accents- turning it on and off

kelseyhere

I sit by a co-worker who turns her accent on and off at will, depending on who is on the receiving end. She is originally from New Zealand but has been living in the states for more than 20 years. Sometimes she sounds like she's from the UK, other times she sounds perfectly American (think Midwest, no particular accent), and other times she pours the aussie accent on. While I can't identify any particular pattern to her accent-switching, I've noticed that when she talks to other Brits at work, the accent becomes distinctly more British. I find this behavior very annoying because it seems fake. Just talk how you talk.

Thoughts? Discuss...

doggiesnot

Yep, keep it real!

Shweedog

I think it's natural. I am from Cali but moved to Texas when I was 15. I do find that when I am around my heavy accented Texas friends my acquired Texas accent comes out a bit more. When I am around my Cali friends I tend to talk with less of an accent. I don't think it's really thought about, just second nature.

impyimpyaj

It's called code-switching, and sometimes it's not intentional. My family is a bunch of very loud hillbillies with a strong accent. When I'm around my aunts and uncles and cousins, I speak the way they do. When I'm with most other people, I speak with a standard American accent, no drawl. I used to have a good friend from Poland, and when we spent time together I would pick up her accent within an hour, completely unintentionally. I've started picking up pieces of the local accent where I live now, but it only comes out when I'm with local natives. It's not fake, it just happens.

Contrarian

Sometimes, when people live elsewhere, they retain a milder form of their accent, but when they speak to someone from home, it kind of brings out a stronger accent. I doubt she is doing it on purpose.

Also, people from NZ are not "aussies". They are kiwis.

Fit_Canuck

I can easily switch from English to French and have my French accent be pronounced as much as I want when I'm speaking English, it's just something you develop over time.

Il_DaniD_lI

I have a coworker like that...we always refer to her as "them" or "they"..always in plural lol

Jessaustx

It's hard to explain.. I was born and raised in England and still have an English accent and (like others have said) it becomes even stronger when back in England or talking with friends/family from there. With my friends I talk in my normal English accent but sometimes when talking to strangers or customers I will switch to my generic American accent because (for some reason) a lot of people don't understand me and I end up repeating myself a lot, or some days you just don't want to have the "oh my gosh you're from England" conversation

kerryh1976

Just a couple points ..... firstly, if she's from NZ then chances are she's not "pouring on" an Aussie accent. And secondly, it probably subconcious. I have lived in various parts of the UK, and my accent alters depending on who I am talking to. I don't do it on purpose, it just happens. And I know others that do the same. Does it matter?

coachblt

I agree with Shweedog: I'm from North Dakota, now residing in Texas. While I've been in Texas for 20+ years, I'm still told I have a northern accent, but only by southerners. My northern friends tell me I sound like a Texan. It varies depending on with whom I having a conversation with at the time. Strange, I know. Then again...I'm strange! I get told that by both parties.

Tuffjourney

Sometimes I cant help it. Born and raised in San Diego, but I was raised by a British mum. I was brought up not really noticing the difference between the two. Both seemed natural. So, sometimes I slip and speak with a British accent or use the British terminology for things. Proud to be both.

Ohmydaze

I'm fairly well spoken English, and I find that when I speak to americans or Canadians, I enunciate and articulate better, and I sound much more "british"
My mother talks the same, except when she's in the presence of an American, all her intonation changes, and every sentence becomes a question? It's so annoying?
:noway:

cyclingben

"you sound like a dog with peanut butter on the roof of your mouth" - Ricky Bobby

Katbaran

I think it depends on the situation that one switches back and forth without thinking. It's the same as when you're with a group of people and you use the same words and phrasing that they do and when you switch to another group, you fall into their speech patterns. Like others said, it just sort of happens.
I have one British friend who only speaks with an accent when she is very angry. Another friend, who is German, speaks with a heavy accent when she is angry. Normally, you would never even know my German friend was not an American from the midwest--she learned fluent english in Kansas and has been speaking it for over 35 years.

lissymae11

I think it's natural as well. I'm from the Boston area, and while I don't consider myself to have a very thick accent, I do tend to say "wicked" a whole lot more when I'm with other Bostonians! Also, when I'm mad or excited, the r's tend to get dropped a little bit more...

