My accent

Being rude to customer service people isn't exclusive to chavs.

In fact, chavs might even be nicer because they may have spent some time on your end of the phone line themselves.

It's the people who have never had to  work at sh*t jobs to make ends meet who are more likely to be insensitive.

This is a huge one for me!  I will be moving from Oklahoma to Scotland soon.  Lucky for me, most Scots find the drawl charming. They love the westerns and country music and like to say ya'll to me all the time. They start making references to the Dukes of Hazard, Hee Haw, amd Dallas.  They either think I live in a shack playing a brown jug all day or live on a massive spread in a plantation house or something.  It gets soooo old. That was okay until they kept asking me to say certain words and then chuckle. I actually had to excuse myself from a conversation at one of his friend's house to cry in the bathroom.  It hurts my feelings.  Although it's amusing to them it gets to you after awhile and that was just a two-week holiday!

Well Scottish accents range from the charming to the bizarre.  It takes a specialist to understand some of them! LOL.  They have no room to criticize, not that they would...

My husband has lost a bit of his Scots accent, and to me is very easy to understand.  What is humiliating is people asking him to "please speak English."  "What language are you speaking?"  People have asked me, "How long did it take your husband to learn English?"  I say, "about two years!"  Waiters often ask me to order for them because they don't understand him.  He was working on a case the other day in a supermarket (hes a refrigeration guy) and someone approached him and started yelling him in the store. He was shouting at the top of his lungs telling him, "Go home, foreigner" and "You have no right to be here."  "Your taking valuable jobs away from Americans and you can't even speak English." These are things I hate about America! We can really be "ugly Americans."  

The sad thing is that most of these people have Scottish or Irish ancestry but they don't even know where it is.  Pretty pathetic when somebody by the last name MacDonald or something says "where you from?"  "Scotland."  "And where's that at?"  "Britain."  Pause followed by blank stare. "Above England."  Another blank stare followed by the sound of crickets chirping.  "The United Kingdom."  Blank stare.  Hello. Did somebody here a doorbell ringing? "The UK."  Pause.  "Oh, I see.  Wow, Russia that's cool."  I'm not kidding- that did happen.  They must think it's the Ukraine, and they wouldn't have recognized that one either but it was an Olympic year so it was fresh in their minds.  

What is a good point, I suppose, is that in ten years, a Black, Asian or Native American has ever asked him to repeat anything, never degraded or laughed at him and never told him to go home.  

We Americans have so many uneducated, arrogant and ignorant people, it's laughable.  Even some of my English friends here have had similar comments made to them.    

I hope I don't have to deal with that in the UK.  My husband's tough skinned, but he's had enough and is sick of it over here.  If I receive that kind of treatment over there, I'll never last.

My husband got tired of people asking him why he's here, so he came up with a few creepy answers.  One of my all time favorites is "I killed my lover and now I'm hiding from the law."  People don't know how to take the British sense of humor.  They usually walk away.  LOL

We Americans have so many uneducated, arrogant and ignorant people, it's laughable.   

I don't think America has a monopoly on ignorance. I've encountered it in many places unfortunately.

The sad thing is that most of these people have Scottish or Irish ancestry but they don't even know where it is.  Pretty pathetic when somebody by the last name MacDonald or something says "where you from?"  "Scotland."  "And where's that at?"  "Britain."  Pause followed by blank stare. "Above England."  Another blank stare followed by the sound of crickets chirping.  "The United Kingdom."  Blank stare.  Hello. Did somebody here a doorbell ringing? "The UK."  Pause.  "Oh, I see.  Wow, Russia that's cool."  I'm not kidding- that did happen.  They must think it's the Ukraine, and they wouldn't have recognized that one either but it was an Olympic year so it was fresh in their minds.  

I got this too, while I was living in the US!! More than once, when it was necessary for me to say that I'm from "the UK," someone said "Russia?"   I even have a very unremarkable English accent (London-born) which you would think wouldn't have people guessing anything so exotic.

I hope I don't have to deal with that in the UK.  My husband's tough skinned, but he's had enough and is sick of it over here.  If I receive that kind of treatment over there, I'll never last.

My husband got tired of people asking him why he's here, so he came up with a few creepy answers.  One of my all time favorites is "I killed my lover and now I'm hiding from the law."  People don't know how to take the British sense of humor.  They usually walk away.  LOL

Both my parents happened to die of medical disorders, back here in the UK, during the first two years I had settled in the US.
In regard to the question "So why are you here?" -- especially since many who were aware of the bright lights of London couldn't understand why I'd give up a city like London to live in Austin Texas --  a few times some Americans actually made macabre and painfully inappropriate "jokes" or jokey questioning along the lines of, well, I must be on the run in another country for the deaths of my parents.

I'm serious.

Actually had that brought up by more than one horrible person who thought they were hilarious.

Both my parents happen to die of medical disorders, back here in the UK, during the first two years I had settled in the US.
In regard to the question "So why are you here?" -- especially since many who were aware of the bright lights of London couldn't understand why I'd give up a city like London to live in Austin Texas --  a few times some Americans actually made macabre and painfully inappropriate "jokes" or jokey questioning along the lines of, well, I must be on the run in another country for the deaths of my parents.

I'm serious.

Actually had that brought up by more than one horrible person who thought they were hilarious.

I am so sorry for that.  Maybe they were thinking it was the dark, dry British humor and were trying to play along...

Did they know your parents had passed?

