Do you ever try to hide your accent

PLL · 14-04-2015 08:28PM

Grew up in Birmingham with Mayo parents. I had what people in Birmingham would can posh accent. It wasn't i just didn't have an awful Birmingham accent. I would describe it as neutral.

Moved to Ireland when i was 18, have lived in Tipperary, Mayo, Galway, Dublin, Cork & Kerry. (Family / college / work)

So my English accent has faded. Myself and my oh can hear it. I can hear my 3yo say things in a correct English way with an Irish accent which is the way i think i sound. But anyone I meet is shocked I went to school in England, can't hear a bit of the tan twang but at the same time have no idea what Irish accent I have.

My oh and his family are Kerry/Cork and after living there it is hard not to say a few words with their high pitch twang, which my best friends tells me she can hear when I drink.

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5 · 14-04-2015 08:36PM

What is it with the Cork accent and drinking? I haven't lived there in years but you wouldn't know it to hear me after a few pints

Fox_In_Socks · 14-04-2015 09:39PM

Kaison Loud Guano wrote: »

What is it with the Cork accent and drinking? I haven't lived there in years but you wouldn't know it to hear me after a few pints

Being a Cork, it floats on top of the alcohol!

Have a Southern accent, but not that strong. I think I sound West Cork/Kerry but a lot of people don't seem to think it's that strong

HalloweenJack · 14-04-2015 10:25PM

Have a fairly strong Dublin accent.

I'm an English teacher so I do have to change my accent a bit but I can't shake my accent completely.

I apparently speak Spanish with a mix of an Irish and an Andalusian accent, which is quite an achievement as it's not an easy accent to understand.

galljga1 · 14-04-2015 10:29PM

I used to have a Hyundai Accent, wasn't too proud of it but never hid it.

Mister Vain · 14-04-2015 10:31PM

HalloweenJack wrote: »

I'm an English teacher so I do have to change my accent a bit but I can't shake my accent completely.

Why do you have to change it? Is it the whole turdy tree and and a turd thing?

Cold War Kid · 14-04-2015 10:53PM

Kaison Loud Guano wrote: »

What is it with the Cork accent and drinking? I haven't lived there in years but you wouldn't know it to hear me after a few pints

Another Corkie here - from outside the city but not far enough outside to have the culchie Cork accent; the bit I have is more city. To Cork people it's a mild accent. To those outside of Cork... they'd know where I'm from. When I've had a few drinks, it can be very prominent indeed - the sound of a car with a spud up its exhaust, according to one person at a Boards beers.
I do slow down my speech indeed for anyone that's not from Cork, as Ispeakfaircefastlike!

Cold War Kid · 14-04-2015 10:54PM

fryup wrote: »

yep, back in the 80s during a family holiday in england....did my best to hide my oirish accent felt very-self conscience about it esp as the IRA were the blowing the crap out of everyone at the time

Awful shame some Irish people have such an inferiority complex in relation to the English. And if a kid gets grief over the IRA due to their accent, then it ain't the kid who has the problem.

artanevilla · 14-04-2015 10:55PM

I don't have an accent.

I have a brogue.

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5 · 14-04-2015 10:58PM

Cold War Kid wrote: »

Another Corkie here. To Cork people it's a mild accent. To those outside of Cork... they'd know where I'm from. When I've had a few drinks, it can be very prominent indeed - the sound of a car with a spud up its exhaust, according to one person at a Boards beers.
I do slow down my speech indeed for anyone that's not from Cork, as Ispeakfaircefastlike!

I can hear myself doing it but I can't stop, it's not so much the speed as the rollercoaster of inflection over the course of the sentence and saying 'like'.

I was totally lost when I moved to Cork first, thespeedisfeckingridiculouslike

Rhys Essien · 14-04-2015 10:59PM

No matter where you are from,everyone should be proud of their own accent,and to hell with what others think.

BeerWolf · 14-04-2015 11:07PM

smash wrote: »

Are you American?

No, I'm Irish / Indian born in Malaysia that moved to Ireland when I was 10 back in the 90s. :pac:

iusedtoknow · 14-04-2015 11:15PM

i don't hide it - but I have to change it. I have a cork accent - part culchie (you can take the boy out of Bantry, but not Bantry out of the boy), mostly city where I grew up. But when I talk to americans and don't watch myself - i slip into talking a lot quicker than is normal here in the states. I have a generic irish accent here.

