English accents

[The Mitchelli]

I know many Englishmen who have relocated to America and over time are losing their accents.

Is it no longer acceptable to be proud of your heritage?

<baffled>

 

[Pantisocrat]

We have lot of English accented immigrants to America of late, esp. in California. Most of them work blue collar jobs. It's hard to be proud.

The ones that do well lose it rather quickly, and change or rather adaptation is a trademark of English folks.

 

[Journeyman]

Originally Posted by The Mitchelli

I know many Englishmen who have relocated to America and over time are losing their accents.

Is it no longer acceptable to be proud of your heritage?

<baffled>


I don't think that it is that they are not proud of their heritage, it is just that your accent does tend to change to more closely resemble those around you as time goes by.

Of course, some accents seem to "stick" more than others - I've spoken to quite a few Polish or Russian people who have lived here in Australia for decades and they still sound noticeably Eastern European. On the other hand, I know people from New Zealand, the US, Canada and other places who are very proud of their heritage and their country of origin, but whose accents have faded very significantly over time.

 

[Rover!]

Regardless of what language you speak, if you move to an area where people speak in a different accent and live there for an extended period of time, your accent will change. It just happens naturally. I know some Americans who have lived in the UK for quite a while and their accents have changed considerably.

 

[Matt]

I've lost a lot of my Australian accent from living outside of Aus for 10 of the last 15 years. It doesn't happen by choice.

 

[spb_lady]

Originally Posted by Matt

I've lost a lot of my Australian accent from living outside of Aus for 10 of the last 15 years. It doesn't happen by choice.

it comes back once you're drunk

can't understand a single word

 

[JustinW]

Originally Posted by Matt

I've lost a lot of my Australian accent from living outside of Aus for 10 of the last 15 years. It doesn't happen by choice.

The edges of my Strine have come off in the past years, though I probably cultivate more Australianisms than I ever would have said back home.

 

[fuji]

I moved from the US to England when I was 6 and I haven't lost my American accent at alll.

 

[unjung]

My city imported a bunch of you to be bus drivers and cops. Enjoy.

 

[Lvivske]

Originally Posted by Rover!

Regardless of what language you speak, if you move to an area where people speak in a different accent and live there for an extended period of time, your accent will change. It just happens naturally. I know some Americans who have lived in the UK for quite a while and their accents have changed considerably.

exactly

 

[Lvivske]

Originally Posted by fuji

I moved from the US to England when I was 6 and I haven't lost my American accent at alll.

You had an accent at 6?

I assume you just continued to leark to speak as your parents did though, right?

 

[DukesofStratosphear]

Originally Posted by Rover!

Regardless of what language you speak, if you move to an area where people speak in a different accent and live there for an extended period of time, your accent will change. It just happens naturally. I know some Americans who have lived in the UK for quite a while and their accents have changed considerably.


Not necessarily.

My auntie lived in the Los Angeles area for almost twenty years and didn't lose her English accent at all.

 

[Don Carlos]

My best friend's father is English and has lived in Los Angeles for the last 30 years. His accent is still going strong.

 

[Geoff Gander]

I think it depends on age. My father and uncle came to Canada at the ages of 5 and 10, respectively. My father doesn't have much of an accent at all, but my uncle sounded like he'd just stepped off the boat his whole life.

 

[Teacher]

Originally Posted by DukesofStratosphear

Not necessarily.

My auntie lived in the Los Angeles area for almost twenty years and didn't lose her English accent at all.

It all depends on the individual. Some lose their accents completely, some partially, and some not at all. I once studied with a guy who grew up in Scotland and then lived in England, Canada, and then Germany (that's where I met him). His accent was such a mish-mash that nobody could possibly have guessed where he was from. It was kinda cool, really.

When I was about seventeen, I dated a girl for a little bit before I realized she was German and had moved to the US from Germany only when she was 13. Even after I found out, I could hear no trace of German accent in her.

There's an Englishman who lives in my town and has lived here for two or three decades. He sounds like he just stepped off the plane.