{"id":3800,"date":"2025-02-22T15:34:24","date_gmt":"2025-02-22T15:34:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?p=3800"},"modified":"2025-02-22T16:04:28","modified_gmt":"2025-02-22T16:04:28","slug":"adventures-in-etymology-accents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?p=3800","title":{"rendered":"Adventures in Etymology &#8211; Accents"},"content":{"rendered":"<div itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/AudioObject\"><meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"Adventures in Etymology &amp;#8211; Accents\" \/><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2025-02-22T15:34:24+00:00\" \/><meta itemprop=\"encodingFormat\" content=\"audio\/mpeg\" \/><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"PT2M18S\" \/><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"In this Adventure in Etymology, we find what the word accent has to do with singing.\n\n\n\nAn accent [\u02c8ak.s\u0259nt \/ \u02c8\u00e6k.s\u025bnt] is:\n\n\nThe way in which people in a particular area, country, or social group pronounce words.\nA mark written or printed over a let...\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/accent.mp3\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"2.4\" \/><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_5874\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-3800-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/accent.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/accent.mp3\">https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/accent.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/accent.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?powerpress_pinw=3800-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/accent.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"accent.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p><p>In this Adventure in Etymology, we find what the word <strong>accent<\/strong> has to do with <strong>singing<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/images\/videos\/accents.jpg\" width=\"630\" height=\"354\" alt=\"Adventures in Etymology - Accents\" \/><\/p>\n<p>An <strong>accent<\/strong> [\u02c8ak.s\u0259nt \/ \u02c8\u00e6k.s\u025bnt] is:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The way in which people in a particular area, country, or social group pronounce words.<\/li>\n<li>A mark written or printed over a letter to show how to pronounce it.<\/li>\n<li>A special emphasis given to a particular syllable in a word, word in a sentence, or note in a set of musical notes. [<a href=\"https:\/\/dictionary.cambridge.org\/dictionary\/english\/accent\">source<\/a> &#8211; <em>other meanings are available<\/em>]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It comes from Middle English <em>accent<\/em> (accent, modulation), from Latin <em>accentus<\/em>  (a blast, signal, accent, tone), from <em>accin\u014d \/ accan\u014d<\/em> (to sing to), from <em>ad<\/em> (to[wards]), and <em>can\u014d<\/em> (to sing, recite, sound), a calque of Ancient Greek <em>\u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c3\u1ff3\u03b4\u03af\u03b1<\/em> (pros\u014did\u00eda &#8211; song sung to music; pronunciation of syllable), from <em>\u03c0\u03c1\u03cc\u03c2<\/em> (pr\u00f3s &#8211; to) and <em>\u1fa0\u03b4\u03ae<\/em> (\u014did\u1e17 &#8211; song) [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/accent#English\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>Words for <strong>accent<\/strong> in many other languages come from the same roots, as do the words <strong>chant<\/strong>, <strong>descant<\/strong>, <strong>enchant<\/strong>, <strong>incant<\/strong> and <strong>hen<\/strong> in English, <strong>canu<\/strong> (to sing, intone, chant) in Welsh, <strong>can<\/strong> (to say) in Scottish Gaelic, <strong>cicogna<\/strong> (stork) in Spanish, <strong>k\u00e1n\u011b <\/strong> (buzzard) in Czech, and <strong>\u062e\u0648\u0627\u0646\u0652\u062f\u064e\u0646<\/strong> (x\u00e2ndan &#8211; to read, recite, sing, study) in Persian [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/cano#Latin\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>Incidentally, the Ancient Greek word <strong>\u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c3\u1ff3\u03b4\u03af\u03b1<\/strong>  (pros\u014did\u00eda &#8211; song sung to music; pronunciation of syllable) is the root (via Middle French and Latin) of the English word <strong>prosody<\/strong>, which is study of rhythm, intonation, stress, and related attributes in speech, or the study of the patterns of sounds and rhythms in poetry [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/prosody#English\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>You might believe that you don&#8217;t have an accent, but you do. We all do. You might think that because you sound similar to most people around you, you don&#8217;t have an accent, while people from elsewhere do. From their perspective, it&#8217;s you that has an accent. I have a bit of a wandering accent that changes depending on who I&#8217;ve been listening and\/or talking to.