Originally Posted by Steerpike

By way of background, I've been here almost 30 years and would say my accent/vocabulary is 98% 'American'. It's not a conscious effort, but I don't hang out with any Brits, my partner is Filipino, and I don't watch Brit shows, so I have no 'exposure' to any Brit influence. I say 'tomayto', 'wadder', 'skedule', etc.

My mum is visiting from UK at the moment. Today, in a discussion with a bunch of Americans at work, I said 'my office is a tip'. They had no idea what I meant, and I have not used that expression ('tip') in 30 years. When talking to my mum at home yesterday, I heard myself say 'tomahhhto'. This is not due to any conscious effort either; it just 'sounds right'. A guy said 'since your mom arrived, your British accent is returning'.

I would bet good money that if I went back to UK to live tomorrow, that within 1 year I'd sound like any other Brit again.

I find it strange that some Brits worry that they may be 'losing their identity', and they fight the idea of using American phrases and pronunciations ...