Re: when your accent becomes a figure of speech
 

The problem with being an old duffer, and I speak from experience, is that that's very difficult to know when one's expressions are démodé.

Re: when your accent becomes a figure of speech
 

I was told years ago by an older man from Hong Kong that that originates from non-native english speakers in Canada. In Cantonese turn on the light and open the blinds use the same verb. I haven't checked to see if that's true though.

Re: when your accent becomes a figure of speech
 

Nice one, Shard!

Sometimes, one gets it wrong. On a commuter train in Australia a few years ago, I overheard a young brownskin woman advising some man to get off at the next station and ask the stationmaster for directions to (wherever). Except she didn't say "ask", but "aks". Now that's a very Caribbean variant, and I asked (aksed!) her was she from there, and which island. No she wasn't, she said; she was Fijian. But her boyfriend (not present) was from Grenada! She actually was not aware that she had picked up the word from him, until I mentioned it. So... Not her accent, but her specific variant - was in full accordance with the spirit of this thread, I think.

Re: when your accent becomes a figure of speech
 

It's French. Ouvre la lumiere is "turn on the light" in French, but it literally translates to open the light. My anglophone ex from Montreal used to say it all the time. I have never heard it said in English in Canada outside of Quebec.

Re: when your accent becomes a figure of speech
 

I have heard Jamaicans order "Out de light", when they want it to be switched off.

Re: when your accent becomes a figure of speech
 

I can't understand Canadians use of the word "borrowed" instead of using "lent" as in. I borrowed him my car.
As a youngster in England i also could not understand why northerners put "happen" at the start of sentences.

Re: when your accent becomes a figure of speech
 

my dad, a Geordie said @shut the light@

Re: when your accent becomes a figure of speech
 

My husband does that. He's from Wolverhampton UK

Re: when your accent becomes a figure of speech
 

I don't think my accent has changed much since I jumped the pond 21 years ago, though my daily vocabulary has changed, but now the post-pandemic dust has settled, I am back to getting asked about my accent around once a week.

At this point I would be surprised if my accent did change as it seems to have frozen when I left (the posh, leafy suburbs of) Sheffield, (coincidentally about half a mile from where I think Jersey Girl was living at the time) when I was eight years old.

Living in Glaw-ster until I finished school didn't leave any impression on my accent, nor did uni and work in Landan. So here I am in NC, mostly sounding like I stepped off the plane yesterday. :unsure:

Although I consciously adopted a lot of local vocabulary here in NC, and certain specific pronunciations - gah-raj, ledduce, and to-may-to (please don't judge me! :o) among others, though not 'erbs!, there are still certain British words and phrases that I like to use. And recently, having, according to her, never used the word within her earshot in 22 years of marriage, and after first thinking I had said "wedge", Mrs P accused me of "making up" the word "wodge"! :frown: Luckily Google came to the rescue. :thumbup:
Except it's a common pronunciation in the US, mostly, though not exclusively, in the black population, and I think more in the older generation, so it's use may be declining.

Re: when your accent becomes a figure of speech
 

When I first left Australia - in 1963, aged 23 - I had such a strong accent (Queensland) that I had trouble being understood by Brits. But it was only once I hit the European mainland that I had to make a serious effort to sort out my vowel-sounds. ("val sans" at that point.) And of course I had to drop the Australian idiom, pretty much fully. But every once in a while I come across a new phrase that appeals to me, and I adopt it readily. The latest one is the endearing custom of saying "yeah... nah". "Yes I understand what you said, but no I don't want to, or don't agree." "Do you want another drink?" "Do you think this batsman will make a century today?" "Yeah... nah."

Re: when your accent becomes a figure of speech
 

Or failing that, "effect" (depending on whether you're using "impact" as a verb or a noun) which I am sure to the surprise of many, is an entirely different word. :rolleyes:

Re: when your accent becomes a figure of speech
 

I hadn't heard that but it makes sense, rather like nodding your head and then shaking it.
Regarding yeah, here in the Vancouver area of BC the word for yes seems to be "yah". I hadn't noticed it in Ontario so perhaps it's a west coast thing.

Re: when your accent becomes a figure of speech
 

Back in Bristol, at knocking off time (when everyone finished work at 5pm), a friend of mine would shout 'douse all glims!', think it's olde english for blow out the candles. We were in a drawing office where the drawing boards had individual lights clamped on, those were the days ☺.

Re: when your accent becomes a figure of speech
 

What are some of the current Austalianisms (old and new) still in use ? Have any fallen out of favour over the decades ?

Re: when your accent becomes a figure of speech
 

Well sh*t, I go away for two and half years and the first thread I look at it's like I've never been away.
Looks like about half the contributors are the same old reprobates that were here when I left.