<\/p>\n<p>You can also listen to this podcast on: <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/gb\/podcast\/radio-omniglot\/id1432641094\">Apple Podcasts<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/music.amazon.com\/podcasts\/8b1b1d1b-b39e-4277-b28d-479a3b5043b3\/radio-omniglot\">Amazon Music<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/tunein.com\/podcasts\/Education-Podcasts\/Radio-Omniglot-p1154145\/\">TuneIn<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.podchaser.com\/podcasts\/radio-omniglot-716327\">Podchaser<\/a>, <a href=\"<a href=\"https:\/\/podbay.fm\/p\/radio-omniglot\">Podbay<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/podtail.com\/da\/podcast\/radio-omniglot\/\">Podtail<\/a> and other pod places.<\/p>\n<p>If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/uk\/cgi-bin\/webscr?cmd=_flow&amp;SESSION=aLjPfXL-vP_1gQ_U23Iz8_hSWLlhzLHPMFZrt32dIEfG8htoNFLYaPoWkv8&amp;dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1f8e263663d3faee8def8934b92a630e40b7fef61ab7e9fe63\">PayPal<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/omniglot\">Patreon<\/a>, or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/donations.htm\">contribute to Omniglot in other ways<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with <a href=\"https:\/\/blubrry.com\/services\/podcast-hosting\/?code=omniglot\">Blubrry Podcast Hosting<\/a>, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code <strong>omniglot<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.japanesepod101.com\/member\/go.php?r=759259&amp;i=b0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/images\/banners\/banner_japanesepod.jpg\" alt=\"The Fastest Way to Learn Japanese Guaranteed with JapanesePod101.com\" width=\"630\" height=\"83\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/\">Omniglot Blog<\/a>, and I explore etymological connections between Celtic languages on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/\">Celtiadur<\/a> blog.<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/my.kualo.com\/uk\/go\/00572\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.kualo.com\/rewards\/uk-unlimited-728x90.gif\" width=\"728\" height=\"90\" border=\"0\"\nalt=\"Unlimited Web Hosting - Kualo\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/AudioObject\"><meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"Adventures in Etymology &amp;#8211; Accents\" \/><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2025-02-22T15:34:24+00:00\" \/><meta itemprop=\"encodingFormat\" content=\"audio\/mpeg\" \/><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"PT2M18S\" \/><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"In this Adventure in Etymology, we find what the word accent has to do with singing.\n\n\n\nAn accent [\u02c8ak.s\u0259nt \/ \u02c8\u00e6k.s\u025bnt] is:\n\n\nThe way in which people in a particular area, country, or social group pronounce words.\nA mark written or printed over a let...\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/accent.mp3\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"2.4\" \/><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_5875\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-3800-2\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/accent.mp3?_=2\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/accent.mp3\">https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/accent.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/accent.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?powerpress_pinw=3800-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/accent.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"accent.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p><p>In this Adventure in Etymology, we find what the word accent has to do with singing. An accent [\u02c8ak.s\u0259nt \/ \u02c8\u00e6k.s\u025bnt] is: The way in which people in a particular area, country, or social group pronounce words. A mark written or printed over a letter to show how to pronounce it. A special emphasis given [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[98,97,20,56,4,50,58,11,157,1,5,28,7],"tags":[211,213,90,9,167,15,88,8,212,103],"class_list":["post-3800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventures-in-etymology","category-ancient-greek-","category-english","category-etymology","category-language","category-latin","category-middle-english","category-music","category-persian-farsi-","category-podcast","category-scottish-gaelic","category-spanish","category-welsh","tag-accent","tag-accents","tag-etymology","tag-language","tag-linguistics","tag-music","tag-omniglot","tag-podcast","tag-prosody","tag-words"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3800"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3800\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3803,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3800\/revisions\/3803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}