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-   -   is your accent something that gets commented on alot (https://britishexpats.com/forum/usa-57/your-accent-something-gets-commented-alot-597582/)

Jaxbar Mar 21st 2009 4:59 am

Re: is your accent something that gets commented on alot
 
I get comments, blank stares and compliments regularly.

A couple the other day kept asking me to say Maryland over and over as of course they say marilyn! It was pretty funny till they then asked me if I knew a friend of theirs who is British I thought they meant here in Pensacola, they really meant did I ever come across so and so in England...Doh

sime303 Mar 21st 2009 9:53 am

Re: is your accent something that gets commented on alot
 

Originally Posted by orangemirror (Post 7403229)
Great. I'll give them a try then. I read his History of Everything book and enjoyed that one a lot.
I saw Mother Tongue in a shop recently and nearly bought it. Should have done. I thought it would be fun for my wife and i to read. Literally everyday one of us will say something and the other one will be "what the hell are you talking about?"

After almost 12 years of knowing my wife we still do that. Her more than me these days.

Anything by Bill Bryson is good but "A walk in the woods" and "Notes from a big Country" are probably my faves.

dunroving Mar 21st 2009 2:26 pm

Re: is your accent something that gets commented on alot
 

Originally Posted by Norri (Post 7403256)
Riveting as his musings are can BB really be relied on as a historian?


I don't really worry about that too much, although my guess is he's probably at least as accurate as Wikipedia. ;)

dunroving Mar 21st 2009 2:31 pm

Re: is your accent something that gets commented on alot
 

Originally Posted by orangemirror (Post 7402962)
I haven't read it but i think i'd like to. Is it worth a read?

Absolutely recommend it, especially if you like your entertainment nerdy. :thumbsup:That's what I like about his books - very funny and informative at the same time.

HSHMN Mar 22nd 2009 10:52 pm

Re: is your accent something that gets commented on alot
 

Originally Posted by idk4 (Post 7379890)
i may be moving to the us. i hear about them loving the uk accent.i was just wondering if its somethingg people notice alot or is it only occasionally people comment on it? does your regional accent make a difference, say a posh southern get more attention for being queen like lol.
im quite self conscious so being different can make me feel embarrased because everytime i speak to someone new they will be thinking 'shes british'. though it may be nice to be the novelty, i dk. plus i have a pretty awful accent anyway, so they will probably be thinking 'she has a shit accent'
and also are american nice people, nicer than british?

My husband gets asked if he from Australia.. or 'London' - its a country you know!!??
I get told now and then that they love the accent .. I also find I sometimes have trouble being understood in shops, restaurants and have to repeat myself ..which is really annoying. Would advise developing a bit of twang, as our Uncle did when he moved over 30 yrs ago, now a mix of Yorkshire and US !

Black Sheep Mar 23rd 2009 4:07 am

Re: is your accent something that gets commented on alot
 

Originally Posted by dunroving (Post 7402662)
You've been reading "Mother Tongue" by Bill Bryson, maybe? Many of the spellings, certainly, changed in the UK but remained the same in the US - so it's US spelling that is "correct" most of the time and UK spelling that is "wrong/changed" And apparently there are pockets of people up in the Appalachian mountains who speak Elizabethan English

Yep, North Carolina - in the mountains, along the coast - is especially rich in certain isolated 'pockets' with the older, more British dialects that have survived to a certain degree for hundreds of years now, interestingly not just amongst the 'white' population but amongst some native American and former-slaves communities as well.

Here's an example of the Outer Banks dialect/accent ('Hoi Toid' they call it) and unusual vocabulary:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfsxP...20DE57&index=0

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgi9w...0DE57&index=18

DMDA Mar 23rd 2009 8:33 pm

Re: is your accent something that gets commented on alot
 
As a 'saarf london girl' I don't think I have an accent! :p

When I'm in NY people only occasionally comment on my accent as I guess they are used to 'foreigners' visiting. I probably get the most comments from my Mum who, after 25+ years in NY cannot understand a word I say...to the point where I will abandon a conversation after she says "what?" for the 10th time.

When I'm in Florida I've had to resort to Spanish to make myself understood!

jmh Mar 23rd 2009 8:49 pm

Re: is your accent something that gets commented on alot
 

Originally Posted by DMDA (Post 7411274)

When I'm in NY people only occasionally comment on my accent as I guess they are used to 'foreigners' visiting. I probably get the most comments from my Mum who, after 25+ years in NY cannot understand a word I say...to the point where I will abandon a conversation after she says "what?" for the 10th time.

My dad does that but I think he is going deaf;)

butterfly-kisses Mar 23rd 2009 9:23 pm

Re: is your accent something that gets commented on alot
 
I got many comments on how cute my british accent is the first time i went on an american post with my o/h. Some people even find it hard to understand me :blink: To me my accent is nothing special lol

Norri Mar 23rd 2009 10:50 pm

Re: is your accent something that gets commented on alot
 

Originally Posted by Black Sheep (Post 7408519)
Yep, North Carolina - in the mountains, along the coast - is especially rich in certain isolated 'pockets' with the older, more British dialects that have survived to a certain degree for hundreds of years now, interestingly not just amongst the 'white' population but amongst some native American and former-slaves communities as well.

