accents- turning it on and off

Musikelektronik

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...

Why do you care?

UsedToBeHusky

In my experience, people who live in a particular area for an extended period of time will assimilate elements of that particular culture unwittingly. It is most obvious with accents and dialects. I don't think that your co-worker is doing this on purpose. When she hears a British accent, then it cues a particular set of phonetics in her brain. This is a completely natural thing and is truly what has caused entire languages to form. Don't hold it against her.

Mercenary1914

I tend to do it as well. I grew up in the ghetto and I can throw down my ghetto when I'm home. But at work, I have no accent.

I most def have an work accent! I try not to scare the white folks...

embersfallen

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

The midwest accent is commonly known as the "standard" or "neutral" accent. In other words, the accent that is actually the absence of an accent!

OH I beg to differ. LOLOLOL. The accents around here drive me BONKERS!

MileyClimb

I am orginially from California but grew up most of my life in Indiana and have lived in Arkansas since 1996 not counting the short time living in Ny and Pa. I am told I sound like a hoosier.

_Christine_

I find I mimic people without thinking about it.

Get me around a southerner and I'm all yes ma'am and no sir.

Redneck... hell yeah!

BUT get me around my friend from Rhode Island and my Texas drawl is so bad it's funny.

pudadough

I have had at least three of my internet friends from other parts of the country/world comment that I "don't sound Texan" when I talk to them on the phone or in person. I guess I'm supposed to sound like a Beverly Hillbilly?

I do notice that I get more "country-fied" when I'm around my more...country...relatives. But it's not a conscious thing.

Elle_Jamaicangirl81

Sometimes we get forced to code switch..

When i moved to New York (from Jamaica) for college... i spoke normally (which is proper English, just not American) and my roommate just wave me off "I dont understand what you're saying"

It annoyed me she was so close minded and didnt try to understand me... but to keep the peace i spoke in an American accent when i spoke to her

Dont be annoyed, perhaps something like that happened to your coworker...so it's better to just switch it out sometimes

Allie_71

I have a Canadian accent, through and through, but when I talk to anyone from Trinidad, and my mom in particular, I lapse into a patois and have an accent.

And when I'm angry, the accent comes out. I have no idea from where. But it does.

rebeccap13

From the midwest originally, when I lived in Northern California people always said I had an accent. Now when I go back home people say I have an accent from living in Montana. I randomly have a southern twang which makes no sense at all because I'm from the St. Louis area, not the boot heel or the Ozarks in Missouri.

UsedToBeHusky

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:

Do you know what I find interesting? You can't hear an accent on the internet, but you can determine that someone has one based on the words that they choose.

LovelyLifter

I do it a lot depending on who I am talking , it changes their perception of you a great deal.

Exactly

I have a slight southern accent I try to disguise a bit. I'm not ashamed of it at all but people tend to stereotype you without even knowing it

BigDaddyBRC

I've traveled and lived across the US. I pick up accents quickly and naturally. It's the subconscious kicking in to fit in.

Deal with it.

Jersey_Devil

i turn mine on and off depending on who i am around. not intentionally. and not extreme, but enough that there is a slight difference.

rebewck

I have a drawl too... (western Kentucky)... when I'm with the natives, it comes out, but I work mostly in central/northern IL and IN, and it lightens up when I'm around non-drawlers.. I can even hide it if I really try, and make it thicker (works to charm older men), which causes my coworkers to elect me to deal with difficult people because I sound so sweet with my little accent...

EmpressOfJudgment

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

The midwest accent is commonly known as the "standard" or "neutral" accent. In other words, the accent that is actually the absence of an accent!

I just had this exact discussion with someone yesterday. Although, some Chicagoans have a slight accent, most of us don't unless they come from old south side neighborhoods where they talk like The Superfans. Parts of Wisconsin and Minnesota definitely have a detectable accent, but overall, we, in the Midwest, speak neutral. I was told they teach newscasters our "accent" because it's universal. Not sure if that's true, but it makes sense.

hiker282

People like people that are like them. I worked customer service for a number of years and always tried to adopt a subtle accent that matched whoever I was talking to. Southern is by far the easiest to imitate and I could never do the north eastern, but just learned to talk fast.

frenchmaman

I've been in France for 10 1/2 years and don't speak French with the Georgia accent I grew up with. It's not intentional. But as others have said, when I get back to GA, that southern accent comes back quickly. My German was fluent when I moved here and that has influenced how I speak as well. I don't have a French accent, but my French friends say I definitely don't sound American. Most French speakers can't figure out where I am from.

Captain_Tightpants

It's not fake, it's borne of frustration. Eventually you can only hear so many "oh how cute, I love your accent"'s or "can you repeat that?"s in one day. I tinge my British with American when I'm talking to strangers or ordering at restaurants. But when I'm on the phone with the fam I can relax and slip back into my normal accent.

Captain_Mal

I've been told my 'Georgia' accent comes out real strong when I'm mad. Most of the time it's not that noticeable.