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View Full Version : I'm so terribly British!



Bahamut2000X
01-25-2008, 06:35 PM
So have you ever had someone mistake the way you talk for some kind of accent?

I do all the time. Everyday at work I get questions asking me if I'm British or Australian because 'I have an accent'. In actuality I have a speech impediment and most people are just too stupid to realize this. If I tell them I have a speech impediment they talk slower and act like I'm mentally retarded. If I tell them I'm not British/Australian/Brooklyn-ish they seem to want to disbelieve and argue that I don't know what I am. So I've developed the habit of just telling people I'm really British cause it's easier. :monster:

So anyone mistake your speech for something it definitely isn't?

Cookie
01-25-2008, 06:36 PM
Some guy in Cornwall went "So you're like what, cockney?"

I lol'd.

Polaris
01-25-2008, 06:45 PM
lol yeap when i talk english my teachers say I sound german!:whimper: but I got an A at my oral exam in english so I guess that's not bad!

Rye
01-25-2008, 07:05 PM
Nope. Everyone who listens to me knows I have a thick Noo Yoikah Queens accent. xD

Yamaneko
01-25-2008, 07:14 PM
It's difficult to pinpoint the Californian accent since we speak a pure form of English.

demondude
01-25-2008, 07:16 PM
You can't get a more british accent then me I swear. xD

Dolentrean
01-25-2008, 07:25 PM
No, people dont confuse me, though i can assume accents pretty well, I just have trouble switching into another once I have started one.

Miriel
01-25-2008, 07:32 PM
I wish I had an accent. :( Californian doesn't count, cause it's like the default accent.

New Zealand accents put me in a trance. One of my TAs is from NZ and whenever he goes over class related stuff, I like zone out and then I snap out of it and it's like, oh crap, did I just miss the homework assignment? It's just such a pleasant accent. I bet fussy babies can listen to it and go right to sleep.

Evastio
01-25-2008, 07:34 PM
Despite my nationality I don't have any sort of accent that others or I am aware of.

The Unknown Guru
01-25-2008, 07:50 PM
People think I have an accent because I speak clearly. :yuck:

If I get enough caffeine, I start to sound a bit like Sean Connery, though (So's your mother, Trebek! Ha, ha, ha!).

~*~Celes~*~
01-25-2008, 07:58 PM
I have the stereotypical American accent, according to Alan :bigsmile: The funny thing about him is he has a half English accent, half American. When he's really pissed, he sounds more English but otherwise, he sounds semi American. Turns out he only sounds like that when he's talking to Americans like me xP he said it's a subconscious thing and that he does it so I can understand him.

Shauna
01-25-2008, 08:09 PM
I wish I had an accent. :( Californian doesn't count, cause it's like the default accent.

You'd sound like you had an accent to anyone else who wasn't Californian, if that makes you feel any better? :D

Someone once said I had an English accent, which made me cry. xD

Raebus
01-25-2008, 08:12 PM
My accent is unique, I wouldn't expect anything less than unique. So unique that it baffles people everywhere until they learn to appreciate how god damn awesome it is.

Rye
01-25-2008, 08:14 PM
I wish I had an accent. :( Californian doesn't count, cause it's like the default accent.

You'd sound like you had an accent to anyone else who wasn't Californian, if that makes you feel any better? :D

No, Californians have the "American Accent." The one that doesn't have any regional accent, like my voice or someone from the South. It's pretty much pure, so it doesn't sound accented to anyone in America.

Quindiana Jones
01-25-2008, 08:17 PM
I whore accents, so a lot of people get confused.

Avarice-ness
01-25-2008, 08:19 PM
I have a tiny bit of texan or (southern) accent on some of the words I speak. Most people don't realize I'm texan til I say them because now I'm gaining a rather annoying Wisconsin (North Eastern) accent.

And yeah the two don't combine very well. :D

Breine
01-25-2008, 08:35 PM
Some people have thought I was from Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden and Norway. Not much of a surprise, though, since those languages are all close to Danish.. Also, the Danish accent when speaking English isn't really that recognizable.

Shauna
01-25-2008, 08:40 PM
I wish I had an accent. :( Californian doesn't count, cause it's like the default accent.

You'd sound like you had an accent to anyone else who wasn't Californian American, if that makes you feel any better? :D

No, Californians have the "American Accent." The one that doesn't have any regional accent, like my voice or someone from the South. It's pretty much pure, so it doesn't sound accented to anyone in America.

