LauraNotts

So despite my very best efforts I still have this pesky accent.

I've just had an interesting (and very fun) week in Queenstown where I had every assumption from being a Kiwi:

"Where are you from?"
"Christchurch."
"Oh it's lovely to have some proper Kiwis here."

To being taken for a completely naive tourist.

Cashier: "$9.50 please."
Me: "Sure, I'm sure I had a $10 in here somewhere *rummages*
Cashier: "*kindly* "It's one of the Blue ones."
Me: "Yeah I know, I live here."


To be fair I save my best accent for when I have a really daft question to ask and don't want to look as silly.

Persephone

Interesting isn't it? I'm sure some people don't really listen and just assume you're a NZer or not. More so in tourist areas.

On a recent trip to Rotorua we were at a restaurant and the [Kiwi] waitress took our orders, both of us spoke to her. Later on she mentioned that 'you're both from the UK, are you on holiday?'. MrS, hailing from Kaikoura and lived in NZ all his life, was a little put out
And he definitely isn't picking up any of my Co.Durham accent at all! He can't even do a decent impression when he tries

mikelincs

It's not only in NZ, when we lived in Spain we often told market stall holders, we want resoidents prices, we aren't tourists, we live here. It was amazing how much they dropped the prices, often 25%.

nikkijane88

We have both given in to the fact that we appear to be Irish, ha ha! Couldn't sound less Irish if we tried as we both are from the Scottish highlands, maybe as we don't have a strong accent. Rather amusing when we point out we came from Scotland.
No experience of the tourist side so far, shall see when we start getting some breaks away 😀

Hazelnut

Scottish Highlands mistaken for Irish!!

Despite living where I do for over 20yrs I don't have a local accent and still do the same as LauraNotts. I reserve my poshest BBC English for when I need to ask a numpty question and prefer to be seen as a tourist than a local.