However, there are 3 other irish lads in my company - whenever we get together for lunch we talk normally. One Dub, one Derry and one from CAAAARRRRK. I think other people move away from our table

saabsaab · 14-04-2015 11:25PM

I don't have an accent. That is to say people can't place where I am from. When in the East they say I sound from the West and when in the West the opposite. Once on a holiday as a child in Galway one woman asked when were my holiday's over and when was I returning to school in England!

ShoulderChip · 14-04-2015 11:26PM

Cormac... wrote: »

Ah, another person from Cork trying to sound like they are from D4 or California is it?

Yeah, I've had quite enough of your type. :P

You can be from Cork and have a Cork accent that isn't a total scumbag accent you know?

In fact many people from abroad like our accent as it's quite musical apparently.

I'm not ashamed of where I am from and I would think any interviewer who bases a job interview off someones accents is probably hiring for a company I don't want to work for.

Would you work for an employer who didn't discriminate against cork people?

jimgoose · 14-04-2015 11:27PM

No. We're from Chountah Limerrigg, junowhattah-fcukan-mane??

Panthro · 14-04-2015 11:29PM

I can't hide my accent.
Because I am Batman.

Just kidding, I'm Panthro

HalloweenJack · 14-04-2015 11:37PM

Mister Vain wrote: »

Why do you have to change it? Is it the whole turdy tree and and a turd thing?

Pretty much. I just exaggerate a lot of what I say, kinda like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZmqJQ-nc_s

14-04-2015 11:42PM

Cold War Kid wrote: »

Awful shame some Irish people have such an inferiority complex in relation to the English. And if a kid gets grief over the IRA due to their accent, then it ain't the kid who has the problem.

I think in that posters example that it was more to do with avoiding being targeted. Understandable, I think.

I've modulated my accent when in Ireland, for much the same reason after an occasional touch too much hostility disguised as a slagging. Doesn't happen often, but sometimes you just want to avoid being noticed.

Dangerous Man · 14-04-2015 11:54PM

I'm from Dublin but don't have one of those "wot's de bleedin' storee' accents - which is odd given where I'm from in Dublin. Most of my friends have them - oh wait - I don't have any friends.

Anyway - I don't live in Dublin anymore, I live in Canada - been here for the past five years. I work as a journalist and when I started out here I used to work for a small media agency that specialized in human interest stories for the broader English-speaking market. We'd source stories from the United States and re-do them - only better and with original reporting and interviews.

As you'd expect, I was on the phone to the U.S. quite a lot. One day, I was researching a story (some woman was murdered etc.) and so called this lady in New Jersey. Here's how it went:

"Hell-oh?"
Hello my name is Dangerous Man, and I'm a journalist with XXX in Canada. I'm calling you because I'd like to talk to you about Henrietta Rapeworthy."
"WHHUUT?"
"Sorry?"
"I didn't understand a single damn word you said."
"Oh, okay - it must be my accent. It's a little funny sounding."
"What?"
"Oh... ehm... my name is Dangerous Man - and I'm a journalis..."
"I CAN'T UNDERSTAND A GODDAMNED WORD YOU'RE SAYIN.'"
"Let me try again."
"Wha?"
"My. Name. Is. Dangerous. Man."
"WHAT THE **** ARE YOU SAYING?"
"I'll have my editor call you."

And that's what I did - I had him ring her and do the interview. Of course, he was listening to the call at the time, laughing like a fool while standing in a corner spilling coffee all over himself.

The reason I regale you with this tale is because my accent is actually pretty soft as Irish accents go - and I make an effort to make sure that I'm understood when I talk to people. Yet despite this, North Americans, particularly those in the U.S. don't always do very well when it comes to hearing accents that they're unfamiliar with - and sometimes - like the example above - the results can be pretty bizarre.

14-04-2015 11:57PM

Dangerous Man wrote: »

Hello my name is Dangerous Man, and I'm a journalist with XXX in Canada. I'm calling you because I'd like to talk to you about Henrietta Rapeworthy."

I have to admit, if someone introduced himself to me as Dangerous Man, who works with XXX and wants to ask about a Ms Rapeworthy, I'd pretend I didn't understand a word either.

