Since Kpop has been getting more recognition internationally, there has been an increasing need among budding Kpop stars to be able to converse with fans in English well. Language teachers to the stars in South Korea revealed that many Kpop idols aspire to speak English like BLACKPINK’s Jennie.
In an episode of AYO’s Comment Defenders, Heo Woo Seong – the CEO of JIGOOUH – and Dasom, an English teacher in the company, responded to a query posed by a netizen. JIGOOUH is a company specialising in foreign language services for idols.
The netizen was surprised to learn that there are different types of English accents and asked: “I heard Jennie’s English pronunciation is a dialect. Is that true? New Zealand dialect? I didn’t know there were dialects in English.”
Dasom explained that Jennie has an American and New Zealand accent, while Rose has an Australian accent.
“Each country has a different English accent. Rosé speaks a pretty Australian accent. Jennie’s accent is New Zealand and American. For both New Zealand and Australian accents, you don’t pronounce the last bit clearly. In American accents, ‘war-er.’ In Australian or New Zealand accents, ‘wotah,” said Dasom.
Heo Woo Seong said Jennie speaks English well. Jennie’s fluency in English and her pretty accent is what drew many idols to aspire to speak like her. However, Dasom said that they try to match their students’ accents to one that suits them.
“So a lot of people say to us that they want to speak English like Jennie. We find an accent that suits each member’s character and teach them with different accents,” Dasom explained.