Okay. I never truly got this entire thing about Californian accents, until now. xD You've all got accents to me, so either way - you'd sound like you had accents! :D

Chimp
01-25-2008, 08:46 PM
When people see me for the first time they think I am from another country.

I was walking down the hall at school and I heard "Whoa is that one of the German foreign exchange students?"

I wanted to say "Ja! Ich komme aus Deutschland!" or "Ja! Sieg heil!" or some other stupid thing in German.

Caraliz
01-25-2008, 08:51 PM
i don't really think anyone from the midwest has an accent.

Calliope
01-25-2008, 08:51 PM
I wish I had an accent. :( Californian doesn't count, cause it's like the default accent.

New Zealand accents put me in a trance. One of my TAs is from NZ and whenever he goes over class related stuff, I like zone out and then I snap out of it and it's like, oh crap, did I just miss the homework assignment? It's just such a pleasant accent. I bet fussy babies can listen to it and go right to sleep.

Yes, that's why the child mortality rate is so high here, we just can't shut up.

People regularly ask me where I'm from, not just because of my lack/excess of an accent, but also because of my colouring/features in general. Common guesses include: Russian, Portugeuse (?), American, Canadian, Fijian and Malaysian. In conclusion, I should be a spy!

cloud21zidane16
01-25-2008, 09:21 PM
If im talking to people on holiday or when im out somewhere for the day they can generally tell im from Essex but i dont notice it myself until i hear other accents lol:p

Heath
01-25-2008, 09:34 PM
Number of places I've been asked if I hail from based on my voice: Birkenhead, Manchester, Birmingham, North Wales, "somewhere in the North." None of these places seem to fit the bill for someone who has a supposedly posh voice like I do. Notice no one has ever said Liverpool, where I was born.

Hazzard
01-25-2008, 09:36 PM
Yeah, some girl said I don't speak clearly and sound a bit aloof at times.

Captain Maxx Power
01-25-2008, 09:44 PM
I get confused with being a Geordie by people in the south all the time. I can see why they might make that mistake, but that still doesn't stop me from severely admonishing them regardless.

Zeldy
01-25-2008, 10:18 PM
People like to take the mick and say I sound like a scouser >:[ (someone from bloody LIVERPOOL). I am close to Liverpool and my accent is influenced by it, BUT IT IS AN INSULT; Oh my god, scousers have the worst accents ever, anyone in the UK will tell you that xD

Heath
01-25-2008, 10:24 PM
People like to take the mick and say I sound like a scouser >:[ (someone from bloody LIVERPOOL). I am close to Liverpool and my accent is influenced by it, BUT IT IS AN INSULT; Oh my god, scousers have the worst accents ever, anyone in the UK will tell you that xD

I won't.

Raebus
01-25-2008, 10:24 PM
People like to take the mick and say I sound like a scouser >:[ (someone from bloody LIVERPOOL). I am close to Liverpool and my accent is influenced by it, BUT IT IS AN INSULT; Oh my god, scousers have the worst accents ever, anyone in the UK will tell you that xD

Omg zeldy sounds like a scouser!

Zeldy
01-25-2008, 10:29 PM
People like to take the mick and say I sound like a scouser >:[ (someone from bloody LIVERPOOL). I am close to Liverpool and my accent is influenced by it, BUT IT IS AN INSULT; Oh my god, scousers have the worst accents ever, anyone in the UK will tell you that xD

I won't.

have you heard a full on thick scouse accent? It's like a hamster on speed; high pitched and extremely fast. xD



People like to take the mick and say I sound like a scouser >:[ (someone from bloody LIVERPOOL). I am close to Liverpool and my accent is influenced by it, BUT IT IS AN INSULT; Oh my god, scousers have the worst accents ever, anyone in the UK will tell you that xD

Omg zeldy sounds like a scouser!

:mad2: ! OMG, PIE EATER. Wiganers = PIE EATERS.

Dolentrean
01-25-2008, 10:31 PM
Has anyone else noticed that if you start talking in an Irish accent, and then revert to an American acent and then into a Southern American accent it sounds like your melting?

Vermachtnis
01-25-2008, 10:33 PM
I don't sound like I'm from Southwest Virginia. And I speak pretty fast and don't always prononciate my 'r' so no one can guess where I'm from.

Heath
01-25-2008, 10:53 PM
People like to take the mick and say I sound like a scouser >:[ (someone from bloody LIVERPOOL). I am close to Liverpool and my accent is influenced by it, BUT IT IS AN INSULT; Oh my god, scousers have the worst accents ever, anyone in the UK will tell you that xD

I won't.

have you heard a full on thick scouse accent? It's like a hamster on speed; high pitched and extremely fast. xD

All my family (excepting my mother, father and sister) have them. And I still think we need a scouse Prime Minister.

