Loosing/Gaining Accents

LauraMacNCheese

I had a pretty thick southeastern PA accent...I've lost it for the most part. It comes out in a few things I say. When I go back to visit my family, it comes backs with a vengeance, LOL!

mslack01

And by the way, I love, British, Australian, and South African accents. I also love Boston accents. LOL. They all sound so much more fun than us country southern girls.

Fish_Hook

I think people adapt, the longer you have been in one place to more you acquire the accent. The same goes for losing one as well. To this day I can listen to music or a movie from my Country or have a conversation with someone of the same background and I will immediately have a soft accent again for a few days when I speak English. Same goes for the southern draw. If I listen to country for a few days in a row, or immerse myself with people of that dialect, I immediately pic up the infamous draw.

LindaLouLu

Thanks to 10 years of speech therapy, I can pick up just about any accent in under 10 minutes and retain it until I run into a different accent. I also have the worlds easiest time picking up "foreign" languages.
But, I have managed to retain my original accent (DEEP south/ backwoods Louisiana) when I get very tired or upset.

Shannon2714

I was born and raised in Pennsylvania until I was 13....had no accent of any kind. Moved to Virginia for about 5 years and picked up a hint of a southern accent, but nothing major. Then, I moved to NC and then to Pensacola, FL...THEN, my southern came all out! Now, I've been back in PA for about 11 years and have lost most of my southern...but anytime I talk to friends from down there, or I go back to visit...it comes back like wild!

Fani2003

it depends on w long your there i think.
Ive been in america for a year now, and ive picked up the way they pronounce words differently.

eg coyote- i pronounce it cy-yo-tee
they pronounce it coy-yote

but people can still easily recognise im australian although i have found i no longer say "how ya gowin" lol

but when i go back home, it switches back straight away, its all about the people you are around

I've never heard anyone in America pronounce it "coy-yote". Are you sure?

They do it here in the south, too. I had no idea what they were talking about.

Josie_lifting_cats

When my husband first came to Minnesota, he had a pretty distinct accent. It's pretty much gone now, though. He ALMOST sounds Minnesotan. :-)

zombiefarmboy

I think I started getting a little bit of a southern accent when I lived down in Georgia for 3 years, then Texas for 2. Then I moved to NY and people said I had a midwestern accent. I was born and lived in Illinois for 19 years. Been in NY for over a decade, so who knows what kind of accent I have, now?

yoovie

My Louisiana accent got worse when I moved away actually

rml_16

I was born and raised in Pennsylvania until I was 13....had no accent of any kind. Moved to Virginia for about 5 years and picked up a hint of a southern accent, but nothing major. Then, I moved to NC and then to Pensacola, FL...THEN, my southern came all out! Now, I've been back in PA for about 11 years and have lost most of my southern...but anytime I talk to friends from down there, or I go back to visit...it comes back like wild!

Everyone has an accent of some kind. You had a Pennsylvania accent (which would depend on in what part of PA you lived).

yo_andi

I moved to the US in 9th grade. I was the first new student in my grade since they were all in 3rd grade. I was tall, extremely lanky, had a boyish haircut and still no curves. I had a funny accent to boot. The accent was the easiest to lose. Would I change that decision now that I'm older? Absolutely. At least the accent comes back every now and again (especially when I'm drinking or tired, or spending too much time with other expats)

coloradocami

Even just talking on the phone with my mother, I slide right back into a southern accent.

LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo

it depends on w long your there i think.
Ive been in america for a year now, and ive picked up the way they pronounce words differently.

eg coyote- i pronounce it ky-yo-tee
they pronounce it coy-yote

but people can still easily recognise im australian although i have found i no longer say "how ya gowin" lol

but when i go back home, it switches back straight away, its all about the people you are around

haha I like that but that made my tongue twist hard, in our case we just say it kó-yo-té (note the stressed vowels)

76tech

I don't have any accent of any type. Everyone else does though.

Actually I've been told mine is hard to place, I know I've picked up elements from different places I've lived and people I've spoken to on the phone a lot.

Bobby_Clerici

The way I always see it, I speak perfectly - others have an accent....:drinker:

catshark209

I guess I sound Californian, from what sales reps I speak to on the phone tell me. When I'm working with a lot of Hispanic people, my kinda ghetto Northern Cali Mexican comes out: "Eyyyy turn off the water ey". Or total Spanglish. It trips out my tailor, who's totally Spanish speaking and the customers, who are majorly Caucasian. We switch back and forth between the two languages effortlessly.

mgmlap

I was born in England..but been raised in the States. When I hear someone speak British English..I start changing my accent.. It sounds as if I am making fun of them..but am not.
I also lived in Jersey for about 7 years and have a slight Jersey Accent.
When I go back to Cali..and talk to my niece..as my husband says..I turn into a valley girl.

