Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?

When I moved to Illinois at the age of 15, I lost quite a bit of my Texan accent and when we moved back a year later, you could still hear the Chicagoan accent in my O's, especially. It mellowed out, though, after I moved back to Texas a year later. Still, I never quite sounded Texan again after that. I do sometimes put the Texan accent on a bit when I speak to my grandma, I've noticed.  I think being younger does make it easier to adopt an accent, partly because you are more self-conscious at that age and want to fit in a bit more? Not that I felt I was trying to say things in an Illinois accent, but I dropped a lot of the Texan things to avoid being made fun of, like saying "you guys" instead of "y'all" and that sort of thing, and the rest started to come in naturally. I don't doubt if we had stayed there that I would've picked a lot more of that Illinois accent.

Everyone from England says I sounds sooooooo American, but then when visit the US everyone says I sound soooooo British. So, I suppose I'm just a hybrid?  It's inevidible you'll pick up an accent if thats all you hear day in and day out. Embrace it and enjoy it.  It's not the worst accent to have.  

Somebody at work who is Australian asked how to pronounce croissant yesterday -she was having one of those moments that you have.  And we just stood there and neither one of us could remember if we were pronouncing it the British way or the Australian way or the American way. It was pretty funny.  Plus we totally confused the British people who were there.

Somebody at work who is Australian asked how to pronounce croissant yesterday -she was having one of those moments that you have.  And we just stood there and neither one of us could remember if we were pronouncing it the British way or the Australian way or the American way. It was pretty funny.  Plus we totally confused the British people who were there.

How is it pronounced in the US? And the Aussies? I know it is pronounced here with the T at the end and I thought that is how we say back in the states. I always use the French pronouciation  sort of a craw sa nasal sound.

But the one that still gets me is fillet.

Everyone from England says I sounds sooooooo American, but then when visit the US everyone says I sound soooooo British. So, I suppose I'm just a hybrid?  It's inevidible you'll pick up an accent if thats all you hear day in and day out. Embrace it and enjoy it.  It's not the worst accent to have.  

My aunt's been living in the southern US for over 30 years now, but she moved over with several British friends (for nursing jobs) and has lived with one of them for the entire time she's been there. She doesn't have an American accent as such, but it's not entirely British either... she kind of sounds Australian now... sort of a 'mid-Atlantic' accent, I guess.

I was only in the US for 8 months last year, but I was constantly surrounded by Americans (and was also teaching undergrads) and so I was using some American phrases rather than British ones to make myself clearer (especially for my students). One of my colleagues here in the UK told me recently that when I came back to the UK last year I did actually sound a bit American for a while, although that faded away after a few weeks. I do find that I now adjust how I speak slightly when speaking to Americans compared to Brits though.

fillet.

Yes. I just can't make that mental jump I guess. No matter how many times I hear fil-let, I still say fil-lay.

if you pronounce words like 'garage' {.....} in the British way

Which British way?  There are two common and very different pronunciations in use.

How is it pronounced in the US? And the Aussies? I

Like I said, I have no idea.    Different.

Which British way?  There are two common and very different pronunciations in use.

My hubby pronounces this as 'gare age' (almost sounds french the way he says it) whereas I would say 'gah rahg'.  I also have to keep in mind (I forget this so often) that people within the UK pronounce things very differently.  My hubby is from Yorkshire and I know there are certain things that are local to that area, but don't apply to rest of the UK.  Most of his friends and family (the people I hear speak with a British accent most often) speak broad Yorkshire or even Tyke...I don't care how long I live there, I don't think I'll ever figure that language out.


I love the way Brits never pronounce 'h' (I don't know if this goes for all Brits or just the ones I know).  I remember when my arms got all scratched up from putting the Christmas tree together and my hubby said I looked like a 'self-harmed'.  I kept trying to figure out what makes a person look like 'self armour'.

My hubby pronounces this as 'gare age' (almost sounds french the way he says it) whereas I would say 'gah rahg'.  I also have to keep in mind (I forget this so often) that people within the UK pronounce things very differently.  My hubby is from Yorkshire and I know there are certain things that are local to that area, but don't apply to rest of the UK.  Most of his friends and family (the people I hear speak with a British accent most often) speak broad Yorkshire or even Tyke...I don't care how long I live there, I don't think I'll ever figure that language out.

You will get used to it. The accent where I live is nuts, but I'm so used to it now that other British accents sound funny to me. 

You will get used to it. The accent where I live is nuts, but I'm so used to it now that other British accents sound funny to me. 

I don't think it's the accent so much as it is the dialect...they don't speak English...lol.  The fact that they say things like "Wa's thou doin t'neet?" or "'Shin 'tin" doesn't bother me too much because I can get that.  It's when they say things like "It's nut jannock" or "'Ee taks noa gawm" that throw me off.  Especially because most them talk really fast so an entire paragraph basically sounds like one word.

I don't think it's the accent so much as it is the dialect...they don't speak English...lol.  The fact that they say things like "Wa's thou doin t'neet?" or "'Shin 'tin" doesn't bother me too much because I can get that.  It's when they say things like "It's nut jannock" or "'Ee taks noa gawm" that throw me off.  Especially because most them talk really fast so an entire paragraph basically sounds like one word.

Yeah, it's the same around here. Believe me, the Northumbrian accent/dialect is pretty outrageous. (Example: "Wor youngun went yem." Translation: My brother went home."  ) It took me several months to understand what the heck people were saying, but now I totally get it. You really will get used to it with time. I've picked up quite a bit of local slang, actually.  I doubt I will ever sound much like a native, but at least I know what's going on!

My hubby pronounces this as 'gare age' (almost sounds french the way he says it) whereas I would say 'gah rahg'. 

Actually, the French word is more similar to the American than the British.  This is a question of stress rather than prononciation.  Americans say gar-AGE and the Brits say GAR-age.  The French also put the stress on the second syllable. 

Actually, the French word is more similar to the American than the British.  This is a question of stress rather than prononciation.  Americans say gar-AGE and the Brits say GAR-age.  The French also put the stress on the second syllable. 

When I said it sounded French, I meant that it sounded like a French word (in general).  Not that it sounded the way the French would pronounce that specific word.  The way my hubby pronounces it, it sounds with 'carriage'.  The way I say it (with a Southern drawl) is probably more clearly spelled out like this: 'gor raj'...stess is on a different syllable and also pronounced entirely different.

When I said it sounded French, I meant that it sounded like a French word (in general).  Not that it sounded the way the French would pronounce that specific word.

It is a French word.