Grammar Girl here, I'm in Yon Fog Fog, your friendly guide to the English language.

We talk about writing, history, rules, and other cool stuff.

Today we're going to talk about singers who have accents

and the weird I before E except after C rule. Rule. This first segment is about accents and singing. Now I know we have a lot of

listeners outside the United States so I want to acknowledge that we're taking an American English

approach to this topic to keep the wording simpler. It's not that we don't appreciate you or know that you're

there.

Have you ever wondered where a singer comes from or why they seem to lose their accent when they sing?

How is it that a foreign singer, for example, can have a noticeable accent while speaking,

but then sound American when they sing?

And why do country singers seem to keep their southern twang when they sing. It's a question that's

intrigued both singers and music lovers alike, so let's dive into the linguistic and

sociocultural reasons behind this phenomenon.

One of the most current examples is Adele, who speaks with a strong cockney accent, but sounds

American when she sings.

Other examples include Ed Sheer, Sam Smith,

and even Susan Boyle, runner up on the 2009

season of Britain's Got Talent. It's fair to say that many of us were shocked

when she sang in what sounded like American English on the show after hearing

her heavy Scottish speaking accent.

First, let's look at what an accent is.

Simply speaking, it's how we pronounce a language, and it can be associated with a particular nation, geographic area, ethnic group, or social class.

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