paddingtongreen

Do you mean to tell us that your UK friends don't tell you you sound American. I don't know how you function here if you don't switch the emphasized syllable and the words you use. You must use the OH to do all the communication.

Jerseygirl

No none of them have. I use words such as elevator/trash but I don't change the way I pronounce words. Nope I am quite capable of making myself understood...most of the time.

apw619

[QUOTE=joyceygreen;5406340]We have been in PA for 2 Years and 3 months and have two boys aged 6 & 11.
Both my husband and I are English and still do PG tips, bacon butties etc. etc. I doubt if we will ever give up our British cuppa..

But, for fun and interest I would like to know how long we have to be here for our accents to change. I never want to change my (Londonish) English accent and don't feel that it's changed too much so far, apart from saying "You Guys" to the Kids and "right?" at the end of sentences.
My Kids are weird, my 6 year old mainly has an American accent with English bits and pieces and my 11 year just chops and changes, depending on whose around e.g He talks with an English accent at home, but as soon as an American is around, he switches on a full American accent.
I think maybe because we are not married to Americans, that we will keep our accents for longer...right?
Also I can't tell you how many times people have asked me if I'm Australian because of my London twang (not as bad as Geico ads)
QUOTE]

Yes it is an interesting subject since it addresses a difficult aspect of what "living here" means to us: what will our children be?
My kids have very american accents (despite my best intentions), but they can also put on quite passable english accents. My daughter is at present determinedly "american", my son is amusingly undecided.
The aussie thing... i was asked that in 19** (censored by webmaster), but ironically it was the only (strong) accent I ever really had (after a spell down under).
My stock reply to "I love your accent" has always been "Thanks...I'm from New Jersey"... last time I had this converstaion was last Saturday, coaching kids soccer, from a very cute young lady running the line! But the definitive instance was a message left on my voicemail, (my wife was not amused at the time), by a lady who said "Sorry I dialled the wrong number, but i just had to say how sexy I found your voice and that accent...". No she did not leave her number.

cindyabs

"... last time I had this converstaion was last Saturday, coaching kids soccer, from a very cute young lady running the line! But the definitive instance was a message left on my voicemail, (my wife was not amused at the time), by a lady who said "Sorry I dialled the wrong number, but i just had to say how sexy I found your voice and that accent...". No she did not leave her number.[/QUOTE]



and because she did not leave her number, you will live to fight another day.

no1englishmuffin

yep I know the feeling been from middlesbrough and speaking real fast my god and living in texas well say no more.
When i first referred to my brother as our alan my hubby said is that his name our alan well i fell about on the floor laughing my arse off and i still say bin instead of trash nah i will never lose me accent i put it on more so that i don't yep had the australian thing too i wouldn't mind if the boro accent sounded anything like it no but hey don't mind the irish accent mistake and the scottish accent mistake and got asked once are all you women got blonde hair and blue eyes and real pretty from the UK i had to bite me tongue coz they do find our sense of humour hard to understand yep the hubby still gets offended sometimes when i am only bloody joking ffs lmao.

another bloody yank

I never would have guessed...

no1englishmuffin

lmao how did you guess lol

Pamela 1

I get sick and tired of Americans commenting on our English accent. They sometimes think we are from Australia, just because they can't always tell the difference in accents.
In Canada we never get any comments, probably because there are a lot of Brits there.

In US if I have a problem I try to say it the American way. e.g. Walk I say wok or talk I say tok. They seem to understand then.

We have not lost our English accents, but recently visiting UK a number of people thought I had a twinge of Canadian/American accent, though I don't think so neither does OH.

another bloody yank

You should add your voice to the "voice" thread. I'm sure someone here could verify that your accent is 100% pure.

I promise, I won't comment.

surly

No Comment.

Dan725

So you "Wok the Wok, and Tok the Tok!!" Very New Yoik!

cindyabs

Yeah, youse is right, that's how we tok down on toidty toid street.

mrplod

Eh Up! Greetings from a Lad from St.Helens, (Lancashire that is) been here 6yrs and love it, miss alot of GOOD British food, too much to list, but will mention GOOD Northern BEER (Greenall's, Burtonwood and even Bass and Guiness) I have had great problems living in Childersburg, Alabama, about 30 miles from Birmingham. I worked for a County Sheriff and people frequently hung up and rang back and when I answered again the said the thought they had gotten 'Scotland Yard' LOL. Drive throughs are the worst, I cant understand those crackly damm speakers and they have the same problem. I am a Loyal Supporter of Her Majesty and hate what is going on in England now with the Immigrants but we need to be tough on them. Sorry for wandering a bit. Have a great weekend, and am looking to our next Bank Holliday off.

Circus-of-Power

You need to find our beloved member Thydney he suffers the same affliction as yourself .......he's from that forgotten crap hole just off the A580 as well

Londonuck

Drives me nuts. I first noticed it in Aussie in the early 90's. Brit backpackers would arrive and within 2 days start going up at the end of their sentances like they're constantly asking you a question. Now everyone does it and what makes me laugh is they dont notice they're doing it. GRRRRRR!