Did you know? In early 90s, foreign language accent syndrome usually results from a stroke, but can also develop from head trauma, migraines or developmental problems.
However in the days where more people have the means and opportunity to travel abroad, be it to further their studies or to visit friends and family members overseas, it seems like they often come back with an astounding accent. Even if they only went for two weeks.
As it turns out, according to a study by AsapSCIENCE, the sweet spot for genuinely picking up a new accent is by six years old, making it virtually impossible to adopt a foreign accent after a person turns 12. That means, if your local friend moved to England as a teenager or older, he or she will actually be speaking like the posh Brits with a Malaysian accent.
Watch this video to find out more:
Nonetheless, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with improvising and brushing up on your oral skills especially in English.
The accent imitation aspect of the chameleon effect has its own unique advantages as well, where various studies in accents have shown that imitating an accent subconsciously is actually one way to get your meaning across smoothly, which is a pretty crucial part of any social interaction. (As long as you don’t sound pretentious!)
P/S: We’re not throwing shade at anyone, this article is simply for educational purposes 🙂
