Accent (linguistics)

This article is about the pronunciation characteristic of a particular group of people relative to another group. For the term used to describe a stress on a syllable, see Stress (phonology).

In linguistics, an accent is a pronunciation characteristic of a particular group of people relative to another group. Accent should not be confused with dialect (q.v.), which is a variety of language differing in vocabulary and syntax as well as pronunciation. Dialects are usually spoken by a group united by geography or class.