Your Accent

...or sometimes Irish...

Someone on the phone awhile back (at work) asked me if I was Irish?!

And when I went back to Kansas last, someone told me I had an English accent?!

Now you, Genau!, have heard me speak...I mean, WTF?!

Someone on the phone awhile back (at work) asked me if I was Irish?!

And when I went back to Kansas last, someone told me I had an English accent?!

Now you, Genau!, have heard me speak...I mean, WTF?!

Yeah... definitely no English or Irish detectable from my POV! 

Genau, on the other hand, sounds like a native! 

Genau, on the other hand, sounds like a native! 

True.  She does.  I have another friend I've known for about 20 years who from Southern California and you'd never know she wasn't British to talk to her. 
I don't have my real NE PA accent though.  More a toned down slower one.

More a toned down slower one.

That's toned down?!?! 

That's toned down?!?! 

Sadly, yes.

Someone on the phone awhile back (at work) asked me if I was Irish?!

I've had two people I work with ask me if I was Irish.

I get Irish a lot. (I have noticed a similarity between Dublin accents and US accents on many words, though.)  I also get Australian, Canadian, Welsh (I'm sure this is mostly because of my name, though) and 'British person who's spent some time in the US or watches a lot of American TV.' 

The only person who ever thought I was Irish was Irish.

Go figure.

My mom seems to think my accent has changed, though she can't say how. Mostly she just makes fun of me for the words I use. I try not to use any slang, as I would just sound like a moron if I was throwing around 'mate' and 'craic', but she gets a giggle that I say things like "Do you want to go out for a meal?" rather than "Do you want to go out for dinner?"

My husband and my friends don't think it has changed one bit in my 2 years here, and I've never had anyone mistake my accent for anything other than American and/or Canadian so I'm pretty sure my Great Lakes accent has stayed intact.

I was born in NYC, grew up in central NJ, but I do NOT have a NY/NJ typical accent.  I actually get told I sound Canadian in the way I say certain words and I'm sure that after a few months in the UK I'll start to sound a bit local since I just seem to pick up accents easily.

I was born in NYC, grew up in central NJ, but I do NOT have a NY/NJ typical accent. 

Neither do I!!!! I get so tired of hearing "you don't SOUND like you're from NJ...how did you get rid of your accent?" UGH. Not everyone who grows up in Jersey sounds like a cast member from Working Girl or The Sopranos!

Neither do I!!!! I get so tired of hearing "you don't SOUND like you're from NJ...how did you get rid of your accent?" UGH. Not everyone who grows up in Jersey sounds like a cast member from Working Girl or The Sopranos!

I do have to admit, I say a few town names with that slightly nasal Jersey accent - like Piscataway and Trenton. What part of NJ did you grow up in? I grew up in Mercer County. (oh wait, is this where I'm supposed to say "what exit?" LOL)

But yeah, I get told all the time I don't sound like I'm from NJ because I don't sound like Tony Soprano or Tony Danza (who was from the Bronx, but no one ever remembers that). 

And I don't call it "Joisey"! 

(As a random note: I have a sweatshirt that says "Jersey Girl" on it. Tim claims I'm not a real Jersey Girl because I'm from New Jersey and not Jersey, so he's going to take me to Jersey.  LOL)

People began to comment on my funny accent about a year after moving here. Never brits, they always say I sound very American (non regional) but my family insist I sound English now.

I've been here nearly 6 years and I've begun to notice that I don't get as many comments from clients on the phone or random people asking me about where I'm from. I think my American accent has softened somewhat and isn't as immediatly noticable.

I do have to admit, I say a few town names with that slightly nasal Jersey accent - like Piscataway and Trenton. What part of NJ did you grow up in? I grew up in Mercer County. (oh wait, is this where I'm supposed to say "what exit?" LOL)

But yeah, I get told all the time I don't sound like I'm from NJ because I don't sound like Tony Soprano or Tony Danza (who was from the Bronx, but no one ever remembers that). 

And I don't call it "Joisey"! 

(As a random note: I have a sweatshirt that says "Jersey Girl" on it. Tim claims I'm not a real Jersey Girl because I'm from New Jersey and not Jersey, so he's going to take me to Jersey.  LOL)

What exit indeed...LOL...I grew up in Bergen County, which is why I have an aversion to shopping malls and a deep appreciation for left turn lanes. I got the same line about not being a real Jersey girl, and the same promise to visit "the real Jersey"! LMAO