Changing Accents

Blisterman

I've lived in London for nearly 5 years, and a friend of mine recently commented that it's strange that my accent hasn't changed at all in that time.

Which got me thinking, how come some people change accents very quickly, while others keep accents their whole lives, despite living somewhere else?

I have a friend who went for a 3 week holiday in Australia, and came back, speaking with an Aussie accent for about a month.

On the other extreme, I have another friend, with Irish Parents, who lived in England from when he was born, to when he was about 6 and now lives in Ireland, but still has a very strong English accent, almost 20 years later.

Do people purposefully change their accent? Are some accents easier to keep than others? I've never known an American to lose their accent.

admiralofthefleet

Blisterman wrote: »

I've never known an American to lose their accent.

or canadians. i have a friend from there that i first met in 1992 and he still has a full accent

Wibbs

It depends on the person. I think people with a good ear for mimicry and also people who have a greater need to fit in do this. My dad lived all over the world and a mate once asked him why he kept his Irish accent. His answer; "never found a better one".

Pen1987

Bloke I know went to America with a Dublin accent and came home with a Kerry accent. Work that one out.

javaboy

Has to be done:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZnoP4sUV90

Quazzie

Whenever I am out in a pub or a niteclub where there is loud music and the barman can't hear me, I always put on a Nortern Ireland accent and he understands me perfect.
I'm from the Midlands btw!

Pen1987

javaboy wrote: »

Has to be done:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZnoP4sUV90

Its my favourite football video ever.

gerky

I think it depends on the person but also how and who they interact with, I know someone who's lived in America for 10-15yrs but still has a full Irish accent but the lived, worked and socialised mostly with other Irish.*

On the other hand I know someone who lived in the UK for a few years but worked and went out with English people and picked up a slight accent fairly quick.








*I find it really annoying when someone claims to have travelled the world and gained life experiance by going to somewhere full of Irish people and spends the whole time with other Irish people.

chin_grin

Whenever I'm talking to an absolute pie-ball ("yeh got any chaay-nge", "no saaary bud") I always change my accent. Weird. Maybe it's a defensive thing.

Who knows.

petethebrick

I don't think many people do it on purpose but I could be wrong. I pick up accents very quickly without intending to which resulted in much slagging from mates in younger days. My accent now is a curious mix having lived in several different countries with the result that now some people find it hard to judge where I'm from when first meeting them...........

Frisbee

Changing Accents?

UCD after 'The Hillas' was released.

Since when are there so many Americans here?

Abi

Depends on how linguistically porous you are I think. Of course, you will get the odd idiot.

I switch between Spanish and French and speak with their national brogue. Its easier to be understood if you do.

The reason why American and Canadian accents never really change is because they dont have to do anything with it. Wheras our accent allows us to speak a lot faster, and for the same reason we are often asked to slow down.

Holsten

Weak people change their accents easily.

buynow

Well the listener comes into it as well. You probably won't notice all the words that sound familiar and pick up on the ones that aren't.
So your American or Canadian that has never lost their accent to your ears could very well have changed their accent in the ears of their families at home.
I think people's accents neutralize as they travel and live in other places. If you have a really strong native accent, you are going to loose it more than if you are starting with something neutral.

javaboy

Holsten wrote: »

Weak people change their accents easily.

Or strong people adapt.

Sherifu

Hasn't changed in a year. Doubt it will.

consultech

Holsten wrote: »

Weak people change their accents easily.

I have always thought this - Not necessarily "weak" though, moreover just easily-influenced people. I suppose you could consider yourself them the same thing...

funk-you

I'm from Dublin but lived in London for a few years and now Limerick(Don't ask!) but i've found my accent hasn't changed but has softened. I think it's mainly due to a lot of people not being able to understand what i'm saying so i started speaking more clearly (Mainly in London, I'm the one having trouble understanding down here:pac:).

-Funk

Saruman

My wife is American and does not have a very strong accent. Its enough for someone to think she might be Irish and lived in the US for a while.
If she talks to another American though, she is back to her normal accent.

I find English people have a hard time losing their accent.

Setun

I believe the medical term is W.A.S. (Wandering Accent Syndrome)

Adiboo

admiralofthefleet wrote: »

or canadians. i have a friend from there that i first met in 1992 and he still has a full accent

I'm Canadian, moved here in 1996. If you were to meet me you'd most likely think I was born and raised in Kerry.

My friend on the other hand, an American, moved here the same time as me, and still has his twang.

Snowie

my old man is from liver pool (supports evertan!) grew up a stone throw a way from the stadium had the thickist scouse accent you'd ever here, he went travelling arounf europe did bits of the hippie trail etc... any wya, his accent is unplaceable untill he laughs ... then that thick scouse caccel i heard all my life comes through...

