Accents

I've always considered myself to have a fairly broad Belfast accent, certainly going by the few times I've had the misfortune to hear a recording of my generally awful voice played back at me. But I've also in the past had other very Belfast-accented people at times ask me where I'm from. When I said Belfast, they sounded surprised, even sceptical. I definitely don't speak 'fluent BBC' (though I imagine its influence has crept in subtly for sure), but maybe there's more neutrality in my accent than I thought. It's interesting that my Dad has a more neutral accent than any of his siblings, though I think his career being teaching had an influence there. My mum has a soft accent too, as her father was originally from a more rural place. 

She may or may not change it as she grows up. 
I know someone who has an American twang instead of the right accent for the area they come from.

My daughter used to speak similarly, and she would also speak with an old English way when she was infatuated with victorians. 
I myself randomly speak in a Yorkshire accent lol, and I’m in Suffolk! I am very good at emulating accents, and other peoples voices in general, even sounds I hear. I quite like it. It can be fun. It shouldn’t be seen as a problem.

Most Europeans learn English from US TV. I had a Spanish Teacher in Tech, from the Basque Region, who said, "Whatever!" a lot. 

Brilliant answer Dawn, I am able to mimic as well. I often don’t realise that I’m doing it. I wonder if it’s our attempt of trying to fit in with the people around us. I find that if I stay in a different area for a few days I can then pass off as a local. It’s like a built in thing of watching which words are over emphasised or which letters become silent. My father could do the same and my son has favourite films that he knows verbatim and he can mimic all the characters voices as if you are watching the film with the sound turned off. My son is now 25 and I’m only just starting to understand him, when my children were young, I was not in a good place and missed a lot of them growing up. He lives now with his partner about 200 miles away. He stayed with us last week and told me of some of his school life. He said that by year 4, he had read the school library and was disappointed that there were no more books. He said that he then found the town library. We were shopping for food last weekend and I made a comment on a food item that my wife picked up. I said that I couldn’t tolerate it. He then quipped that he agreed and said  “ what makes you think that your the only neurodivergent in the house.” I had never realised. I remember talking him to school discos and he would go in and then ask to go home. Sorry don’t know why I’m blurting this all out. My mother will often ask my son why he talks so posh.!

My wife has been a nurse for about 15 years, she has noticed that most of the Eastern European nurses have an American accent. She has asked some of them why? The answer is always that before moving here they watch ‘ Friends’ on loop and learn English from it.

Yes! I totally relate to everything in that video!

I was accused of talking 'posh' at school too, although as my parents were from 'down south' it was assumed that was why rather than TV. And I didn't swear until I got to uni. I think there may be an element he missed though thinking about that - I had no urge to copy other children who were supposed to be my 'peer' group, I never really saw them as my peers I think. The few who were my friends, yes, but certainly not the great number who were often mean to me or bullied me. But when I got to uni I did feel more like that was my peer group so was more likely to copy them.

Thank you, I thought part of the problem in developing fluent language was the need to have the exact same tone to identify the word but I strongly reconsider it then. Not easy to find which assumed concept needs to be twisted, your help is highly valued!

I haven't got perfect pitch, but I bet there those among us lucky to have it all, born to be conductors

I was considered English, at school, as I copied the TV I watched.

My brother was American in his linguistics; generational thing. 

Great video! My son has "perfect" accent in all languages that he is learning, he uses apps to learn foreign languages as a hobby although he still doesn't talk much. Does it also has to do with perfect pitch and/or perfect memory? 

You're most unlucky as I was advertising it for half a year already.

I find his style in conducting information easy to take in, without extra 'filler' in sentences.

If you watch Autistic Whisperer series he talks about ways of improving communication between autistic and allistic in various situations, like with bosses and colleagues, partners, friends, etc

Thank you for flagging his stuff up! Really appreciated 

I will be watching all of his videos, and just did the very first one on recent diagnosis. He described that process of relief, grief and belief beautifully. His style reminds me of The School of Life. Gentle, articulate, concise but comprehensive, and with a charmingly mannered delivery. If I’d known about his channel sooner, I’d have started there with videos instead of the helpful and appreciated but more meandering material of Aucademy etc. 

In other videos he puts in bits from Doctor Who.

I think he is brilliant, and hilarious at the same time,

he invested a lot of work to make them apparently, many videos contain advice for us, not just shared experience.

That’s a great video, entertainingly done and quite funny. I think that guy must indeed have  ‘fluent BBC’ in his very bones, as even the font he uses is ‘formula one’ - instantly reminiscent of the Doctor Who credits from the early eighties. 

how it works for autistic. Watch this https://youtu.be/E1FJX2J2IAw

Well put. I second this!

Google Echolalia! It will explain the phenomena and it is an autistic classic. And she may never grow out of it - I never have - although she may turn out to be an excellent mimic of other accents and may turn out to be good at drama.

You know, one of the reasons I was bullied at school was that I sounded "posh". I sounded nothing like either my Geordie parents or Warwickshire peers with a strong dialect.

At university I studied linguistics, realised my mother's descriptions of my language acquisition did not fit the normal model, nor had I ever converged to my peers' accent as theory dictates I should have. My university pals could never exactly place where in the UK I was from and as linguists too they'd be more skilled in that than your average person.

I sounded more BBC, your kid is mirroring American Telly. She may turn out to be a good mimic of other accents. I am. I'm a good actress and a language graduate, but I have no actual natural UK accent.

It happens basically because the driver of our learning is copy the authoritative source (the telly) to do it and therefore communicate need efficiently, rather than the social driver that most NTs have; I copy you (your/my peers accent) to interact and relate to you....Bell's Accomodation Theory...won't bore you with my explanation of undergrad linguistics, lol. Basically our language learning is all about function and efficiency, not social or relational goals as most people's is.

After many years living abroad and in London, I now live where I was born. No one believes I am local. I sound nothing like and I am 57.