When my friend calls her mom, she suddenly has the THICKEST new york accent. there would be absolutely no reason to fake it though!

This is a little bit different, but my grandmother is originally from germany, and i'm always amazed when i hear her talk to her sister on the phone because they speak in this weird hybrid of english and german. it's actually really cool though...

Mercenary1914

I am an Army Brat...I was born in Europe The Netherlands to be exact..lived in Germany, NJ, VA, SC, TX, OK...just to name a few

My accent constantly changes....It's nothing to do with being fake...it's just that I have never lived anywhere longer than 3 years...and simply do not have one distinct accent...People from the south think I am from NY or NJ, people from NY or NJ, think I am from the south...

Bleh

EmCarroll1990

It's called code-switching, and sometimes it's not intentional. My family is a bunch of very loud hillbillies with a strong accent. When I'm around my aunts and uncles and cousins, I speak the way they do. When I'm with most other people, I speak with a standard American accent, no drawl. I used to have a good friend from Poland, and when we spent time together I would pick up her accent within an hour, completely unintentionally. I've started picking up pieces of the local accent where I live now, but it only comes out when I'm with local natives. It's not fake, it just happens.

This happens to me as well.

TheFunBun

Yeah, I also go between a few accents, depending on who I'm talking to. It just starts coming out of my mouth and I can't help it!

I dunno about american midwest having no accent in particular, though! LOL

em435

I do it but I had never really noticed it until a university friend pointed it out to me - British when I'm in England, American when they're any Americans around, French, when I'm speaking to francophones, Kenyan when I'm speaking to east africans... etc etc etc

I grew up in a lot of different countries so I don't really have an accent to begin with. I suppose I change it to make it easier for others to understand me or just as a sort of extension of body language - you know, how we mirror the body language of people we like but, instead, changing how we speak.
...after all, they say imitation is the best form of flattery

keem88

born and raised a new yorker, went to college in ohio in 2006. back and forth every few months, i have lived out here now since 2010. i do still have my ny accent, but since i do not hear it all the time it has slowly started to go away. i do not notice this, but i have been told when i go home to ny, on the phone with family or friends from ny, drink a lot or am angry then my accent comes out, A LOT. i do not really try and control this, it just kind of happens. it is fairly noticeable still when i say things like dog, call, all, ball, coffee, talk, etc. i don't think i can really turn it on or off per say, it just kinda comes out how it is.

ladyfox1979

Hmm I can understand her plight a little bit. My Dad is from Nigeria and my Mom is a Black American. So I am African American(MN) in the true sense of the wrod.

When I lived in Nigeria my accent was so thick you couldn't tell I was even American then I moved to the US 16 years ago and you can't even detect it but for some weird reason when I am around fellow Nigerians or when I am pissed off the accent comes back. In some cases I can't even speak English.:bigsmile:

kelseyhere

No, it doesn't matter at all just always kinda bugged me because it seemed fake. I work in a very international office (I have co-workers from China, India, Japan, UK, Saudi, etc.) and most stick to one accent all the time. I don't hear the others Brits switching to an American accent when they talk to me, even though most of them have also lived in the States long enough to where they probably could. Mainly I was just bored today and have been listening her talk on the phone for the past 4 hours, and knew it would stir up some interesting talk on MFP

Sometimes I cant help it. Born and raised in San Diego, but I was raised by a British mum. I was brought up not really noticing the difference between the two. Both seemed natural. So, sometimes I slip and speak with a British accent or use the British terminology for things. Proud to be both. wink

^This to me is interesting though because I never considered that being a child, you don't even think in terms of "accents," you are just trying to learn the words and it is natural that you imitate the pronunciation of the person you are learning from. If you are learning from a variety of individuals, I could see how you might end up with your very own unique accent.

kelseyhere

but for some weird reason when I am around fellow Nigerians or when I am pissed off the accent comes back. In some cases I can't even speak English.:bigsmile:

^This is funny too because I've noticed the same thing with my co-worker, whenever she starts to get bad, her original NZ really strong!

mtaylor33557

I live in Southern Alabama and I have a thick southern accent. I never realized it until one day at work they let me in on the secret of how they all laughed and thought it was "cute" when I'd call for "Mike" because they all thought it sounded like I was saying "Mack".

