British Expats - Imitating Our Accents

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- - Imitating Our Accents (https://britishexpats.com/forum/trailer-park-96/imitating-our-accents-849880/)

Re: Imitating Our Accents

Quote:

Originally Posted by elizabethjt37 (Post 11523815)

I'm a brummie (person from Birmingham UK) living in Bermuda. Nearly every day i get asked about my accent! and many people often imitate it, mainly American people :lol: in a fun way though.

Things are the same as when i visit the UK, as my 4year old son has a Bristish/South african (father is from SA) with a bit of a Bermudian accent!

Its nice to be different!

Yow a yam-yam?

Re: Imitating Our Accents

Maree Popppins.

My brother-in-law thinks its hilarious trying to imitate my accent (and also my son's), but he ends up like an effeminate version of a cockney.

Irritating. As I'm a brummie. Not with a particularly brummie accent, but still. Regional pride and all that.

Hoffage

Re: Imitating Our Accents

Quote:

Originally Posted by dunroving (Post 11523852)

Yow a yam-yam?

What's the difference between a buffalo and a bison?

Ya can't pee in a buffalo ...

Re: Imitating Our Accents

I've been coming here (Arizona) since 2012 and had a couple of 'interactions' like this - now I've moved here it still happens occasionally and it ranges from a compliment to cringey. I don't always get the imitation thing, but do often get the 'I love your accent' remark.

My wife tries to inspire me with self confidence and tells me it's combination of my accent + looks but meh, I'm just normal to look at, she's sweet like that I guess. And anyway once at Jack in the Box (after asking for 'wor-tah') I had the 'I love your accent' thing from another guy. :ohmy: I'm not here to judge...!

In that case I told him, bemused and baffled, 'Oh, thanks - I didn't do anything to get it, I just grew up with it' and walked away.

It's a nice thing, I guess, anyway. Haven't cranked up the accent on purpose and used it to my advantage, yet. My wife tends to handle dealing with retail people because they spend most of the time bewildered by my accent and just look at me funny while I'm speaking to them...

Re: Imitating Our Accents

Quote:

Originally Posted by cdn86 (Post 11534755)

..... My wife tends to handle dealing with retail people because they spend most of the time bewildered by my accent and just look at me funny while I'm speaking to them...

I dubbed it "accent glaze". IME 90%+ of suffers are female.

Re: Imitating Our Accents

Quote:

Originally Posted by cdn86 (Post 11534755)

I've had a checkout girl say I sound like Benedict Cumberbatch but that's probably because she was a Benedict Cumberbatch fan and ANYONE from England will sound like him to her. Others seem too shy to comment. I was at first a little bit apprehensive about dealing with retail people when I first moved here as they would stop and look as if they either couldn't hear me or couldn't understand me.

Where are you from in the UK? If you don't mind me asking of course. :)

Re: Imitating Our Accents

I'm from Liverpool but I speak with more of a generic northern accent that I think is akin to Chester, or well-spoken Liverpudlian.
I'm going to be 'branching out' by myself when I get approved for work so I'm going to have to get used to speaking with the voice I have and get used to the fact that I sound different to everyone else.

Re: Imitating Our Accents

Quote:

Originally Posted by cdn86 (Post 11544321)

Yeah some people mistake my accent as being a very mild Liverpool accent. It comes from years of playing Paul McCartney in a Beatles tribute band. It's extremely mild though and I think after 5 years here I might be starting to sound American! :ohmy: According to my wife though whenever I'm on the phone to someone from back home I revert back to a "full on British accent". :thumbsup: haha