of your identity, and focus more on the purpose of communicating—to build relationships, share information, and reduce distance. The message is often more important than the accent it is spoken in. Just be yourself.

Rather than focus on accent, I instruct students to reduce critical errors. There are some common errors that Chinese learners of English make, which can cause misunderstandings and communication breakdowns. However, if you work on your pronunciation skills, you can achieve greater fluency and communicative effectiveness.

In my video 5 Tips to Improve Your Spoken English, I share these five ways you can improve your spoken English: 

If Peppa Pig is your choice, focus on a line she says and repeat it exactly as she says it. For example, she frequently says, “I love muddy puddles!” Listen to this line, repeat it, and then try again a few times. When you focus on this one bit of speech, you can try to match her tone and rhythm.

When you are comfortable with this quote, try a longer one, like, “If you are jumping up and down in muddy puddles, you must wear your boots.” Listen, repeat, listen, repeat…  Of course, it’s hard to be tense as you’re repeating these silly lines, so it should be easy to relax as you practice. Over time, you’ll be able to apply these patterns to other parts of your speech.

As you build your confidence with these lines, start to talk with others and tell a story from your own language—like the heartwarming Chinese New Year video where a grandfather in the countryside makes a Peppa Pig figure out of a wood stove blower fan for his grandson.

Be realistic

In the end, your Chinese accent will likely always be a part of your spoken English. Likewise, my American accent will likely be part of my spoken Chinese. It’s the way it is when we learn languages later in life. But really, it’s not the best use of time to try to improve our accents, which is a futile battle anyway. The better approach, I think, it to focus on your pronunciation.

My friend, it is possible to reduce critical errors and improve your pronunciation in English. As you improve your fluency, you will naturally come closer to a native accent, and there will be no need to fret over your own. In the end, your objective is to communicate and build relationships, where your smile and personality will be more important than your accent.