"I think we need to do something about Northern Rock!"
"All right, calm down, calm down."

Tallulah
01-25-2008, 11:04 PM
My mum (South East London, liek me :P ) was once mistaken for an Australian! O_o

Sometimes I catch myself pronouncing words in a very Northern way, since I have been here damn near 5 years! Also, thanks to my Scottish heritage (dad's side), I have a habit of emphasising the 'h' in words that begin 'wh' e.g 'what' 'which' 'whale' 'whip'...

When Jason met me, he thought I was from Lincoln... Butthen he's just stupid... :P

Jess
01-25-2008, 11:08 PM
I have two accents. I have a Geordie accent which I speak when I'm at home and talking to my parents/brother and when I'm visiting Newcastle. Otherwise, I speak in a southern accent which I kinda forced myself to speak when I was younger (when I moved from Newcastle to Essex) because otherwise the people here in the south wouldn't understand me because I had such a strong Geordie accent. :jess:

If somebody is round my house they always think it's weird how I switch between the two accents if I'm talking to them, or if I'm talking to a family member, but I don't even realise I'm doing it anymore. It just happens most of the time. Sometimes I will be speaking in a southern accent and a word will just slip out in a Geordie accent because some words I just have never got the hang of saying in a southern accent.

Also, if I visit Newcastle for a few days/a week, I always find that my accent comes back really strong and I find it difficult to change between the two for a while. xD

People sometimes ask me where I'm from when I speak to them, because I don't have a typical "Essex" accent.

Quindiana Jones
01-25-2008, 11:19 PM
I really wanna hear what Jess sounds like now. :(

Heath
01-25-2008, 11:25 PM
The same thing happens with me, Jess. I've spoken to people on the phone but gone away to ask my parents, then to come back to the phone only to be greeted with the reply "you sounded quite Scouse then."

Zeldy
01-25-2008, 11:30 PM
People like to take the mick and say I sound like a scouser >:[ (someone from bloody LIVERPOOL). I am close to Liverpool and my accent is influenced by it, BUT IT IS AN INSULT; Oh my god, scousers have the worst accents ever, anyone in the UK will tell you that xD

I won't.

have you heard a full on thick scouse accent? It's like a hamster on speed; high pitched and extremely fast. xD

All my family (excepting my mother, father and sister) have them. And I still think we need a scouse Prime Minister.

"I think we need to do something about Northern Rock!"
"All right, calm down, calm down."

oh, sorry xD but I am half scouse myself, so you know!

Jess
01-25-2008, 11:35 PM
I really wanna hear what Jess sounds like now. :(
:D

The same thing happens with me, Jess. I've spoken to people on the phone but gone away to ask my parents, then to come back to the phone only to be greeted with the reply "you sounded quite Scouse then."
Yeah! My brother is exactly the same, too.

It can be useful sometimes, though! If I have a friend over and they can't understand what my parents and I are saying, then I can be a translator... kinda. xD

Leen-Leen
01-25-2008, 11:45 PM
Most of my teachers say I have a Californian accent.

I wasn't aware there was such a thing. xD

Garnie
01-25-2008, 11:51 PM
You can't get a more british accent then me I swear. xD

well ask anyone whos actully spoken to me!
Apperently i have a very posh accent!
brittish accent...but some people say im rather squeaky too lolz!

o_O
01-26-2008, 12:03 AM
I spend a lot of time talking in a British accent. Actually, I talk a lot in heaps of different accents, I'm not sure why. Common ones are Indian, Scottish, Irish, Russian and British.

I actually just have a normal NZ accent though. :p

Jiro
01-26-2008, 03:49 AM
When I went on school camp I had two English kids in my group. One was from Bolton. Not sure where the other was from, but he had a cockney accent. Our entire group ended up with British accents when we got back from the trek and the rest of our year thought we were idiots.

My British accent comes back from time to time. Its quite funny towatch some one's expression change to confusion when the accent comes out :D

ReloadPsi
01-26-2008, 03:55 AM
I'm as British as baked beans, grew up in Yorkshire, born in Liverpool and have a very ambiguous dialect (ie almost none) but have been mistaken for American, Canadian and German on a few occasions. Very, very few people identify that hint of scouse in there (it's very subtle) and they stop thinking I'm American once they hear me forcing it like a certain parody I run.

