Ulsterman in Texas

I have notices that I my speech is starting to Texify recently I am having to think less about using the American term rather than the British or Northern Irish term, I have started to say trash can rather than bin without thinking or store rather than shop or (shock horror) soccer rather than football and dropping the "American" before I say football for American football. I say "fixin too" and yes I have started to say y'all. It's quite funny because I still have a rural Northern Ireland accent. Do you think your speech has started to adapt? I dread my actual accent changing though as I don't want to sound like Greame McDowell or Rory McIllroy I'd rather be fully Northern Irish or fully Texan.

Pulaski

I have adopted a good number of American words and terms. As I'm here for the long term I never saw the point of fighting over words like "tomayto" and "gah-rhaj", (the latter still jars in my ear as my natural inclination is still to pronounce it "ga-ridge", as I learned as a child). I have no proprietary interest in "football" of either flavour, so that was an easy switch, and for an American audience there's no point in saying "football" when I mean "soccer". It took longer to adopt "wadder", and "ledduce", which are just sloppy, but "y'all" is way too useful not to use!

But my accent hasn't changed at all, as far as I know. But then it didn't change in the time between leaving Sheffield at eight and completing my school career in Gloucester, nor after that including more than a dozen years in London, either. My accent isn't strong, but so far as it has any regional tones, it still echos my early childhood in Sheffield.

Sally Redux

I will say trash and gas but not erb, bazil, parmejan, cordon blue or 'I have to go potty'.

Speedwell

Priceless. People are beginning to tell me that my diction is beginning to sound affected and posh. I forget to call them "fries" and call them "chips" instead, I am losing all my Southern words that I picked up over the past 20 years. My accent doesn't change--it never changes--but people say the cadence has shifted a bit. My husband sounds normal now, but I still have to translate him to other Americans. This is strange.

Pulaski

I agree with everything you say there, Sally. .... Now please excuse me while I go and lay down for a while.

(Please excuse my tweaks to the quote).

civilservant

I don't really think about pants, trash etc. I haven't since day one - I just kinda adopted them... when in Rome and all that.

Hotscot

I'm always on the phone to the family back home and I refuse to have any friends here in the U.S. so my Scottish accent hasn't changed in 14 years.

In terms of words like 'gas' and 'sidewalk' I sometimes say them in quotes.

Cape Blue

I can't pronounce Kudos as a plural of Kudo.

Jerseygirl

After 17 years I have only changed a few words...elevator, trash...that's about it.

kimilseung

I am currently teaching kids writing in a high school. I have to change just about everything or they have no clue. I did start to correct the spelling of one kid who wrote checkers (the game) I said it was spelled chequers, before I realised I was in America, and that checkers would be draughts, because chequers is where the PM lives.

Pulaski

FIFY x2

markonline1

I flatly refuse to call football soccer! I slip between garage and gararge. My HR director is English. She's been out here 25 years and has developed something resembling an Australian accent. I pick up accents rather quick, so I'm guessing I'm gonna have a ridiculous accent in a couple of years.

Sally Redux

It's started.

Pulaski

You can call it what you like, but in these parts it's called "soccer".

kimilseung

Soccer is a funny one, as its a British word that is still used in Britain, but as soon as we get over here so many of us have a melt down that the yanks have the audacity to use our word.