As commonly understood, a person's accent refers to the way he or she pronounces words, phrases, and other linguistic features of a language in which such pronunciations differ substantially from what a native speaker of that country or culture might say. Accents are actually features of speech rather than language, but this distinction is rarely made by the general public. Hence, accents are usually considered part of the phonology of a language, a subfield of linguistics that is concerned with the study of the sounds of speech.

Rossina Lippi-Green distinguishes two different kinds of accents: first-language and second-language accents as a matter of fact. First-language accents are associated with native speakers of a language and the different regional varieties that a particular language might have. In this case, the way some people sound may vary depending on the geographical area from which they and their families come. Some people use accents for their social, professional, and economic advantage. First-language accents are also associated with race, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, income, and religion.

These factors often shape social identity and determine the language and accent that people choose to use. Sometimes there is little choice involved. Second language accents are those associated with nonnative learners/speakers of a language, such that their accents often influence the pronunciation of a nonnative or second language.

For instance, a Mexican person's Spanish language phonology will influence his or her pronunciation in English language, and an English person's English language phonology will influence his or her pronunciation in Spanish.

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