41-Inches-Wide
01-26-2008, 04:13 AM
Last night over voice clip messages, Mirage said I have an Asian accent! I am not Asian and I don't have an asian accent xD

Momiji
01-26-2008, 07:01 AM
I wasn't aware that Midwesterners like me have any particular accent. If so, it doesn't apply to me. I've talked to Lekana on the phone before, and our 'accents' are indistinguishable, IMO...and I live in Indiana and she's in Wyoming.
As for my 'accent', I usually speak very clear, proper English. It changes when I'm amused or excited though, and I sound very casual and (ehhhh...) somewhat girly. (Yes, I am often mistaken for a girl by my voice alone. :()

Don't get me started on how I sound when I'm caffeinated though. I tend to speak in the before-mentioned excited voice, but about 3 times faster, and without even realizing it until someone tells me to slow down.

Garnie
01-26-2008, 07:33 PM
!!!!YOUR NOT A GIRL????
ROFL just kidding!

Caraliz
01-26-2008, 08:16 PM
i need to hear corker speak now! speak, corker!

Garnie
01-26-2008, 08:31 PM
lol i missed ventrillo when every one laugthed at me for pronuceing it "banarna" rofl

Shauna
01-26-2008, 09:29 PM
Common ones are Indian, Scottish, Irish, Russian and British.

*insert angry post, with lots of :mad2: about how Scots are Brits*

Big D
01-26-2008, 09:39 PM
I've been mistaken for Irish, Scottish, English and American. I'm actually a New Zealander, and so were all those who made the mistakes. I'm from the North Island of the country, but several years at university in the South Island have given me a Mainland accent, which makes things interesting whenever I return home.

Mirage
01-26-2008, 10:45 PM
Some people have thought I was from Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden and Norway. Not much of a surprise, though, since those languages are all close to Danish.. Also, the Danish accent when speaking English isn't really that recognizable.

Oh, believe me, it's very recognizable.

Zeldy
01-27-2008, 12:13 AM
When I went on school camp I had two English kids in my group. One was from Bolton. Not sure where the other was from, but he had a cockney accent. Our entire group ended up with British accents when we got back from the trek and the rest of our year thought we were idiots.

Oh, Bolton accents <3 that town is really close to me xD they pronounce Bolton as 'bol'un'.

Dolentrean
01-27-2008, 12:24 AM
My girlfriend makes fun of me sometimes becuase if I hang out with people for awile I start adopting there accents to a slight degree. Her family is from Noo Yoik so when I stay with them I sometimes start unwillingly saying words with there accent. I get pretty good at them, but I cant change from accent to accent. I get stuck in them v.v

Jiro
01-27-2008, 05:17 AM
When I went on school camp I had two English kids in my group. One was from Bolton. Not sure where the other was from, but he had a cockney accent. Our entire group ended up with British accents when we got back from the trek and the rest of our year thought we were idiots.

Oh, Bolton accents <3 that town is really close to me xD they pronounce Bolton as 'bol'un'.

I'll have to check with him once I start school again, but I think he said he was from around Bolton, so his accent is a little off. But it's still hilarious to watch three English kids in our year speak with three different accents. :D

Lynx
01-27-2008, 05:58 AM
no but ive been told the way i pronounce things is the new york accent of mine it sounds perfectly normal to me. i mean i live outside the city but i guess nto far enough that the accent still hits me.

Marshall Banana
01-27-2008, 06:11 AM
I'm very lucky that I don't have a thick southern accent, because I didn't even know that "holler" was actually "hollow" until I was about seventeen, and everyone in my family does have a thick accent.

Breine
01-27-2008, 12:53 PM
Some people have thought I was from Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden and Norway. Not much of a surprise, though, since those languages are all close to Danish.. Also, the Danish accent when speaking English isn't really that recognizable.

Oh, believe me, it's very recognizable.

Haha xD well okay then.

scrumpleberry
01-27-2008, 01:12 PM
The regional accent will tend to rub off on me a little when I get excited or talk too fast. Aside from that, my accent is regular English and fluctuates from pretty much normal to rather porsche depending on the situation.

Someone thought I might have come from New England once. I didn't really know why.

Fatal Impurity
01-27-2008, 01:25 PM
I have a normal distinct british accent, but funnily enough it doesnt sound snotty or posh.

Raebus
01-27-2008, 03:48 PM
Common ones are Indian, Scottish, Irish, Russian and British.

*insert angry post, with lots of :mad2: about how Scots are Brits*

*Insert comment about Shauna being English*

Mirage
01-27-2008, 07:26 PM
Some people have thought I was from Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden and Norway. Not much of a surprise, though, since those languages are all close to Danish.. Also, the Danish accent when speaking English isn't really that recognizable.