Dangerous Man · 15-04-2015 12:15AM

Candie wrote: »

I have to admit, if someone introduced himself to me as Dangerous Man, who works with XXX and wants to ask about a Ms Rapeworthy, I'd pretend I didn't understand a word either.

You love it. :-p

Junkyard Tom · 15-04-2015 12:19AM

I have a neutral Irish accent tinged with a gentle northern lilt.

Generic Dreadhead · 15-04-2015 10:12AM

ShoulderChip wrote: »

Would you work for an employer who didn't discriminate against cork people?

Um what?

BetterThanThou · 16-04-2015 03:31AM

I'm from a working class area of Dublin, and everyone where I live seems to have an awfully "skangery" accent, when younger, I would've been one of these people, but around the age of 12/13, I decided I disliked the accent and began speaking in a much more civilized manner. I suppose that could count as "hiding" my accent, but it's not really, I couldn't speak in the same accent as most of the people where I live if I tried anymore.

beks101 · 16-04-2015 03:51AM

Dangerous Man wrote: »

I'm from Dublin but don't have one of those "wot's de bleedin' storee' accents - which is odd given where I'm from in Dublin. Most of my friends have them - oh wait - I don't have any friends.

Anyway - I don't live in Dublin anymore, I live in Canada - been here for the past five years. I work as a journalist and when I started out here I used to work for a small media agency that specialized in human interest stories for the broader English-speaking market. We'd source stories from the United States and re-do them - only better and with original reporting and interviews.

As you'd expect, I was on the phone to the U.S. quite a lot. One day, I was researching a story (some woman was murdered etc.) and so called this lady in New Jersey. Here's how it went:

"Hell-oh?"
Hello my name is Dangerous Man, and I'm a journalist with XXX in Canada. I'm calling you because I'd like to talk to you about Henrietta Rapeworthy."
"WHHUUT?"
"Sorry?"
"I didn't understand a single damn word you said."
"Oh, okay - it must be my accent. It's a little funny sounding."
"What?"
"Oh... ehm... my name is Dangerous Man - and I'm a journalis..."
"I CAN'T UNDERSTAND A GODDAMNED WORD YOU'RE SAYIN.'"
"Let me try again."
"Wha?"
"My. Name. Is. Dangerous. Man."
"WHAT THE **** ARE YOU SAYING?"
"I'll have my editor call you."

And that's what I did - I had him ring her and do the interview. Of course, he was listening to the call at the time, laughing like a fool while standing in a corner spilling coffee all over himself.

The reason I regale you with this tale is because my accent is actually pretty soft as Irish accents go - and I make an effort to make sure that I'm understood when I talk to people. Yet despite this, North Americans, particularly those in the U.S. don't always do very well when it comes to hearing accents that they're unfamiliar with - and sometimes - like the example above - the results can be pretty bizarre.

Haha. I used to live in Canada too, worked as a journalist, and had the reverse of this.

A colleague was doing some interviews for a piece on Paddy's Day and came strolling over one day with a name and number, "could you call this guy and do a translation for me?" "Why who is he? What language does he speak?" "I think it was English but fcuked if I know, the guy rattled on at the speed of light in the craziest accent I've ever heard and I had to tell him I'd call him back. All I got was 'Paddy from Cork' "

:pac:

Dangerous Man · 16-04-2015 04:17AM

beks101 wrote: »

Haha. I used to live in Canada too, worked as a journalist, and had the reverse of this.

A colleague was doing some interviews for a piece on Paddy's Day and came strolling over one day with a name and number, "could you call this guy and do a translation for me?" "Why who is he? What language does he speak?" "I think it was English but fcuked if I know, the guy rattled on at the speed of light in the craziest accent I've ever heard and I had to tell him I'd call him back. All I got was 'Paddy from Cork' "

:pac:

Love it! :-)

MathDebater · 16-04-2015 04:29AM

I have what most here would consider a 'knacker' Dublin accent. In college the lads used to mock it(especially after the 2006 riots) but I've since learned to embrace the accent. It's part of whom we are - we should not change it for anyone.

My mam actually wanted me to go for elocution lessons as a kid! Feck that buzz.

Do you ever try to hide your accent

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