I agree that being introduced to additional languages at an early age often leads to accent free speaking, there are other ways.
I was trained by the government as a linguist and found that study of French phonetics helped me minimize my accent. Had I then immersed myself in that language, I could have at least hidden my America English roots. A fellow linguist did, but he lived and taught in France for 10 years.
I have also known several business people (German and Japanese) who took extensive training in what is termed “accent reduction” (see the Wiki) which focuses on phonetics, intonation, stress and rhythm. If you can master the differences between them in a new language and your native language, you can speak nearly accent free.
Voice coaches in the entertainment industry use similar techniques.
I suppose it depends on the speaker’s training. I knew lots of English speaking German nationals who had a distinct “Oxbridge” accent and no trace of the problem Germans often encountered with “th” and “v”. I knew an American with a horrible North Texas accent who went through the Armed Forces Language School and came out speaking German with a Hamburg accent that fooled Germans.
Remembering more people now. Two Thais I have been acquainted with attended Harvard University and came from wealthy families. (One is the son of a general and holds a rather key position with the opposition Democrat Party at the moment.) If you spoke with them on the phone and did not know who they were, you could be forgiven for thinking you were talking to some white-bread Americans. Again, family fortune seems to play a part.
Yeah, I’ve met a few Dutch people while traveling that I would’ve thought they were American. I asked one in particular if he had spent much time in America. He said, no, but he watched a lot of American movies and TV.
This has become the norm to the extent that it is incorporated into the school system, informally.
I’m tutoring a girl right now who is very bright, I would say gifted, and hard-working. It took me forever to work out why she was failing English. Then finally I understood: she hadn’t watched enough tv. Literally.
It’s become the norm so much that it is simply expected. You are taught some stuff at school, but tests don’t reflect just what you learn at school. You’re presumed to have a far wider vocabulary than just what the text book offers, and the level expected of students reflects daily usage, not two classes a week. By learning a little in class and then having that reinforced for a few hours every day, students learn at a very fast pace and to a very high level. I don’t think there is any other school subject that works the same way.
Her level is the level that would allow her to pass French, but not English. Just because she doesn’t watch television! So wrote to her mum that her homework really is to watch lots of Friends!
Schmeichel is miles away from a Manc accent, just sounds like a Danish bloke speaking English (unsurprisingly). Nowhere near native sounding.
Molby OTOH has a pretty authentic Scouse accent to my ears. I can clearly tell the difference, because I’m from Liverpool, but it’s quite subtle. Be surprised if folk from other parts of the UK would pick up on this.