I'm now much more aware of it, and at work I try to tone it down as much as possible. When I'm around my family, it comes out more.. and when I'm angry or drinking.. it's terrible.

runnercheryl

This makes me laugh with my fiance. He's a Geordie, and his accent is always pretty strong, but as soon as he steps off the train in Newcastle when we go to visit his family, it gets MUCH stronger. I laughed at him for it once, and he said it's not intentional and got quite offended! That said, I have heard him a couple of times say a sentence normally, and then correct a perfectly 'cromulent' word with a Geordie word. Again, that's apparently not intentional.

I have a BBC British accent so I just get comments about being posh, occasionally.

sarah44254

It's called code-switching, and sometimes it's not intentional.

Ding ding! Linguistics is an amazing field. I'm sorry you find it annoying and fake, but I doubt your coworker is trying to make her language seem different. American English, British English, and Australian are all different languages, they just feel very similar at the base. She is likely just switching to a new language in her mind when she speaks to different people.

AZKristi

Perhaps she is more comfortable speaking with her native accent but goes to extra effort to enunciate as an american would for the convenience of those she is speaking to?

I'm not a fake person, but when I talk to a person with a strong accent I have a huge tendency to change my inflection and I have no idea why. I find it very embarrassing and make an active effort not to do it, but it still happens sometimes. Cut this person some slack!

kyle4jem

I grew up in Scotland and speak Scots and English interchangeably, but during my travels I found that some non-Scots didn't always understand me, so I learnt to round my vowels more and enunciate better. I went to University in England (Hull, E Yorks) and I picked up a bit of a Yorkshire accent whist there which it still there when I speak English, but if I'm with fellow Scots or speaking to my folks, then I switch to Scots and sound very Scottish. It also happens when I say certain words like purple (where the r gets rolled) or film (where I add a schwa between the l and m.)

I have an ear for accents and languages and speak several European languages using several different languages. Dutch, which I speak as if it were my mother tongue, I naturally have a Rotterdam accent as that's where I lived, but can also speak ABNs (standard Dutch) as well as Antwerps (Flemish).

For me, it's very natural that I adapt how I speak to my audience. It's not a pretentious thing; it's just how my subconscious seems to operate :happy:

GasMasterFlash

I've noticed that when she talks to other Brits at work, the accent becomes distinctly more British. I find this behavior very annoying because it seems fake. Just talk how you talk.

Yes, always assume the worst of people. :noway:

This is pretty common when you have been away from your native tongue/accent, as you can see from the numerous responses here.

BAMFMeredith

I don't generally have much of an accent, but when I'm around my mother's side of the family I develop this THICK southern drawl. I just can't help it. And then when I visit my dad's side of the family that lives in Maryland, by the time the visit is through (usually a week or so) I start saying things here and there with that Baltimore accent. I don't do it on purpose at all, it just happens.

The southern one is worse though, since I learned to talk with a southern accent. You can always tell when I've been around the family because that drawl is outta control! But typically I don't have much of an accent at all, aside from my regular use of the word "y'all" (I can't talk without saying y'all). I don't think anybody really does it on purpose, more of a subconscious thing.

MizSaz

My Boston accent becomes outrageous when I'm drunk or mad. Or both. Otherwise, I make a concerted effort to keep it under control. I am, however, very prone to picking up inflections from people around me. I used to hang out with a lot of Irish people. My wording and tone picked up a decidedly Irish sound when I was with them for hours on end.