Everyone has an accent

Abstract

In this paper, we consider how the notion "accent" in particular in the context of "accented speech" has been discussed in Interspeech publications between 2004 and 2022. We contrast the way speech technology research published in the conference has conceptualised these terms with their usage in linguistics. The point of this comparison is to: highlight significant inter-disciplinary differences in the way apparently core terms are used, discuss disadvantages of using inexact language in research, and encourage researchers to be more mindful about the use of particular short-hands.