Accent inferiority complex?

I definitely had an accent complex.  It gets better over time but during the runup to the presidential election I kept pretty quiet out in public because I had a lot of people wanting to get into involved political discussions.  The only times I have to do the explain why I am here is with older people while waiting at the bus stop.

I usually speak up and talk and don't worry about it.  I do try and keep the tone down so as to not stand out too much.  I have had a few thoughts about feeling out of place, but that used to happen in the US as well.  I just tell myself I am being silly and get on with it.  Not speaking up is part and parcel of helping to isolate yourself and that isolation is not a good thing for adapting.  You don't have to be ashamed of who you are nor where you come from.  Sure you will have gits and idiots that might say things to you, but for every one of them will be a nice person.  I find most people might notice the accent (you can see it in their facial expressions), but very rarely will anyone say anything about it.

Those of you struggling with the Geordie accent can at least take some consolation in knowing that most of us from the south of England have great difficulty with it as well.     The same goes for Glasgow and Belfast.  In fact I'm not sure whether any of these are just accents at all;   I think they're really completely different languages which just occasionally have words which sound a little like English! 

Although my accent is definitely British, I tend to use American terminology regularly thanks to time spent living in the U.S. and the fact that I still have several work associations there.   Most people accept it, but I've been criticized for being "too Americanized" from time to time.  (Yet to all of you I would still sound very British --  Sometimes you just can't win!)

I always remember being down in Tifton, GA. and a 13-year-old girl listening intently to the conversation I was having with her parents.   She came in part way and hadn't realized where I was from.    Her exact words have stuck in my mind ever since when she learned I was English:  "I didn't think you was from Georgia - You talk funny!"       What's strange is that after a few weeks down there I suddenly realized that I was starting to draw out my vowel sounds much more than usual.   I guess we all pick up  certain characteristics of speech without even realizing it at first.

By the way, those of you from the South can also take heart in the fact that many linguists believe that Southern U.S. accents are the closest still in existence to the way English was spoken in Britain several centuries ago.

Ah Tifton....   Thanks that brought back memories... can I confess the bad habit of still lapsing into a southern accent even though I was born in Spokane, Washington? 

and yes the Geordia accent still gets me..

By the way, those of you from the South can also take heart in the fact that many linguists believe that Southern U.S. accents are the closest still in existence to the way English was spoken in Britain several centuries ago.

I know -- and I remind DH of that whenever he comments on how AMERICAN I sound!   

I was in northwestern England last year for a time and I felt a bit shy about speaking sometimes as well.  But I never got anything but nice comments.  As soon as someone heard my accent they wanted to know where I was from, and as soon as they heard NY they immediately asked me why I would be THERE when I could be in America?  It was also sweet that a few of the 12- 14 year old boys in the village I was staying in had massive crushes on me- because I was from NY!  The Lancastrian accent is very difficult to understand at first- to this day I have trouble understanding my fiance's father sometimes. 

Ah Tifton....    Thanks that brought back memories...

Do you know Agrirama in Tifton?   I have some great memories from there, sipping sugar cane syrup, pulling out gooey toffee, riding around in a hay wagon with the local kids, and having a good old-fashioned chat and sing-song round the fire. 

Re the Lancashire accent, my mother used to tell a story of when she visited there.    She was born and raised in London and the southeast, and was working on a farm in Sussex in the Women's Land Army during WWII.   She befriended a Lancashire girl who was down there too, and was asked if she'd like to visit their farm up north next leave. 

Well, Mom said that most of her friend's family had such strong accents that she had a hard time understanding them most of the time.    When she was introduced to a German P.o.W. who was working on the farm, one of the locals commented that "You might not understand her, she's from London." 

Apparently after hearing a few words from my mother the German smiled broadly and said "Thank goodness, somebody I can understand at last!"        It turned out he had been educated at Oxford before the war, and his English was excellent.

I was actually told that I had a lovely accent!  I have to admit that I have on occasion used a more English accent but I'm starting to just "come out" as an American whereever I am...if someone has a problem with me being from the US then that's their issue...

I know that I tend to pick up accents so I'm sure I'll confuse people in the future with my mix of southern, northeastern Pa, Massachusetts & London accents! 

if someone has a problem with me being from the US then that's their issue...

Yep.  I'm afraid you'll run into a few idiots here who seem to have a grudge against everyone and everything American, but that's their problem.  (And in my experience, they're usually the ones who have never even set foot in the United States.)

I don't have a problem with American accents at all, and  find them much easier on the ear than many British accents/dialects.    I particularly like the Southern accents. 

The Geordie accent is often referred to as English spoken backwards!

I have a Dutch acquaintance who lived in Newcastle for a few years. She SWORE to me she could speak Dutch to the locals and they'd speak Geordie back, and all was understood... 

