Your Accent

For all you people who have been residing in the UK for more than a year, how long were you living here before you noticed, or other people pointed out to you, you were begining to speak with a local accent and less with the American accent you came here with.

I know everyone is an individual, and each person's situation is different; however, I am just looking for a genralised opinion on a typical average length of time of residing in the UK before changes in your dialect were notiable.  I don't think your accent will completely change, but from what I've heard it will take on a more localised flavour after living n a place for X amount of years.  Im curious just how many years that was for those of you who have been living here for a long period of time.

By the way, I read that you are usually the last person to notice such things.  Most likely people are told they sound different for the first time when they are speaking with a fellow American whom they've known a long time but haven't spoken to in years.

My DH is the american and I can't detect a change in his accent but I do notice (as does his friends and family back home) that he has started to talk faster.

He still uses American pronounciation for the most part but has started to use a bit of slang now and then.

My husband, who is English, lived with my in the Texas for three years. A few weeks ago we met up with a friend who he went to Uni with, and after about five minutes she exclaimed "And what's up with that twang!"
I had noticed that in the three years, his british accent seemed less pronounced, but I had no idea he had picked up a "twang"!

I know I have read in more places than one that accents are generally fixed by your early 20's (I'll have to look that up again in case of a challenge no doubt  ).  That's not to say subtle changes won't occur, but a full overhaul in your accent any later than that is not likely to have occurred naturally.

Vocabulary, slang, etc. is obviously a completely different story!  I have only been here eight months and have started picking up all sorts of words and phrases, some consciously in order to be understood, and some completely out of the blue!

I have always been one to pick up accents really quickly so it only took me a few months.  Same thing happened when I moved from NJ to WV though.  I was saying y'all straight away..

However, the MD of my company is from VA and he has been in the UK for 11 years or so and has not lost one single lick of his VA accent.  You would never think he was anything other than an American when you hear him speak!  He sounds really funny to me actually:-)

my family joke that I have a british accent now, hehe (I've been here nearly 2 years.)  That's a total exaggeration, of course as I still naturally speak with an American accent (well, most of the time, but that's for another thread) but some of my inflections/pronounciations are now different and of course the vocabulary I use is different.  I'm sure in situations where a very limited amount of words are exchanged (ie, during a routine transaction at a shop) the person I'm speaking to wouldn't necessarily pick up on my accent, but of course once I start having a full blown conversation there's no way to hide it!

I still get told that my accent is really strong and that's after 20 years.

Are you expecting different answers from the last time you asked?

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=33645.msg440286#msg440286

Are you expecting different answers from the last time you asked?

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=33645.msg440286#msg440286

I thought I remembered this coming up before.  Haven't finished your book yet?

I have been here for almost 10 years, I think I sound as Long Island as they day I moved away, other people however think I sound veddy veddy British.

I say its more mid-atlantic. I hate when people say I sound like freaking Madonna..

Nope, after 4 years here, I still have a strong Midwestern cum Southern US accent.  Some of the words & vocal inflections have changed, but I still sound like a hillbilly.  Many of the Brits I speak to comment on how much they like my American accent and tell me never to change it.

My accent is stll the same, but I've only been here about a year off and on.  I don't really expect it to change, though when I talk to my Mom or friends from back home on the phone, my hubby says my accent gets much more strong.

Hey Mrs.R--a woman from Chicago (though she also lived in Kansas and Florida for quite a while) came into my shop today. I recognized her American accent and struck up a conversation with her.  She lives in Bramley.  She's been here 10 years and her in-laws live very very close to us.

I still get told that my accent is really strong and that's after 20 years.

Very true!  I would never guess you've been there as long as you have just by hearing you speak.

I say its more mid-atlantic. I hate when people say I sound like freaking Madonna..

Sometiyems, Eye singgg and deance around da house in meye undaweaaaa.....doesn't make me Madonna...neva will   

I am just looking for a genralised opinion

Hooray!   someone who actually WANTS generalisations!   

I have been here around 20 years or so... i have no idea when my accent started developing, but i did start using local slang / expressions pretty much straightaway... within a couple of months, probably.

I have a mish-mash combination accent... Scots think i sound Canadian or sometimes Irish, but most Americans in the US think i sound Scottish.  I probably just sound like a freak.