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The mission of Triangle Speech Services is to help individuals whose accented speech is difficult to understand, speak English clearly and confidently using "listener friendly" speech patterns. Your speech is your "vocal resume." We can help you sound ... Confident
Articulate
Clear
Dynamic
Successful
"Accent on News," our monthly e-mail newsletter, is designed to provide information and inspiration. See the sign-up box below and click on the "Archives" link to read past issues including "Examining What We Value," "Change Your Mind to Change Your Life" and "The Ideal Client." Our clients tell their own compelling stories. Read one in "The Secret of Soft Power."
Articles by Judith L. Bergman:
"The Linguistic Basis of Foreign Accents" in Communique, Spring 2009 (A publication of The North Carolina Speech, Hearing and Language Association) "Mastering Meaning: Harnessing the Power of American English" is Ms. Bergman's monthly column published in Saathee: A Features Magazine for the South Asian Community of the Carolinas beginning in February 2008. "Accents: Communication Barriers or Cultural Flavors?"
Saathee, June 2005 "Understanding Foreign Accents"
Southern Neighbor, Nov. 2005 "The Sounds of English: Clear Signals or Static?"
Southern Neighbor, Feb. 2006
All Triangle Speech Services staff hold the Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association.
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Linguistic Profiles of Triangle Speech Services' Clients:
- They began learning to understand, read and write English in elementary or middle school.
- They had native-born teachers who spoke accented English.
- Most did not have to speak conversational English until they arrived in the USA.
- Many have doctorate degrees; some were earned from universities in the USA.
- Some with severe accents have been here for a few months; some for 18-20 years.
ALL of our clients reported experiencing frequent "communication breakdowns" in which their spoken messages were not understood.
I'm now more confident. There are now fewer situations where an American asks me to repeat what I've just tried to tell him. Cristina Armas Ph.D., Fulbright Scholar who conducted research in biology at Duke University from 2005 to 2007: Spain, Spanish
FEW of our clients had ever received helpful feedback or corrections of their errors in pronunciation, intonation or grammar.
For over 18 years I (have) lived in the United States and nobody corrected my English pronunciation like Ms. Bergman did. My English speaking has improved tremendously just within three and a half months. Financial Analyst: China, Mandarin
NOT A SINGLE ONE of our clients had ever previously had a systematic analysis or a written report which clearly explained the elements creating his or her foreign accent!!
This course helped me to focus on accurate pronunciation of the key problematic sounds and thereby improve my communicative effectiveness at work. It increased my self-confidence. IT Manager: India, Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati
The accent reduction course has helped my ability to hear sounds that I never noticed before. Physician: Argentina, Spanish
I am aware of the sounds that I was missing. In the beginning I didn't even know they existed. Preschool Teacher: Mexico, Spanish
After taking this class I have a better understanding of my accent and what I need to do to improve. IT Manager: China, Mandarin
Our clients are a cross section of the foreign-born professionals living or studying in the Triangle.
- College professors, a post-doctoral fellow in biology, an MBA candidate, a biochemist, a chemical engineer, electrical engineers, mechanical engineer and an industrial engineer
- Corporate and credit union managers, IT managers, software developers and testers
- Physicians, nurses, nurse educators, a clinical pharmacist, a medical technologist, a dental hygienist
- Market researchers, statisticians
- A journalist, ESL and preschool teachers
- An administrative assistant
Our clients were born in:
- Taiwan, China, Japan, South Korea, Thailand
- India, Nepal, Pakistan, Lebanon, Iran, Israel
- Bosnia, Russia, Spain, Norway, France, Italy
- Philippines, Mexico, Panama, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia,Costa Rica. Dominican Republic, Venezuela
- Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya
Our clients' native languages include:
- Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Korean, Thai
- Telugu, Marathi, Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Punjabi (languages of India), Nepali
- Arabic, Urdu, Farsi, Hebrew
- Bosnian, Russian, Norwegian, French, Italian
- Filipino, Spanish, Portuguese
- Ibo, Dangme, Ga, Twi, Swahili, Kisii (languages of Africa)
Corporate sponsors of individual or group accent reduction training with Triangle Speech Services include:
- Advanced Liquid Logic, Inc.
- Altec Industries, Inc.
- Atex Technologies, Inc.
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina
- C-Bridge Corporation
- Center for Community Self-Help
- Child Care Network ("More At Four" Preschools)
- D. Miller & Associates PA
- Duke University Medical Center
- Duke Hospital
- GlaxoSmithKline
- IBM
- John Deere Company
- Lord Corporation
- Nortel Networks
- Piedmont Biofuels
- Quanta Technology
- Radix, Inc.
- Reichhold Inc.
- Symyx Technologies
- Triangle Orthopaedic Associates P.A.
- Urogenix
Our clients are a talented and linguistically gifted group. Many speak three or more languages fluently. It is our great pleasure to assist them in enhancing their professional careers by improving their oral communication skills in English.
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