This month, many news outlets were focused on Frank Sinatra, "Ol' Blue Eyes," on the 100th anniversary of his birth. His vocalizations revolutionized the music of his time. As many of us here in New Jersey realize, Frank was born, raised, and began his career in Hoboken. Earlier this month, the Star-Ledger retrospective by John Farmer highlighted the interesting fact that when Sinatra left Hoboken, he did NOT bring the distinctive regional accent of Hudson County/northern New Jersey with him. It is a little known fact that, while living in Hoboken, Frank took elocution lessons to neutralize the strong accent of Hudson County. The elocution lessons of the time bear close resemblance to today's accent reduction coaching.
There are situations when regional American accents can be as limiting to career progress as a heavy foreign accent. A heavy New York metropolitan area accent, whether from Brooklyn, Long Island, the Bronx, or (yes) even Hoboken can be difficult for a listener from a different geography to understand. Regional accents, due to pronunciation and the use of different words having different meanings, can have a negative impact on your 'vocal image' and style. Frank understood this and took matters into his own hands. He made an investment in the improvement of his speech, and the rest is history. Think of how different many classic Sinatra ballads would sound if he had taken his northern New Jersey accent with him when he launched his career.
Is your accent holding you back? Are you worth the investment in yourself to improve YOUR vocal image? We can help. Contact us for details!
Short-term Spanish courses are designed to remove language barriers in the workplace. They provide solutions to challenges faced by supervisors and plant managers whose workers' first language is Spanish. Learn only what you need quickly and easily in a short, highly customized course with little or no grammar.
Wishing you a happy and safe holiday season.
Sharlene Vichness, President
and the Language Directions Team
NOTE
We are always looking for qualified instructors who are bilingual in English any other languages, or who can teach ESL.