I am just one of those who picks up accents quickly...Probably because I heard so much growing up..with family all over the world coming to visit.

Rixx31

I've lived in the US for 15 years now, still have a strong British accent. Born and raised in England.
I think it depends on your age when you move to a different location. If you're a young age I would say you'd be more likely to pick up the accent for the region you're living in.
I lived in Birmingham for about 11 years as a nipper and picked up a Brummy accent for a while (much to my mum's dislike) but it slowly disappeared.
A lot of it also has to with the accents of people you interact with most over a longer period of time.

My wife's from California originally and since we've been together she's slightly picked up my accent it seems - also a LOT of the British slang (some of the Cockney rhyming slang too). It's funny to hear someone from the US refer to the phone as the `Dog`...

supplemama

I was born and raised in Ohio and overall have a flat midwestern accent, however there is a hint of southern twang in there because my mom is from the south. You tend to speak like whoever you first learned language from.

SouthernSweetie74

it depends on w long your there i think.
Ive been in america for a year now, and ive picked up the way they pronounce words differently.

eg coyote- i pronounce it cy-yo-tee
they pronounce it coy-yote

but people can still easily recognise im australian although i have found i no longer say "how ya gowin" lol

but when i go back home, it switches back straight away, its all about the people you are around

I've never heard anyone in America pronounce it "coy-yote". Are you sure?

They do it here in the south, too. I had no idea what they were talking about.

I'm from the south, and we pronounce it cy-yo-tee

winninga

My husband is from Belfast, Northern Irleland. He's lost a lot of his accent over the past 10 years that he's lived here. A lot of the reason is he changed the way he spoke so people here could understand him better.

stacygayle

I lived in the South when I was growing up and lived in the South until I was 26. I almost have no accent now since moving to Oregon 13 years ago. I lost it pretty quickly. I do get it back when i travel to the South or am around my family but it disappears after I'm away from them.

DonttrythatwithME

i'm from England, we all sound like James Bond ;-)

ElizabethRoad

it depends on w long your there i think.
Ive been in america for a year now, and ive picked up the way they pronounce words differently.

eg coyote- i pronounce it cy-yo-tee
they pronounce it coy-yote

but people can still easily recognise im australian although i have found i no longer say "how ya gowin" lol

but when i go back home, it switches back straight away, its all about the people you are around

I've never heard anyone in America pronounce it "coy-yote". Are you sure?

They do it here in the south, too. I had no idea what they were talking about.

I'm from the south, and we pronounce it cy-yo-tee

I grew up in Alabama and I've lived in various places in the US. I've only heard two pronunciations:
First syllable rhymes with "by", not "boy".
Second syllable is like the word "oat".
Third syllable is either "ee" or left off.

Emancipated_Tai

I lived in Ohio for most of all my life, but in Florida the last 6 years. I still sound the same, and other always ask me where I'm from because I sound so "proper". :laugh:

I didn't realize how country people in Florida sound, but there are still words people say and I just look at them like :indifferent: :ohwell:

winninga

In my 35 years, I have lived in both the midwest and the west coast, and never picked up any accent until I moved here to NE Wisconsin. Now I'm kinda sad to say I do have somewhat of a Northern Wisconsin accent.

Ah, kinda like da Yoopers, eh?

MB_Positif

When I lived in South Carolina I picked up a Southern Accent, but it didn't take long to lose it once I moved back to Pennsylvania. When I am around my Southern friends though it starts to come back a little.

HURLEYX3RO

YES. TOTALLY YES.

I'm from Texas.
My accent tends to be very very country and southern sounding.
I say Y'all, ain't, witcha, fixin' ta, and I call all soda "Coke", even if its a Dr. Pepper.

My husband is from Southeast Pennsylvania.
He says stuff like Pop, Yinz/Yunz, etc.

When his family first met me they laughed at my accent especially when I said "Y'all".
I've noticed that over time, that I've "covered/masked" my accent, and it sounds "normal".
According to his parents, he now has a Texas accent.
When we visit, it takes all of 1 hr for him to start sounding like a yankee again. lmao.

dmpizza

The Irish girl that cuts my hair has never had much of an accent in the 12 years or so, I have known her. She started cutting my hair a short time after coming to the US.
An Irish man I know has been in this country 45 years and sounds like a leprechaun including odd sayings and inflections.

I guess part of it is upbringing and the people you want to stay identified with.

StrengthIDidntKnow

When I first started college in Central PA, I had a pretty thick NJ accent. By the time I graduated 4 years later, it was not as noticable. Now 16 years after I graduated I haven't really noticed.

Where did you go?

Susquehanna University