Joined: Apr 2001 Posts: 121,346PanzerMeyer
Pro-Consul of Florida
PanzerMeyer
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I know SimHQ has a lot of members who were born and raised in one country and then ended up emigrating to another country as an adult so I ask this question:
Did your native accent change at all after you were in your new country for a while or have you maintained it?
This question applies as well to people who have moved from one US state to another because accents can and DO vary a lot between different parts of the US.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
I've been told I have no discernible accent. When I was stationed down south people could obviously tell I wasn't a southerner, but couldn't tell where I was from based on my accent. I've been back in the Notheast for almost 20 yeas now and people have no idear I grew up here.
Phil
“The biggest problem people have is they don’t think they’re supposed to have problems.” - Hayes Barnard
I never had a strong accent in any case, I never took on a local accent :/ no idea why. I have a *slight* Yorkshire accent, despite being Scottish (Born in Scotland, raised in Yorkshire).
However, when moving to the Czech Republic, I DID have to speak differently, in that I had to lose all colloquialisms and cultural references.
Last edited by DM; 03/27/1711:15 AM.
"They might look the same, but they don't taste the same."
Joined: Apr 2001 Posts: 121,346PanzerMeyer
Pro-Consul of Florida
PanzerMeyer
Pro-Consul of Florida
King Crimson - SimHQ's Top Poster
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 121,346
Miami, FL USA
Originally Posted by NH2112
I've been told I have no discernible accent. When I was stationed down south people could obviously tell I wasn't a southerner, but couldn't tell where I was from based on my accent. I've been back in the Notheast for almost 20 yeas now and people have no idear I grew up here.
To be honest, I have no idea whether or not Maine has any kind of "unique" accent if you will. I know they don't have the well known Baaaaastan accent and I know they don't sound like New Yawkers either.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
I've been told I have no discernible accent. When I was stationed down south people could obviously tell I wasn't a southerner, but couldn't tell where I was from based on my accent. I've been back in the Notheast for almost 20 yeas now and people have no idear I grew up here.
To be honest, I have no idea whether or not Maine has any kind of "unique" accent if you will. I know they don't have the well known Baaaaastan accent and I know they don't sound like New Yawkers either.
Finding a video that's not overdone is hard, but here are a couple that show the "Downeast" accent.
I think southwestern Maine, where about half the population is, has intermingled with out-of-staters for too long to have a definitive accent of its own.
Phil
“The biggest problem people have is they don’t think they’re supposed to have problems.” - Hayes Barnard
I've been told by Californians (specifically from San Francisco) that I have a Chicago accent. Honestly, I didn't think I did because when I see people talk on national news and such, they sound like me or anyone else I know. But the Californians said something like my Os are more elongated or something. BTW, the South Side Chicago accent made famous by the Superfans on Saturday Night Live is rarely heard in Chicago (Da Bears, Da Bulls, etc). It's a stereotype.
My wife, on the other hand, still has her Southeast Polish accent. Her English is eloquent, but her accent is still strong. I think if you come to a new country before the age of 12 or so you have a better chance of picking up the local accent than if you came in your later teen years or more. If anything it takes way longer to lose a former accent. My mom doesn't sound quite as Filipina as she did, but some people hav esaid that she still has some trace of accent left.
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Joined: Apr 2001 Posts: 121,346PanzerMeyer
Pro-Consul of Florida
PanzerMeyer
Pro-Consul of Florida
King Crimson - SimHQ's Top Poster
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 121,346
Miami, FL USA
Thanks for those videos NH2112. I see that I was totally wrong with what I said earlier! In the second video the older couple almost sound like they're from England.
Last edited by PanzerMeyer; 03/27/1701:09 PM.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
Thanks for those videos NH2112. I see that I was totally wrong with what I said earlier! In the second video the older couple almost sound like they're from England.
technically the majority (but not all!) of people who currently live in north america come from england
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Moved to Ohio from Connecticut about 10 years ago and folks here always say "Where are you from your accent isn't from around here? " My accent isn't Bostonian but more New England Yankee
Joined: Apr 2001 Posts: 121,346PanzerMeyer
Pro-Consul of Florida
PanzerMeyer
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Originally Posted by Meatsheild
Originally Posted by PanzerMeyer
Thanks for those videos NH2112. I see that I was totally wrong with what I said earlier! In the second video the older couple almost sound like they're from England.
technically the majority (but not all!) of people who currently live in north america come from england
Yes but there has now been 300+ years of divergence between the accents you find in England and the accents that arose in North America.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
I fly on line with a man from Holland and he sure sounds British to me..hell his English is more correct than mine
Some years ago I joined a Dutch BF clan. They all spoke very good English,most were perfect. My Dutch however was less than poor. They were also a great bunch of lads,I preferred them to other UK clans I later joined.
