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NFR - Question to expats

Started by finnster01, August 22, 2011, 02:48:03 PM

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finnster01

I just got yelled at very badly by a relative.

Apparently I am losing my London accent already and I got told in no uncertain terms I am becoming a Yank very quickly. Now I am sure if I asked any of the Yanks they would say: "Are you being serious?"

But I wouldn't have been told if nothing had changed. What is your experience? Is this something that comes with the program (live and Work in NY, NY girlfriend, NY friends etc) or am I in the process of selling out without even knowing about it?

To MODS: Sorry I messed up again. Could someone please move this to the exiles section.
Thanks.
If you wake up in the morning and nothing hurts, you are most likely dead

GoldCoastWhite

I'd have to put the question to the venerable Mr Corked Hat (or LB) as I imagine my accent is a weird hybrid. My UK rellies think I sound very Aussie but a lot of Aussies will immediately pick me as an ex-pat Englishman... But then Adelaide has a big ex-pat population and my local football club at Para Hills is predominantly "Pommy" so I blend in far more than you would in Noo Yoik I expect Finn !

finnster01

Thanks again MODS.   :54: Promise to be more careful where I post things going forward.
If you wake up in the morning and nothing hurts, you are most likely dead


SoCalJoe

Mr. Finn, tell the relative that if he/she moved that their accent would inevitably change also, there is no 'selling out' about it. It's simply a case of being a product of your environment. How often do you catch yourself saying a word or phrase with a NY accent?

I grew up on the west coast, where people pride themselves in not having an accent (if that makes sense), then moved to Chicago for high school and picked up a Midwestern accent without even realizing it. The following summer when I went back to the Pacific Northwest (Portland/Seattle) and was talking to friends/relatives I would say things like "We went up to Wisc-ah-sin for a trip" instead of "Wisconsin", and would get comments.

You can observe a lot by just watching.

finnster01

Quote from: SoCalJoe on August 22, 2011, 05:04:31 PM
Mr. Finn, tell the relative that if he/she moved that their accent would inevitably change also, there is no 'selling out' about it. It's simply a case of being a product of your environment. How often do you catch yourself saying a word or phrase with a NY accent?

I grew up on the west coast, where people pride themselves in not having an accent (if that makes sense), then moved to Chicago for high school and picked up a Midwestern accent without even realizing it. The following summer when I went back to the Pacific Northwest (Portland/Seattle) and was talking to friends/relatives I would say things like "We went up to Wisc-ah-sin for a trip" instead of "Wisconsin", and would get comments.



I figured as much. Next time he has anything smart to say I'll just tell him to fuhgeddaboudit. He is an Arsenal fan so he's not feeling too great at the moment.
If you wake up in the morning and nothing hurts, you are most likely dead

Logicalman

Hey Finn, a couple of years after I moved out here I was told my accent had 'softened' somewhat, though it appears whenever I chat to my sister or friends back in smoke, the original accent comes booming out again.

Your original accent must be more cultured than my rasping tones then, sir.


YankeeJim

Listen to a Brad Fredel interview. The guy sounds, at least to me, to be English.  It really is a product of your enviroment. Other then Florida, I've never lived in the south buy my dear dad, may he RIP, was an Alabama boy. I still say ya'all because I picked it up from him. When I met my wife, she had an aunt who was a 40 year English teacher & I caught her looking oddly at me. She finally asked me where I was from. She said that she heard the south, some midwest & a bit of east coast as well as the SoCal in me. I told her that I had lived in Hawaii, California (north & south), Washington state, Oklahoma (twice), Florida (twice), Wisconsin & southern Maryland. I've also spent a month or more in Illinois, Minnesota, South Carolina, North Carolina. North Dakota & Louisana.

Odd that I've been all over this country and didn't discover Fullers ESB until I found FOF. Will wonders never cease?  082.gif
Its not that I could and others couldn't.
Its that I did and others didn't.

clintclintdeuce

When I was on study abroad for a month or so in scotland/ireland, the whole group by the end had an accent.
The Dude abides.

CincyFulham1

#8
I actually benefited from picking up an "English" accent.  I arrived back in the states 16yrs old and fit from ruggers at school.  I was an Ok looking kid, but that accent really made me popular with the girls.  I could turn it into this "BBC English" accent and I actually sounded rather posh.  Sadly it gone by the time I was 20, but to this day I can still say something and sometimes it comes out in a english accent.  I miss that accent.


Porkopolis

Quote from: CincyFulham1 on August 23, 2011, 03:58:30 PM
I actually benefited from picking up an "English" accent.  I arrived back in the states 16yrs old and fit from ruggers at school.  I was an Ok looking kid, but that accent really made me popular with the girls.  I could turn it into this "BBC English" accent and I actually sounded rather posh.  Sadly it gone by the time I was 20, but to this day I can still say something and sometimes it comes out in a english accent.  I miss that accent.

After spending a summer in Madison I developed a slight Wisconsin accent that made my friends chuckle.  It is gone now but every once in while something will slip in. My wife never fails to point it out.

HatterDon

With the exception of pronouncing "thing" as "thang" I don't have hardly any trace of Texas in my voice. I get kidded about it because I'm not only a Texas resident, I also was born in Texas -- not all that common among Texans in big cities.

I do have an ear for accents though. I can pick them up quickly and this helped me as an actor. It also got me into trouble once or twice when, after a few drinks, I'd start sounding a lot like the person I was talking to. Apparently, some of these folks thought I was making fun of them.  :023:

Among Americans who ply their trade in England, Brad Friedel is legendary for adapting to his environment. While he was with Blackburn, there was a strong bit of Lancashire in his speech. He didn't sound like a Brummie while at Villa, but he sure hasn't sounded like somebody from the American midwest in a very long time.
"As long as there is light, I will sing." -- Juana, la Cubana

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RidgeRider

Back in the late 80's to mid 90's, I used to travel to Chicago so much, people I would meet out on the town or at friends homes, thought I was from Chicago and occasionally New York (not sure why).

I also noticed while chatting with my sister last weekend at 4AM my time, mind you, the pitch of her voice has gotten noticeably higher since living in London. She sounds like some English woman I have talked to and heard in her pitch. The way she talks has changed a bit, but no discernable accent but she is well on her way after being there for 1 year and studying at a business school with students from all over.


FC Silver Fox

After 34 years living in France, some people say I have a Belgian accent in French (please don't tell Sipwell or I'll never hear the last of it). I like to think I haven't picked up ANY trace of a French accent in English.
  I'm looking forward to meeting HatterDon and GoldCoastWhite before the Man City game next month. I'll be able to verify all the tosh they write above about their accents.  :005:
Finn and Corked Hat, you are forever part of the family.