The basic premise is that there is no clear distinction between the term "dialect" and "language". Especially when you hit interesting cases like dialect continuum, which is a bit like a game of telephone. Any two neighboring dialects can generally understand each other, but the further away you get the less that is true. So if you look at the two ends, is that two different languages? Even though you could walk from one to the other and everyone will understand each other?
An accent, on the other hand, is something more intrinsic to how an individual renders sounds. That is, I can speak my native language English with my accent, and I can also speak Spanish with that same accent. For instance, I could use English "r" sound (/ɹ/) instead of the Spanish rolled or tapped "r" sounds (/r/ and /ɾ/). Or I could use English vowel "e" (/ɛ/ or maybe /eɪ/) instead of Spanish vowel "e" (/e/). And so on. "Losing your accent" is basically learning how to render those sounds in a fashion that matches expectations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_language_is_a_dialect_with_a...
The basic premise is that there is no clear distinction between the term "dialect" and "language". Especially when you hit interesting cases like dialect continuum, which is a bit like a game of telephone. Any two neighboring dialects can generally understand each other, but the further away you get the less that is true. So if you look at the two ends, is that two different languages? Even though you could walk from one to the other and everyone will understand each other?
An accent, on the other hand, is something more intrinsic to how an individual renders sounds. That is, I can speak my native language English with my accent, and I can also speak Spanish with that same accent. For instance, I could use English "r" sound (/ɹ/) instead of the Spanish rolled or tapped "r" sounds (/r/ and /ɾ/). Or I could use English vowel "e" (/ɛ/ or maybe /eɪ/) instead of Spanish vowel "e" (/e/). And so on. "Losing your accent" is basically learning how to render those sounds in a fashion that matches expectations.