Are you picking up the local accent?

My husband and I have decided that if his US Visa is refused then we're moving to Wales...and all I can think of (and it makes me giggle) is the scene from Torchwood when Gwen says 'Excuse me have you seen a blowfish driving a sports car'...and (I know it's silly) it's the only thing I can say with a Welsh accent.  But some of the Welsh accents are pretty thick especially the further away from the England you get 

My husband and I have decided that if his US Visa is refused then we're moving to Wales...and all I can think of (and it makes me giggle) is the scene from Torchwood when Gwen says 'Excuse me have you seen a blowfish driving a sports car'...and (I know it's silly) it's the only thing I can say with a Welsh accent.  But some of the Welsh accents are pretty thick especially the further away from the England you get 

 I had such a hard time with the welsh accent- Hubby and I took little man to Conwy Castle and I swore that the Welsh must have been misspelling things because an alarming amount of vowels were missing in the words! To this day I still cannot pronounce "Betsy-cowed" .. "Betsee- co- ewd"... ugh   I give up!

I'm from the Northwest of the US, which I think has given me a slightly softer American accent, or at least really throws Brits who are trying to guess American or Canadian--apparently lots of them play this game with North Americans.  I am currently living in the Southwest of England, so I like to pretend that with all these West Country accents around, making their 'arrs', that I don't stick out too much.  In reality, I regularly get asked about my accent at work (waitressing), and yesterday had a couple search me out to ask about my accent because they had spent most of their lunch discussing it.  I've found the best approximation to my accent (to my own ear) was a lady I met in Australia, who was a Canadian from BC, had married a Scotsman and lived in Scotland for a bit, and then moved to Australia.  She described us as sounding like a mess!

My (English) boy and I have both noticed that we speak much more clearly than we used to from being around each other, but he has trouble listening to me speak to my American friends from home, and I have trouble following conversation between him and his friends from home.  Or rather, I can follow it eventually, it just takes me so long to translate it that I can't join in.

I've found myself having no problem translating words from British to American in my head, like "tap" to "faucet" or "boot" to "trunk", but I don't reach for them when constructing my own sentences.  I'll talk about the zucchinis and reach for the courgettes without batting an eyelid.  My husband thinks I'm being stubborn and refusing to pick up the lingo. : )

So I guess after two and a half years, it is creeping in a little, but other than the slang words I say, I think my accent still sounds very American. I mean, when someone puts me on hold and I can hear them shout "Some Canadian is on the phone for you, mate," then I know I haven't become a proper Geordie yet. 

I think the telephone exaggerates whatever your accent is.

I've found myself having no problem translating words from British to American in my head, like "tap" to "faucet" or "boot" to "trunk", but I don't reach for them when constructing my own sentences.  I'll talk about the zucchinis and reach for the courgettes without batting an eyelid.  My husband thinks I'm being stubborn and refusing to pick up the lingo. : )

I tell people that learning new words is easy but forgetting the old ones is hard!

LOL... I think in a local Geordie accent all the time now. I think "Howay, man, you cannit do that like." 

I've started saying "canae" and "dinae" instead of can't and don't.

My husband says he can never be truly mad at me if I call him a bastard because my accent is too funny when I say it (NW OH). He has only been listening to my accent for 9+ years, and it still gets him everytime, apparently.


My workmates think it's hilarious if I say "trash can" and laugh so much at the way that I say "yogurt" that they've taken to calling me "Yogurt" instead of my real name 

My workmates think it's hilarious if I say "trash can" and laugh so much at the way that I say "yogurt" that they've taken to calling me "Yogurt" instead of my real name 

My friend laughs at my "trash can" and "yogurt", too!  I have a French friend who says "trash" instead of "rubbish".  Apparently, in France, they learn "American" English.

Your workmates calling you "Yogurt" reminded me of Andy from "The Office" calling Jim "Tuna".

It really depends on the day for me.

I'm from San Francisco, so I had a pretty mild American accent to begin with--no valley girl speak.

My husband and I subconsciously meet in the middle when we talk to each other. He hates hearing me speak on the phone because he says my accent becomes so twangy. Certain phrases are easier for me to say in a semi-Scottish accent. The other day I was exasperated at work and said "this has been the longest day" and my coworkers all cracked up and said I sounded perfectly Scottish. Overall, I think I still sound like an American with a mild accent, though it's blurring at the edges.

I'd be happy to lose it, though. I was never too keen (har) on my accent.

That is so weird just last night I was telling DSD to eat some yogurt and the older one died laughing and DH did too...I was like what? What? I could NOT pronounce it like them and the younger one said guys stop picking on Jen b/c she is American lol

Yea I still cant say it!

ChillyWilly, this sounds like a dinner I had in Australia, with a bunch of English.  My meal was last to come out, so they had all finished and sat there staring, mocking, and laughing as I ate "American-style" (switching my knife and fork when I cut up food).  I was too hungry to care.

ChillyWilly, this sounds like a dinner I had in Australia, with a bunch of English.  My meal was last to come out, so they had all finished and sat there staring, mocking, and laughing as I ate "American-style" (switching my knife and fork when I cut up food).  I was too hungry to care.

Funny thing is I always ate "European style" and my father used to yell at me about it when I was a kid.

Ha, I don't eat any style except my own - so I get made fun of in all countries 

Ha, I don't eat any style except my own - so I get made fun of in all countries 

Me too! 

I love the way Jamie Oliver says 'yogurt'...I've tried to immitate it for fun but it's useless.  That is one word that really makes me sound like a country bumpkin.  I'm all, "yo-gert".  My daughter says, 'yo-gret'. 

I have trouble trying to say "world" like they do on BBC news.