British Accent

our 6 yr old when she plays by herself with her dolls in her room she speaks in a very loud American accent.

 

I don't expect my accent to change at all.  Maybe a bit more neutral, because when I'm talking to my mom on the phone hubby has noticed that I sound a lot more "Philadelphia" than I usually do.  When you come here as an adult, I believe it's highly unlikely your accent will change much. 

The same goes for going in the opposite direction.  My Cornish friend has lived in the US for 20 years and still sounds distinctively Cornish (not just neutrally British), except perhaps a bit less strong, but like I said, definitely Cornish.

We also have noticed our 6 yr old when she plays by herself with her dolls in her room she speaks in a very loud American accent. 

...just like Mommy?

...

I know that I definitely do not have an English accent, but when I hear American tourists their accents sound much harsher to me than my own accent.

Oh, I understand. I find myself cringing when I hear certain Americans on TV or on the streets. It sounds so harsh to my ears, and I wonder if my accent sounds as harsh to others.

Oh, I understand. I find myself cringing when I hear certain Americans on TV or on the streets. It sounds so harsh to my ears, and I wonder if my accent sounds as harsh to others.

My sister once said that when she travelled outside the US, she overemphasized her American accent because she thought Americans abroad get very good service. I wonder if lots of other American tourists do that.  When I speak to my family on the phone, their accents don't sound anything as abrasive as the accents of tourists here.

DH was born and raised in Ohio. I am a Londoner who was teased growing up for 'speaking too posh'. Now we both speak some kind of hybrid dialect. So much so that we've both been asked - here and in the US - if we are Australian.

He's been mistaken for English in the US and people here in the UK sometimes assume I lived in the US with him as my 'accent is different'. I've only ever visited. So, I suppose the change in accent can work both ways!

My 2 1/2 year old daughter has a mix, some of the words she says come out flat California accent that I have but mostly it's an English accent. She's not picked up the Derbyshire/Midlands accent because her Daddy doesn't speak with one even though he's Born in Nottingham & raised in Derbyshire, because he had elocution lessons (his mother thought her boys should speak 'proper' because she used to work for some posh families) for a long time as a child.

  Oh I hope he gets the English accent- I think if we ever move back to the US it will charm the pants off of everybody!  I love listening to the kids on the playground- my heart melts, they are the sweetest things.   A lot of the kids back home try and talk like the Rappers they see on TV (not so cute)
   A friend of mine from Cumbria visits New York every year for holiday, and when we hang out I notice she starts talking a bit like me.  Her husband told me we couldn't hang out anymore if I insisted on turning his wife into a Yankee-doodle!

My sister once said that when she travelled outside the US, she overemphasized her American accent because she thought Americans abroad get very good service. I wonder if lots of other American tourists do that.  When I speak to my family on the phone, their accents don't sound anything as abrasive as the accents of tourists here.

Really?!  If anything I'd think Americans had the reputation for being loud and abrasive already so why emphasize that?  I know when I've travelled I tried to be as non-abrasive as possible especially during the Bush administration.

Really?!  If anything I'd think Americans had the reputation for being loud and abrasive already so why emphasize that?  I know when I've travelled I tried to be as non-abrasive as possible especially during the Bush administration.

Definitely!

I have a very nuetral American accent- nothing Massachusetts-esq about mine at all-
I sound very American- especially next to the ones I hear all the time- Highland, Wegie, Aberdonian, Polish and odd mix of English accents (that I can't even begin to recognise where they're from)- and J.'s and his brother's ecclectic Geordie/Highland Hybrid accent-  Except for when I go home, when my sisters (and Scottish grandfather)  comment that I have a "Scottish accent"    Maybe its because I am particularly prone to picking up vocabulary- and don't even realise I have words creeping in... 

After a year, people I meet tell me I sound very "token" American. So I guess I haven't started to neutralize yet- though when I talk to Brits I try to use the British words (courgette, crisps, etc).

People at my Dh's office however, say that HE has a neutralized accent, and always pick on him when he accidentally uses the American word for things (soda, dude, fries and awesome especially).

We have an american family friend in our town that has lived here for 20 years, with no trace of a British accent, and an in-law that has been here for 40 years and still sounds American. Both of our friends that came over when they were children ( 5 & 10ish) have both lost their american accents though, so like the previous posters said- it may have to do with age/impressionability.

Really?!  If anything I'd think Americans had the reputation for being loud and abrasive already so why emphasize that?  I know when I've travelled I tried to be as non-abrasive as possible especially during the Bush administration.

Because we leave big tips?

Because we leave big tips?

Yes of course we do leave big tips and that's not looked upon badly, I'm sure.  And I'm not saying Americans *are* abrasive, but I have gotten told many times in both Ireland and the UK that surely I must be Canadian since I am not loud, etc.  So that is the perception, I've found, but not necessarily the truth.  A few obnoxious tourists will be remembered much more easily than dozens of well-mannered ones.

I tend to pick up accents very quickly and easily. The only exception has been living in Texas, but I live in a metropolitan area with less saturation of the southern accent.  I have trouble not picking up the British accent just watching TV or movies from the UK.  I am genuinely worried about moving over there that people will think I am taking the piss, when I'm generally just picking up the accent and speech cadence very quickly.

DH was born and raised in Ohio. I am a Londoner who was teased growing up for 'speaking too posh'. Now we both speak some kind of hybrid dialect. So much so that we've both been asked - here and in the US - if we are Australian.

He's been mistaken for English in the US and people here in the UK sometimes assume I lived in the US with him as my 'accent is different'. I've only ever visited. So, I suppose the change in accent can work both ways!

I've always thought that the Australian accent sounded like a hybrid between English and Boston (as in paaaahk the caaahh in haaaavaaaahd yaaahd Boston).

I've been mistaken for Kiwi.