My accent is very similer, irish people say i dont look irish and i dont sound very irish ....

the acent that does get me is when polish people have an alrigh accent hilarious...:D

stovelid

I moved here from Manchester when I was 11, but I lost most of my accent a long time ago. It's pretty neutral now. Funnily enough, it starts to come back a little if I'm over there for a long visit. I think some people just pick up accents more quickly than others.

phasers

I have a horrible American accent as a result of too much TV, but when I'm in school I get this big skanger accent

Latchy

Snow-Monkey wrote: »

my old man is from liver pool (supports evertan!) grew up a stone throw a way from the stadium had the thickist scouse accent you'd ever here, he went travelling arounf europe did bits of the hippie trail etc... any wya, his accent is unplaceable untill he laughs ... then that thick scouse caccel i heard all my life comes through...

My accent is very similer, irish people say i dont look irish and i dont sound very irish ....

the acent that does get me is when polish people have an alrigh accent hilarious...:D

It's the reverse with me .I'm originally from Dublin and living in Liverpool many years now .I meet up in my travels with fellow irishmen/women ie, around Merseyside,Lancashire,London on a regualr basis and apart from a few in London ,almost everybody including myself never lost the accent .Some of thse people would have being over here 30, 40 ,50 years to .

stovelid

latchyco wrote: »

almost everybody including myself never lost the accent .Some of thse people would have being over here 30, 40 ,50 years to .

My da is the same. Preserved his accent for 20+ years in Manchester, whereas my mum's faded quite a bit. He was very immersed in the Irish ex-pat community there, and worked with a lot of Irish on the building sites, so I think that - and a desire to 'stay Irish' - made it easier to keep his accent.

Not saying that's your case, however. I think some people just do lose/pick up accents more quickly than others.

Snowie

latchyco wrote: »

It's the reverse with me .I'm originally from Dublin and living in Liverpool many years now .I meet up in my travels with fellow irishmen/women ie, around Merseyside,Lancashire,London on a regualr basis and apart from a few in London ,almost everybody including myself never lost the accent .Some of thse people would have being over here 30, 40 ,50 years to .

nah its down to the fact that when he was in sweeden denmark people couldnt stand a word he this boohil born scousa was sayin... so he had to change ...

But i must say so my self i can do a dead ringer for a scouse accent ......

Nice peace of skirt dat :D

Call Me Jimmy

Pen1987 wrote: »

Its my favourite football video ever.

It's trow-droppingly good.

Latchy

stovelid wrote: »

My da is the same. Preserved his accent for 20+ years in Manchester, whereas my mum's faded quite a bit. He was very immersed in the Irish ex-pat community there, and worked with a lot of Irish on the building sites, so I think that - and a desire to 'stay Irish' - made it easier to keep his accent.

I think their was and still is a larger Irish ex- pat community in Manchester .A lot who came to liverpool in the previous decades would have moved out into suburbia / Cheshire or further north /south, were ever the work was and settle .

Not saying that's your case, however. I think some people just do lose/pick up accents more quickly than others.

I do remember being a little self concious at first living here , not so much because my Dub accent was strong ,I can do the slang as good as anybody , but just when I spoke people would notice and curious cuz my accent was mellow and not as harsh, although I have no desire to loose it and I preserve my Irishness and accent as much as any Irish person can .

Snow-Monkey wrote: »

nah its down to the fact that when he was in sweeden denmark people couldnt stand a word he this boohil born scousa was sayin... so he had to change ...

But i must say so my self i can do a dead ringer for a scouse accent ......

Nice peace of skirt dat :D

Yeah , like remember Jan Molby at liverpool , jeeze ther was no way you would have thought he was a Dane .

Yenowarrameen loike ?

My two kids have mainly scouse accent , not to harsh with a tint of Dublin in it to

Call Me Jimmy

Frisbee wrote: »

Changing Accents?

UCD after 'The Hillas' was released.

Since when are there so many Americans here?

Christ. That would be the epicenter of hell... like right up Satans hole...

javaboy

javaboy wrote: »

Has to be done:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZnoP4sUV90

Thats priceless, what a tosspot:D

preilly79

Pen1987 wrote: »

Bloke I know went to America with a Dublin accent and came home with a Kerry accent. Work that one out.

When he was in america he realised that he had a very middle of the road accent that nobody identified as Irish, and in an effort to be noticed as Irish put on the Kerry accent? That, and american girls love strong Irish accents and he was dying for a shag

I spend an awful lot of time in america and I've only been asked once or twice.

dlofnep

I think it depends on the person.. Some people are very nervous socially and like to fit in, so I think they sub-conciously slowly alter their accent to fit the surroundings.. I mean, that's how you get your original accent anyways.. By just listening.

My uncle moved to London when he was 18 and is about 56 now. He's lived there for nearly 40 years of his life but still has a mucky Waterford accent. At the same respect I've seen people lose their accents in London in a year.

An Fear Aniar

It depends what accent the voices in your head use. You know? The voices....


.

Latchy

My sister ,like me is Irish ,has lived in Hollond over 30 year and even speaks her English with a Dutch accent which to me is always a bit weird

Michellenman

I pick up accents quite easily, quite embarrassing especially when I was younger not so much now.

