Does your accent change?

[beanzontoast]

Mrs B has got me into watching repeats of Monarch of the Glen, a rather genteel and enjoyable hour-long drama series. It's set in Scotland (no? - yes! ) and features several Scottish actors and actresses. Strangely, last night, I noticed that when I went to bed straight after watching it, I was thinking with Scottish accent. Bizzare or what?!

My accent is definitely situational: it changes to something more Southern at work (having a lot of contact with people from the London area), and gets broader Derbyshire when I chat with my dad, but this is the first time I've noticed tv having this effect on me.

Am I alone in this?

 

[Hilldodger]

I was thinking with Scottish accent

Sounds to me as though you're a bit of a loony, Beanz

 

[Arch]

I find I tend to pick up little bits of strong accents (Scouse, Geordie, West Country) - just odd words, so I'm always worried it sounds like I'm taking the micky.

 

[Globalti]

Definitely. It's plain, unaccented English most of the time but Received Pronounciation when I'm hobnobbing with gentry or royalty and tending towards Lancashire in the Fred Dibnah mould when I'm instructing tradesmen or oiks.

My family moved to Newcastle when I was 15 and my brother and I soon laarned te taak Geordie in school.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

so do i, especially in australia (my excuse is i grew up there) and scotland, when mrs alec thinks i'm taking the mick…

 

[yello]

Absolutely. Everyone's will too. It's a linguistic phenomena known as 'accomodation'; basically you try to fit in with the people around you.

I sound more like a kiwi when I'm with a kiwi, more like a pom when I'm with poms. Lord only knows what I sound like in French... indecipherable most of the time I'd guess!

 

[tyred]

Definitely. I have various ways of speaking depending on who I'm talking to.

 

[ColinJ]

My mother is from the Highlands but has been living in England for about 65 years so her Scottish accent has become much less obvious. I've noticed, however, that it changes back whenever she speaks to Scottish family members and it stays like that for about a day afterwards. I can always tell if she has spoken to one of them recently when I speak to her on the phone.

 

[yorkshiregoth]

Whenever I go back up North or if I am around fellow Yorkshiremen by accent returns.

 

[simonali]

My nan, who was from Sunderland, never had much of an accent but would slip straight back into it when with northern relatives.

 

[beanzontoast]

Absolutely. Everyone's will too. It's a linguistic phenomena known as 'accomodation'; basically you try to fit in with the people around you.

Ah - I remember now reading about this once. And actually, the same thing happened after I spent a while in Hull with friends. I picked up a definite 'twang' of the region that was still echoing when I got home.

See, Hilldodger - I'm just being accomodating!

 

[Night Train]

I find accents very difficult to identify. Sometimes someone will ask me something like 'Did you meet the guy from Newcastle?' and I wouldn't know who they were refering to if the accent was the only identifying point.

I do pick up some aspects of accents and intonation from people I am close to and I do mimic facial expressions and movements but that is all part of me trying to map body language and associate new expressions I see with what is said at the time and what was meant as they are not always the same thing.

 

[simonali]

Steve McClaren was a classic case


View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZnoP4sUV90

 

[Dayvo]

Or Roy Hodgson!


View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z4RyBixn5U

 

[gbb]

Not born, but bred in Nottinghamshire, my accent is regaining its twang as i'm visiting there most weekends. Its definately coming back.