Many Europeans sound British because I think their teachers are. More likely to have an Englishman teaching English in Germany or France than an American or Kiwi or Aussie, so that's the accent that comes out.
My wife's mother and her siblings all have different accents. They grew up in different places over the years, but only my mother in law has that thick NYC accent. Her older sister sounded more mid Western. Her younger brother grew up in FL and out west. Her older brother lived around DC.
Meanwhile, my father-in-law's family all have the same accent, but they all grew up in the same location for decades.
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All you Americans sound funny to me ! I have what is called a "Townie" accent around here. Nfld was settled almost exclusively by folks from Devon and Dorset northern part of province and Waterford Ireland in the southern part. Hundreds of years of isolation preserved these accents very well . The two cultures met in the capital St. John's and produced the "townie" accent which my British friends and Irish business colleagues say sounds like a "f#@kedup" Irish accent
The latest generation of kids just sound like people from Ontario
Joined: Sep 2001 Posts: 24,712Dart
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Dart
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Lifer
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My Southern drawl waxes and wanes depending on circumstance and audience. Or even topic.
Too many years in the Army talking over the radio or dealing with Yankees and other foreign types forced me to speak neutrally. So the more precise I want my words to be, the less accent.
But given a more relaxed environment or topic, the tongue goes rearward in my mouth and the Alabama comes out.
I'm sure OG thought I sounded like personality disorder when he came to visit.
The opinions of this poster are largely based on facts and portray a possible version of the actual events.
Did your native accent change at all after you were in your new country for a while or have you maintained it?
This question applies as well to people who have moved from one US state to another because accents can and DO vary a lot between different parts of the US.
When I speak Bisaya/Cebuano, that comes with an accent. If I speak Tagalog with that accent, it "gives away" that I'm Bisaya and Tagalogs usually look down on "people from the provinces." They feel that since they (Tagalogs) live in and around the capital, that they're superior. Also, if you go to Manila with a non-Tagalog accent, you're more prone to be scammed... like if you ride a taxi and ask to be brought to one location, the route can change depending on your accent
Because my dad's family is from Pampanga which is in Luzon, we used to go there a lot and also since we spoke Tagalog in my parent's house, I have a very good Tagalog accent so much so that a random Tagalog speaker can be surprised that I can speak another dialect with the proper accent.
Here's a foreigner doing a very good job... initially speaking in Bisaya/Cebuano and then a little of Ilonngo/Hiligaynon around the 1:44 mark. Not "authentic" obviously but see if you can spot the differences between the Bisaya and Ilonngo accents even if you don't understand the dialect.
Coming to the UK, I get mistaken for American/Canadian a lot because of my accent. The initial impression is that I'm Chinese because of how I look... which is funny because I would never pass for Chinese back home, even if you were totally off-your-ass drunk. Even after 7 years, I still haven't picked up the local accent and I don't want to.... it doesn't sound like "proper English" to me. A few other Filipinos who came with me have managed to adopt the accent though, which is annoying whenever I talk to them in english so I switch to Tagalog or a dialect instead. So funny how the accent changes like you've just flicked a switch.
It's not just the accent differences. The real learning is in the TRANSLATION! See the following example to help you all understand how to interpret a Minnesota. I'm originally from New Jersey, but my wife is a small rural town Minnesota gal. Minnesota is a passive-aggressive culture, not like the East Coast.
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My mom doesn't sound quite as Filipina as she did, but some people hav esaid that she still has some trace of accent left.
Filipinos are great at picking up accents... it becomes a point of pride for some people to sound very "local" after a while. I guess your mom just doesn't bother to get the accent correct, but I don't blame her
Like I said in the other thread, speaking English and adopting a different accent can be very tiring. It's like English is my work clothes, then Tagalog is my comfy home clothes, but then Bisaya is like being in my bed with silk sheets on. Or swap that analogy for heels/trainers/slippers for women.
- Ice
#4347231 - 03/27/1704:12 PMRe: Question about accents
[Re: Dart]
Joined: Apr 2001 Posts: 121,346PanzerMeyer
Pro-Consul of Florida
PanzerMeyer
Pro-Consul of Florida
King Crimson - SimHQ's Top Poster
Joined: Apr 2001
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Miami, FL USA
Originally Posted by Dart
My Southern drawl waxes and wanes depending on circumstance and audience. Or even topic.
And of course there are varying levels of the "Southern accent" intensity. I've met people who sound just like Foghorn Leghorn from Looney Tunes and I've met people who have just the slightest hint of a Southern accent like what you hear from Bill Clinton or Julianne Moore (film actress).
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”