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 SAE stands for "Standard American English." It is a variety (a.k.a dialect) of English used by speakers in TV, radio, film, technology, public service, and more; for example, the voices for "Siri" and "Alexa" both speak with SAE. Though it is often mistakenly seen as "unaccented" or "ideal English," it is nothing of the sort. Everyone speaks with an accent or dialect, and no one type is better or more correct than another. 

At Connections: Speech and Language Therapy, we believe that dialectal diversity is something to celebrate and, most importantly, that accents are a natural part of language and NOT the result of a speech or language disorder. That said, individuals who are unhappy with their accents might desire to learn how to speak differently. With the help of a speech-language pathologist, they can learn to speak Standard American English as a second dialect, one they can turn on and off at will, using a strategy called code-switching. Learning to code-switch can be a beneficial skill for: 

• Individuals who feel their speech is difficult to understand or who frequently need to repeat themselves
• Individuals who experience, or fear, negative reactions to their accent or dialect
• Professionals who want to communicate better at work or feel that their way of speaking hinders their career
• Individuals who work in the entertainment industry such as actors, voice actors, news anchors, radio and podcast hosts, sports announcers, and more

If you are interested in learning more about dialect training and how it can help your communication, click the link below to contact our speech-language pathologist: