Reply to: What kind of accent do you speak with?

[TheBigYinJames]

In the week you are talking to public school boys, at the weekend you could be talking to lads who have been in jail.

And going on recent events, these could be the same people.

[aussielong]

It's good to know others flip between various accents, or strength of accent depending on who they are talking to. I used to feel guilty about doing that myself. Don't do it so much anymore. My accents seem to have converged.

I think if you come from a working class background but have gone through a decent Uni - and made middle class friends there - and ended up working in IB's you will end up doing this. In the week you are talking to public school boys, at the weekend you could be talking to lads who have been in jail.

Since i've been in Australia I have added a bizarre 2nd generation european immigrant accent to my collection. I picked it up from my girlfriend.

The problem is when you do this that you have to realise what your identity isn't. It's not the same as any of the people who you are impersonating. It is a new classless entity that has developed out of increased social mobility. You try and fit in everywhere but don't actually fit in anywhere. That's why I like Oz - everyone is like that.

[snaw]

Bollocks

I know, weird eh?

Funnier hearing my daughter speak (Well if you call what a two year old comes out with speaking) back home. She's got a habit of saying - ooh no, in a kind of proper english accent and sounds hilarious to my mum!

[Charles Foster Kane]

Joe Pasquale accent.

[NotAllThere]

... I was forced to adopt a slight American intonation purely to get myself understood. ...

I encountered that.

- An iced water please.
- Huh?
- Gimmee anice-watter
- Oh, yeah, sure.

Worse than Germans.

[Torran]

Dollar Academy mixed with Leith ken

[cailin maith]

14 years away from Scotland and I've still got an incomprehensible west coast Scottish accent. Well when I get a bit pished anyway, normally I can tone it down.

When I lived in Aus I picked up a slight Aussie twang, but that was only apparent to people back hame, and when I lived in the US I was forced to adopt a slight American intonation purely to get myself understood. I've regressed since I've been back in the UK, but back home they think I speak a wee bit posh ...
Go figure.

Bollocks

[snaw]

14 years away from Scotland and I've still got an incomprehensible west coast Scottish accent. Well when I get a bit pished anyway, normally I can tone it down.

When I lived in Aus I picked up a slight Aussie twang, but that was only apparent to people back hame, and when I lived in the US I was forced to adopt a slight American intonation purely to get myself understood. I've regressed since I've been back in the UK, but back home they think I speak a wee bit posh ...

Go figure.

[Sausage Surprise]

Juande Ramos

Even he speaks better english than Chris Waddle......"Pelanty, Pelanty, surely ref"

[Sausage Surprise]

When you live in North East it's easy to distinguish between, Nothumberland (Jackie Charlton), Byker (Ant & Dec), Sunderland (Townie), Durham coalfield (pit yakker) and Teesside (smoggies & Vic Reeves).

However, to the southern, shandy drinking woofters we all sound the same.

[oracleslave]

I blame Chris Waddle

Juande Ramos

[Sausage Surprise]

Is that somewhere like Tottenham?

I blame Chris Waddle

[NotAllThere]

Yorkshire when talking with native English speakers, otherwise RP. ( Helps Johnny Foreigner understand ). My German has a distintive Swiss accent. French accent is N.E. France.

[cailin maith]

Apparently I do a decent impression of the shipping forecast...
Northerner with RP, (NE England), good capacity for mimicry but it has to be a conscious effort. If there are people around me with strong accents it just reinforces my RP, oddly.

Elocution lessons as a child, sadly. I like the NE accent.

You do

And I am the opposite - if I am talking to anyone with a strong accent I will end up trying to sound like them, some people think I am taking the pi$$.

I LOVE accents and always enjoy trying to pinpoint where in the country someone comes from by their accent.

Not sure how mine presents itself though. I was born and grew up in the west-country, but other than prounouncing the occasional word with the west-county twang I don't think that it would be obvious. There are a few on here that have met me and might think differently

Lots of....

Yam yam all the way. Especially when p!ssed.

[realityhack]

A good lawyer may have a shot at getting your money back

Copious amounts of beer, your honour.