Here's an example of the Outer Banks dialect/accent ('Hoi Toid' they call it) and unusual vocabulary:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfsxP...20DE57&index=0

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgi9w...0DE57&index=18

I have to agree with that I've been working in NC for the last few months and several times I've heard snippets of conversation which sounded as if they could have been British.

pepekwa Mar 24th 2009 8:44 pm

Re: is your accent something that gets commented on alot
 
this made me laugh out loud cos I have to spell out my name sometimes and then they go, "oh Paul, you said Pool".

I'm a londoner and have completely kept my accent despite living here over 6 years and work in a call centre in california. I speak to clients in every state and find that people on the two coasts know you're english 90% of the time. In the heartland (red) states like kansas, georgia and the southern states, I've been asked if I'm german, russian, south african with australian being the most often question.
Certain words you have to say to americans their way or you wont be able to communicate to them, I'm talking here about "water", "daughter", "tomato", "tube" etc, as much as I hate not saying them in my accent, it beats having to repeat it 5 times, the only problem though is that it stays in your sub-conscious and last time I was back home in blighty, I got some funny looks when I asked for "water" in an american accent.
Americans are slowly getting more worldly and are travelling more but its still a slow process over here.

orangemirror Mar 24th 2009 8:57 pm

Re: is your accent something that gets commented on alot
 
[QUOTE=pepekwa;7415286]Certain words you have to say to americans their way or you wont be able to communicate to them, I'm talking here about "water", "daughter", "tomato", "tube" etc, as much as I hate not saying them in my accent, it beats having to repeat it 5 times, the only problem though is that it stays in your sub-conscious and last time I was back home in blighty, I got some funny looks when I asked for "water" in an american accent.
QUOTE]

I'm the same. I don't think my accents's changed but there are little sub-concious changes you obviously make to be understood. When i was back in UK in Feb I went for a curry with a few mates and without realising it I asked for some wadderrr. I managed to pretend that i'd done it on purpose for a laugh but it was totally natural.
Words i find myself still saying saying when i'm back visiting in UK are gas, vacation, soccer (sorry). They've just become habit now.

pepekwa Mar 24th 2009 9:04 pm

Re: is your accent something that gets commented on alot
 
i will never say soccer, i'd rather be deported than use that dreadful excuse for a word, i'm always reminding yanks its football and the NFL is throwball, oh and i love asking them why their championship winners are known as "world champions" .

exvj Mar 24th 2009 11:32 pm

Re: is your accent something that gets commented on alot
 
Wells Fargo bank - in Washington State - speaking to the account opener (not the lone arranger)

Her - 'You speak English really good, where did you learn it '?

Me with a smile - 'England'

Her - 'Do they speak English there' ?

Me - 'Yes, a lot of them'

Her - 'wow that's great'

YoungSteve17 Mar 25th 2009 8:22 am

Re: is your accent something that gets commented on alot
 

Originally Posted by pepekwa (Post 7415405)
i will never say soccer, i'd rather be deported than use that dreadful excuse for a word, i'm always reminding yanks its football and the NFL is throwball, oh and i love asking them why their championship winners are known as "world champions" .

:thumbsup:

I have the exact same feeling about that as you
And yea whats with that world champion stuff about? Then again a lot of Americans do think America is the world

YoungSteve17 Mar 25th 2009 8:53 am

Re: is your accent something that gets commented on alot
 

Originally Posted by MagStu (Post 7381874)
In reply to YoungSteve17, 28 years of people asking me about my accent has not been a burden. I have always wanted to retain my accent and having people who do not know me say that they like it and am I from England, makes me feel good. When I return to England and people think that I am American, it makes me feel bad. I am English, and although I am living here and doing everything that Americans do, my bloodline is who I am.
So, I never get tired of it. Also, Steve, I came from Colchester, pretty close to Ipswich where you come from so in 28 years time you should still have your accent!!!!!

Good news for me

Nice too hear that. Or should i say, nice to ear that

Go Suffolk:thumbup:

YoungSteve17 Mar 25th 2009 9:20 am

Re: is your accent something that gets commented on alot
 

Originally Posted by Rete (Post 7389991)
You've been here a long time. Why have you not adapted your speech patterns accordingly so that you aren't considered as a young punk with a smart mouth?

I'm English i cant help but to be cheeky

exvj Mar 25th 2009 3:31 pm

Re: is your accent something that gets commented on alot
 

Originally Posted by YoungSteve17 (Post 7417167)
I'm English i cant help but to be cheeky


Good man !

mistahsinclair Mar 25th 2009 3:51 pm

Re: is your accent something that gets commented on alot
 

Originally Posted by exvj (Post 7415935)

Her - 'Do they speak English there' ?

Me - 'Yes, a lot of them'

Not sure about Birmingham and the North as a whole though...

...only kidding!

Norri Mar 25th 2009 11:08 pm

Re: is your accent something that gets commented on alot
 

Originally Posted by exvj (Post 7415935)
Wells Fargo bank - in Washington State - speaking to the account opener (not the lone arranger)

Could it have been the Lone Ranger?

exvj Mar 25th 2009 11:12 pm

Re: is your accent something that gets commented on alot
 

Originally Posted by Norri (Post 7419768)
Could it have been the Lone Ranger?

Could be here - we have rattlesnakes and on sunday morning they shoot six guns and rope steers...

If they knew I was here they would shoot aliens and drink beers


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