A girl I went to school with had such an American accent it was unreal. She'd never lived in America, had any close American relatives, she'd never been there even. People used to assume she was American and she'd correct them and wonder where they got the idea from.

There's a Chinese girl I work with who says things like ''What's da story?'' and ''yeah tanks boss'' but I suppose they're colloquialisms more than anything.

chosen1

Ever notice that teachers teaching French often speak English with a French twang. know a good few examples of this

Latchy

i do know of one Liverpool girl who worked in a Dublin bank for several years and I assumed on meeting her she was a dubliner ,she had picked up the accent so well .

dlofnep

Michellenman wrote: »

I pick up accents quite easily, quite embarrassing especially when I was younger not so much now.

A girl I went to school with had such an American accent it was unreal. She'd never lived in America, had any close American relatives, she'd never been there even. People used to assume she was American and she'd correct them and wonder where they got the idea from.

There's a Chinese girl I work with who says things like ''What's da story?'' and ''yeah tanks boss'' but I suppose they're colloquialisms more than anything.

lol i work with a girl who i assumed was american.. i asked her what part of america she was from one night at a staff party.. Bad question!

stovelid

dlofnep wrote: »

lol i work with a girl who i assumed was american.. i asked her what part of america she was from one night at a staff party.. Bad question!

Was she from South Dublin?

Xiney

I'm French Canadian, and French is my first language.

When I was little I went to special classes to get rid of my French accent when I spoke English. It didn't really get rid of my accent - I just learned to imitate the Canadian English accent.

Problem is, if I'm surrounded by another accent, I start to pick that up. Can't tell you how many times I was in a taxi in Montreal with a middle eastern driver and I had to serioiusly work hard to not speak in his accent lest he think I was making fun of him.



Essentially, I'm a parrot.

dlofnep

stovelid wrote: »

Was she from South Dublin?

lol waterford surprisingly.. as soon as i asked if she was american, she put on her strongest possible scanger irish accent. hilarious

miaowchi

I grew up in London... moved back to Waterford about 14yrs ago. Funny now though because i have a mixture of a London, Waterford, Cork (went to college 5yrs down there) and Bray (worked for a short while there).... as you can imagine its a strange accent many have said 'Cant work out where your accent is from' 'Are you Australian' 'Are you German' etc etc..

topper75

Two words:
Self, esteem.

DublinWriter

Blisterman wrote: »

Do people purposefully change their accent? Are some accents easier to keep than others? I've never known an American to lose their accent.

I think unconsciously they do so in an effort to fit in.

A lot of my uncles moved to London in the 60's from Drimnagh in Dublin. These days they sound like Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins, I can sort of see the reasoning it in though as to be Irish in London in the 60's was a very unpopular thing.

I bore that in mind when I moved to London myself for a couple of years and made a conscious effort not to affect the accent. I ended up arriving with a reasonably neutral Dublin accent and came back home sounding like an extra from "Darby O'Gill and the Little People".

I struggle even harder with my accent back home in Dublin; I find my accent changes a lot if I'm doing occasional VO work, doing interviews, phoning my dad or shouting at the dog.

entropi

One of the uncles on my mams side has lived in England for over 40 years, yet still speaks like the Tipp man he was, whereas on the other hand, an aunt on my dads side has lived in the U.S. for over 40 years, and speaks like one of them.

Stuff like that just happens i think...some people take to it, others do not.

Xiney

topper75 wrote: »

Two words:
Self, esteem.

I don't think it's a question of self esteem for everyone. Certainly isn't for me.

I lived in Kerry for 10 years but still have a strong Dublin accent. But someone I know who was born in London moved over to Dublin in 2003 and now has a posh Dublin accent. I also know several English people in Kerry who have caught bits of the Kerry accent... "shlow" for example.

I'm not sure what causes it but it certainly didn't affect me.

buynow

I wonder has it anything to do with how much you like someone.

Similar to how people mimic the body language of someone they like when talking to them.

So if you are in England and spend your time talking to English people you like, you get an English accent, but if your friends are Irish and you don't get on with the English people you interact with, you keep your Irish accent.

Jigsaw

I lived in Manchester for 3 and a half years and my accent didn't change a bit. At most I might have used a bit of slang, like making a brew instead of making a cup of tea etc.

midgetflynn

I was born in London and moved over when I was 4,mother has an English accent which I don't really here(prob cos I'm used to it),father has an Irish accent. I lived somewhere that I consider doesn't have a distinct accent (though if I was to give it one it would be Limerick due to it's close proxcimity) and maintained my English accent to a certain degree. I then moved to the West, kept some of English accent but now say things in a 'country' accent, sometimes on purpose, sometimes without realising. I now go to college in Cork and find that I have a few Cork lilts in my voice when I speak. Most people can't place where I'm from,I was in England the other week and someone thought I was American. I think it just depends on the people around you