Accents

I was just reminded of an experience I had when I first moved to the UK in 2009. I met with a recruiter and she told me that my accent would make people think I'm "uneducated". This was before I knew about the whole accent/class connection in the UK, so I just shrugged it off as a weird comment. Now that I know better, I'm struck by what a strange statement this was.

I'm from the suburbs of Boston but don't have the stereotypical accent. Other Americans would probably know I came from somewhere in the Northeast, but I've worked in several areas of the US and every time I introduce myself as being from Boston people always say they never would have guessed because I don't have an accent. I used to do a lot of theater growing up so I have definitely learned to enunciate properly. Some of my relatives who grew up closer to the city do have accents and my UKC fiance was shocked the first time he heard them speak.

Now, I know that people here form instant judgments based on accents, but I always thought Americans were exempt from this. We don't really fit into the English class structure and I would assume most English people wouldn't have the context to judge American accents in that way. Has anyone had a similar experience?

I imagine the recruiter meant that having an American accent of any kind made you sound uneducated, not your particular American accent. So many people have told me that they like my accent or that American accents are cool (!) that if anything it's the recruiter who sounds uneducated to me. There may be some prejudice in certain British workplaces against American accents, but it's more likely to be individual prejudices than institutional ones.

I agree that this is probably what she was implying. But it seems that in the UK it is the working class that usually have the strong regional accents. So if I did have a noticeable Boston/NY/Southern accent I can also see someone (who thinks that accents are important) mistakenly assuming that the same rules apply in the US and that you might be uneducated if you have anything other than the generic American accent you hear in film/tv.

I call people all day for my job ( reference checking) and so many people have been in love/awe with my accent it amazes me. I do get a bit of teasing from my colleagues from time to time based on American stereotypes but it's just playful, nothing serious...like not saying h right or aluminum lol . And I'm from the Midwest.


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I totally hear what you're saying and I was confused by the mixed reactions I was getting. Now that my ear has been fully inundated 24/7 with this accent, I get why we sound like hicks from Arkansas....say "purple turtle in the mirror" 3xs fast and it may be more apparent.  Gotta get that "oooer" thing down.


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I am from far west Texas (El Paso) and my accent is very different from my older sister. My sister (and parents) lived in the part of the city where the population was overly Mexican and did not speak English until she was eight-years-old when our parents moved to another part of the city. That's when I was born and I was brought up speaking both English and Spanish. When I was eight (sister was 16), we moved to a completely different part of the city and no one spoke Spanish. My sister's accent was noticeably Hispanic but mine became neutral. I can go to El Paso (I live in Houston now) and right away an El Paso native will suss out that I am from a specific area of the city. One thing that interests me though is that people are always surprised that I am from Texas. I guess my accent is a generic American one. My son and daughter always get confused looks from their teachers at school. My son still has a strong Bolton accent after living in the US for 12 years. My daughter was born in England but has a strong Texan accent after living in Texas for 12 years. Their teachers always comment that they are confused at how different they both sound and have suggested that they are "putting on accents".

Has anyone had a similar experience?

I'm originally from about 15 minutes outside Boston and I can't even count the amount of times I've been told by people here that they're surprised my accent isn't what they thought it should be...but then I noticed when doing an "american accent", they'd default to trying to do some type of southern accent or like a California sounding thing. I played a video of a stereotypcal Boston accent for people I work with and they laughed so hard and asked if I could please start speaking that way again... I used to have a much worse Boston accent but that just kind of disappeared since moving here, only coming out when speaking to friends and family from home or towards the end o my visits back to Boston. Or when really really drunk/angry (but that one is even a rarity haha).

Don't think I ever had much of a Boston accent but the vestiges of it become stronger whenever talking with folks back there.  Never had anyone here ever comment on it.  I've been told I'm very boring (i.e. not a typical American) so guess the accent is part of that.

I too am a Masshole born n bred I grew up about 20 miles SW of Boston in what was then a tiny town Medfield.. Never really thought I had much of a accent either..
Folks always had a hard time placing me lol perhaps because my gran who was from Scotland had an influence on some of the words we used even if it was with a Mass accent.. lolol..
Been here for 17 years this summer and folks still have a hard time figuring out where I come from .. lololol..
All part of the fun

I'm probably more surprised than I should be to find this many other "massholes" on here!

I'm probably more surprised than I should be to find this many other "massholes" on here!

Yeah, you get the feeling that nearly everyone is from Texas (no offense, Texas people!)

Yeah, you get the feeling that nearly everyone is from Texas (no offense, Texas people!)

Pretty much! Haha

Texans let you know pretty quickly.

Lots of people have told me that they love my accent or "could listen to me speak all day".    Only one word sounds particularly harsh here (and usually gives my birthplace away to other Americans) -  when I say, "wooder" (water).

The strangest incident is when I had surgery. My nurse asked if I was born/grew up in Ireland!    AND - his wife is Irish and he said I sounded like her. My great-grandparents were from Ireland, and I grew up around a lot of 2nd and 3rd generation Irish people, but sound Irish?  Nahhhh

The strangest incident is when I had surgery. My nurse asked if I was born/grew up in Ireland! 

That seems to be the default people go to with me hahah I've been asked on several occasions if I'm Irish.... Not even remotely! LOL