What Derek Sivers thinks about language learning
Founded CD Baby in 1998 and sold it in 2008, giving the proceeds to a charitable trust for music education. Since then a writer and speaker: five books, 550+ articles, and a site at sive.rs he hand-codes and keeps free of advertising.
Everything they publish, on ppll ↗
Derek Sivers did not write this page.
We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.
2 dated positions, 2008, in their own words. Our reading of what Derek Sivers has said — not written or endorsed by them.
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Our readingKeeping a foreign accent is a choice about who you are, not a limit on what you can hear or say.
Their wordsThis guy may be in France, but obviously holds strongly to his identity as an American, so he’ll say the words correctly, but keep the American twang that he knows as his voice.
↗Are foreign accents a reflection of identity?sive.rs 1st of 2 in this piece
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Our readingThe first thing to do in a new language is to imitate its accent completely, before the words.
Their wordsBut it seems the first thing I’d want to do when first learning a new language is to imitate the accent completely, to get that sound in my mouth, to sound as native as I can.
↗Are foreign accents a reflection of identity?sive.rs 2nd of 2 in this piece