Accent Slip

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I'm sick of people asking me where I'm from all the time. I live in the same town I was born in. People have told me think think I come America, England, Canada, Ireland, Germany. But I never get accused of being from those places by people from those places.

Some of the time it's because of what I watch on TV (been watching Michael Crawford for two days. Bad idea). Sometimes I get it from reading a book. Sometimes it happens by itself. Some of the time I can't even remember what I'm supposed to sound like. I try to do Australian and sound like a bad impersonation of Paul Hogan. I think if I moved to another country I'd lose my accent within five minutes but lose that accent as soon as I started watching the BBC again.

Does anyone else have to put up with this? Is there a solution? Preferably one that doesn't require me to turn off the TV? Is it something to do with cultural cringe?

do you have the marvelous talent of being able to mimic people on first hearing?

I certainly change the way I speak depending on what I am reading, but I always sound Aussie.

Up to a point. It's easier if they have a deep voice though.

The hard part is remembering what I'm supposed to sound like. If I talk Frasier I sound arrogant and if I talk like Al Bundy I should like a bogan... If I could just find balance. If I sound like a geek... That kind of works for me. I have to pick a subculture and I prefer being eccentric to being bland. The only problem is it can sometimes lead to people thinking I'm smarter than I actually am.

I slip into about 5 different accents, it's pretty common for me.

My accent is seriously messed up! But mine comes from spending almost half my life in one country and the other half in another country, so I guess I have an excuse based in a certain kind of forced osmosis. But yeah I do relate to easily taking on another accent just by watching something on TV or even talking to someone with their own accent, because I still do that with my "two accents."

I

I wish I had that Zelig facility!

My New York accent stays a New York accent--no matter where I go!

I think that's really cool though, kraftie! I only wish my accent were that stable and unfaltering; I think it would cause less confusion for people, thus less hassle and questions thrown at me!

I happen to like variety in birdsong myself!

People constantly ask me where I am from... now that I live in Ireland, they are occasionally right, but the guesses for Germans are all oer the map: English, French, Russian, various areas of Germany, "Nordic"...

Finally someone who gets my pain.

I have the EXACT same problem. People thought I was lying about being Irish on skype because of my "European" accent.

I occasionally get a weird Norwegian-like accent and it sounds really funny. I also occasionally have my Canadian accent, my Belfast accent (From childhood; It returns only when I'm extremely frustrated) and my odd "European" accent that nobody will trust me because of.

It's funny how people guess so badly. Maybe it's TV's portrayal? I don't know.

i think you should try to not worry about it, just talk the way you talk. if they ask, just say "adelaide, mate" in your best bad paul hogan, and continue on with the conversation.

Yeah, I have the same problem. People have been asking me most of my life where I'm from. I pick-up the accent, and/or the way people talk wherever I am. My mother used to say I got southern as soon as I saw the "North Carolina" sign, when we were driving down-home. I still use alot of British-isms after living over there for a couple of years. Don't worry about it. Some people just like to have something to say.

I think it was Douglass Adams who wrote, "If human beings don't keep exercising their lips, their brains start working".