My DH is a Geordie though his accent is faint due to snobby parents and not having lived there for many years. That said, he can lay it on when he wants... and I've probably promised my first born and my fortune to his uncle more times than I can count due to confused nodding and smiling at him during conversations! 

As for MY accent... living in FL, MN, LA, and MD over 30 years has given me a relatively mundane American accent overall but with many odd word pronunciations thrown in. And after 4 years here, I now readily mix American and British words, phrases, and even pronunciations and get either flack or giggles from both sides of the pond. I can't win so just don't care anymore!

I always felt it would be so much easier picking up any English dialect as opposed to Scottish. Why? Have any of you seen some of the names of the towns here? I have a hard enough time saying them let alone pronouncing them right. That's just one example, then there's learning the local slang and dialect. Luckily where I'm living the "accent" is easy to understand. I'll learn though. I've yet to run into any rude people, everyone I've talked to so far has been so nice and polite and the longer I'm here the more I'm realizing that I really don't think anyone cares where I'm from, and personally I don't see how anyone in the UK would have a problem with any American who wants to make the UK their home. I guess I've just been too hard on myself, I haven't been here very long yet and I've still alot to learn.

When I was in the States, I was always drawn to a British accent. I guess living in the D.C. area gave me more opportunities to hear them (the diplomatic corps, visiting professors, etc.) than you would in, say, the Midwest. I've lived here for almost five years, and I've heard both positive and negative comments from Brits who picked up on my "American" accent (I, too, don't have a specific accent--more the middle-of-the-road broadcast speech). The positive have been sincere questions about Americans and U.S. culture; the negative have been hostile assumptions that all Americans back G.W.'s global bullying tactics. Regardless, just be who you are. Soft-spoken but not meek in opinion has served me well, face to face.

P.S. One thing I've definitely learned since living here is that a question you ask that Americans wouldn't find intrusive or think twice about answering can be taken the exact opposite way here--as intrusive, nosy, you name it. Not being British, I can't speak for all Brits, but they're certainly much more reserved in expressing their feelings--good or bad--than Americans are. (I think that goes a long way in explaining what's happening in city centers and football games these days--alcohol negates the usual tendency to be so reserved/is an escape mechanism.)

Another thought, somewhat off subject: I still use American terms when speaking to Americans. I use British terms when speaking to Brits. I'm kind of baffled at times that on a site for expats, Americans (even newcomers to the country) use British terms speaking to each other. Hey, we moved here, but we still grew up with American English--we shouldn't have to give up American terminology when talking to each other. (I will always say shopping cart vs. trolley when speaking to an American, damn it!)

Talk about an accent inferiority complex -- me, a born and raised New Yorker.  And I mean New York, NY.  Not Buffalo, not Rochester, etc. . .  "Downstate" (if there is such a word).  No matter where I go, I open my mouth and people think I'm Canadian.  No joke.  A few weeks ago, I'm home in the US and a guy in the store asks me where in Canada I'm from.  Yeah, nice pick-up line, buddy.  Then last week, I'm in Scotland and a really nice but really drunk lady strikes up a conversation with me in the hotel bar, and as soon as I open my mouth, she says, "awww, you're Canadian!"  And she says "awww" as in, "how cute and sweet and I'm sorry for you."  I told her I was from NY and she thought I was joking.
Where'd I get my accent from?!?  Eh?

Stuz,

How funny! It reminds me of a similar story. I had a share in a beach house many years ago, in Dewey Beach, Delaware. My housemates and I used to go to a bar called the Starboard for happy hour. On one occasion while there, an extremely drunk guy grabbed my arm and said, "You're Irish, I can tell." (I have long dark hair, brown eyes and olive skin.) So I said, "Wow! How ASTUTE! What was the GIVEaway? Is it my flaming red hair, or my green eyes?" 

Another thought, somewhat off subject: I still use American terms when speaking to Americans. I use British terms when speaking to Brits. I'm kind of baffled at times that on a site for expats, Americans (even newcomers to the country) use British terms speaking to each other. Hey, we moved here, but we still grew up with American English--we shouldn't have to give up American terminology when talking to each other. (I will always say shopping cart vs. trolley when speaking to an American, damn it!)

Oh, you're joking.  I've lived here for over fifteen years.  I have English children, husband, friends, family, that I speak to EVERY day.  I speak to hundreds of people at work a day.  I lead a very busy life where I see aLOT of different people.  Language evolves.  And I want to be understood and frankly, I don't have the time or the inclination to change my speech depending on who I'm talking to.  I live HERE.  This is the language I speak.  Using two different sets of language patterns and vocabulary would be impractical and exhausting.  In other words, I call a trolley a trolley.