Yes; this usually all came in the same conversation, in meeting new people.Along with the revelation of being from the UK, and therefore the questions as to "Why are you here?" or "What brought you to Austin?" another common question that often followed would be do I get to go back and visit my family often, or do I miss them, etc. To which I sometimes gave the honest answer that I "don't really have reason to visit much now as my parents have passed," and then this would be when some people would make the "joke". I found it appalling. 

oh dear. I think a lot of people just feel really uncomfortable and have no idea how to respond when it comes to death. A simple, I'm sorry would have been the better response. 

I know; eh, what can you do?

At least now that I'm back here, I don't get this one anymore, I guess.

I don't think America has a monopoly on ignorance. I've encountered it in many places unfortunately.

One of my recent professors said that he found it surprising that people were so negative and down on US education....because for a nation full of the ignorant, the stupid and under performers we seem to have still managed to become a world super-power and economic giant.  

Just food for thought and not about accents.

As for the OP.... my DH constantly gets the "I love you accent" comments and the "Why can't they hire someone who speaks English" one.  A lot of the time it has to do with whether or not the customer at the other end of the line is happy or not. 

He's a Brit living in the USA.

I used to get a bit of ribbing while in the UK, but never took it seriously.  I gave back as good as I got.  Thing is there are some nasty people and toxic work places out there and if you are in one get out when you can.  One thing is joking with someone and another is harassing someone. 

I was on the phone with some company the other day and this Scottish guy said my accent was "loovely". And I, um, may have swooned just a little bit.

Because Scottish accents are the looveliest.

This is really an aside - just a funny story that I wanted to relate.

I work with a guy who was initally rather unimpressed with my American-ness, even though I never really said much.  After we got to know each other a bit, he started trying to teach me the West country accent (which sounds horrible coming out of my mouth).

Occassionally, when I don't understand something he says I'll ask him "what language are you speaking??"  Other times, when he's being shirty, he'll put on an American accent and spew some vitriol.

The other day, I absentmindedly mimicked something he said - just to get a feel for the accent.  He looked down his nose and said "that's how we speak here".  I said "I know, it's cute!!  Like a bunch of hobbits." 

After a moment of silence and some drawn breaths, he broke out in full Samwise and did this whole routine about the walk to Mordor and asking if he can carry the ring.  It was entirely entertaining. 

Fortunately for me, I work in a pretty cool place. 

I was on the phone with some company the other day and this Scottish guy said my accent was "loovely". And I, um, may have swooned just a little bit.

Because Scottish accents are the looveliest.

Haha! The Scots who call our office always seem to like my accent, too. 

I've had a few jokes here and there about my accent, but I just play it up and exaggerate a ridiculous Texas drawl to make them laugh, or I just tease them back about something. Usually it's just for fun. Once though, my sister-in-law was hammered at her birthday party and because it was loud in the pub and I asked her mate to repeat herself, my SIL says to her mate: "Yoou haave too speeeak slooowly soo shee caaan understaand yoou." It was embarrassing for me, but I just laughed at her and walked away. My DH's ex-partner called me thick once soon after I moved here because I couldn't understand her, and I just pointed out that I am quite educated, and it isn't my fault that she can't speak proper English (she has a very broad Geordie accent) so I can understand her better. It shut her up, and DH laughed like crazy. (Partly she was shocked that I understood she was calling me thick and responded, I think she just thought she could say whatever right in front of me and it would fly over my head.) 

I do get asked all the time "What brings you here?" and I usually just smile and say I came for love, or I married a local, and try to leave it at that. It certainly gets old, but it's just a conversation starter, kind of like talking about the weather. Most people here have been very polite and interested in the states, or like to tell me about their previous travels there, or their auntie who lives in Florida or whatever, and so, I have had a lot of nice conversations with people about America. I can't say I always relish being different or that I don't ever feel like a novelty, but I can't help the way I speak, so I have to just get on with it.

I've had people tell me that I should learn to speak English here in the UK. 

Ignorant people are everywhere and I have certainly heard the line about foreign people taking jobs that should be for British people. 

No one here knows where Pennsylvania is and it is bigger than Scotland, but I don't think that makes people ignorant. 

No one here knows where Pennsylvania is and it is bigger than Scotland, but I don't think that makes people ignorant. 

I agree, and that is a wonderfully put point.  There was a time the word "ignorant" connotated "uninformed" or "unaware."  Since I have been married to a Scotsman it has become code for "thick" and "stupid."  I still like to think of it as a nicer word like "unaware" though.  I am so ignorant (and thick and stupid sometimes too) about so many things, I feel like I know nothing, but hopefully in my older age, I am learning more. 

The world is becoming such a small place all of a sudden in the last half century.  Things are changing everywhere.  Some people who refuse to accept it and mock and make fun are always going to be around. 

Are you from Pennsylvania originally, bookgrl?  If they had a problem with the way you speak and told you to learn English, then I am in for it!  I don't consider my drawl all that strong, but I sure hear myself speak when I am over there!  Oh well, I'll get over it I'm sure.  I'll just think of an excuse for rudeness in my head like I do for people here.

Plus, the novelty of having a different dialect/accent wears off after awhile and friends and family listen and respond like it's second nature (at least that is the way it has been for my husband's experience here).

I just am so afraid of being mocked and being called a hillybilly or redneck or inbred or something ridiculous.  I'll just go along with it and play it up.  I'll have to embellish every sentence with ya'll and ma'am and shucks.