Oh, believe me, it's very recognizable.

Haha xD well okay then.

Hell, I can even tell you're Danish from the way you type on this message board! :p

Breine
01-28-2008, 03:46 PM
Some people have thought I was from Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden and Norway. Not much of a surprise, though, since those languages are all close to Danish.. Also, the Danish accent when speaking English isn't really that recognizable.

Oh, believe me, it's very recognizable.

Haha xD well okay then.

Hell, I can even tell you're Danish from the way you type on this message board! :p

xD

Monkey4Soul
02-13-2008, 07:25 PM
Some people have thought I was from Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden and Norway. Not much of a surprise, though, since those languages are all close to Danish.. Also, the Danish accent when speaking English isn't really that recognizable.

Oh, believe me, it's very recognizable.

Haha xD well okay then.

Hell, I can even tell you're Danish from the way you type on this message board! :p

xD

YES now someone needs to quote my post to get more quote-in-quote boxes.

Now, to be on topic, Minnesota kinda has a slight Canadian accent waaayyy up north. I don't, but I've heard of people doing fake-y accents (ya, sure, youbetcha, dontchaknow)

Roogle
02-13-2008, 07:30 PM
I can fake different kinds of accents. You would never guess if you had no reason to suspect.

stalpho slayer
02-13-2008, 09:53 PM
i speak very clearly no accent

The Summoner of Leviathan
02-13-2008, 09:59 PM
I have no accent in English. Though one of Faris' friends tried to tell me I have a "New Brunswick-y" accent, whatever the heck that is suppose to mean. NBer's do not have an accent, unless English is not your first language.

Big D
02-13-2008, 10:59 PM
I have no accent in English. Though one of Faris' friends tried to tell me I have a "New Brunswick-y" accent, whatever the heck that is suppose to mean. NBer's do not have an accent, unless English is not your first language.*Everyone* has an accent, they're just usually not aware of their own.

Ki Ki
02-13-2008, 11:18 PM
I have a South African accent that people here always mistake for a British one. I suppose it makes sense... except I think the two accents sound completely different, a mon avis atleast.

Rianoa
02-13-2008, 11:21 PM
i dont like refering to myself as british i like calling myself english it sounds better in my oppinion

Quindiana Jones
02-13-2008, 11:29 PM
Where are you from?

KIKIKIKIKIKIKIKIKI: I always thought the South African accent sounded more Australian than English.

Big D
02-14-2008, 12:03 AM
South African and Australian accents are different enough to my ears... but then, I can usually distinguish South African and Zimbabwean too.. I guess it's just one of those things you learn by exposure, like being able to recognise regional accents from other countries.

blim
02-14-2008, 12:09 AM
I want my accent back! I've been down south too long. :(

Big D
02-14-2008, 01:07 AM
I want my accent back! I've been down south too long. :(Me too! Except that I don't really want my old accent back. And we're probably referring to entirely different kinds of 'down south':p

I moved from the north to the south of New Zealand about six years ago, when I started university, and my accent's changed markedly. For a prime example of the 'north' NZ accent, refer to Bret and Jemaine of 'Flight of the Conchords' fame...

Shlup
02-14-2008, 02:57 AM
Someone said once they like my southern accent. Like Louisiana or something. I'm from Southern California.

Montoya
02-17-2008, 08:35 AM
People in Mexico think I'm American because I speak in English, little do they know they're right.

Ramza Beoulve
02-17-2008, 09:07 AM
People in Mexico think I'm American because I speak in English, little do they know they're right.O RLY?

On topic, I have a northern mexican accent. I tend to talk really fast, but I don't really care that much about talking to people

Montoya
02-17-2008, 09:10 AM
People in Mexico think I'm American because I speak in English, little do they know they're right.O RLY?

On topic, I have a northern mexican accent. I tend to talk really fast, but I don't really care that much about talking to people

YA RLY

I have a fucked up accent in Spanish and I can never pronounce anything right. It's probably because I don't speak it much. I'm fluent, but I can never get the jokes, they're not funny. :(

Montoya
02-17-2008, 09:10 AM
People in Mexico think I'm American because I speak in English, little do they know they're right.O RLY?

On topic, I have a northern mexican accent. I tend to talk really fast, but I don't really care that much about talking to people

YA RLY

I have a smurfed up accent in Spanish and I can never pronounce anything right. It's probably because I don't speak it much. I'm fluent, but I can never get the jokes, they're not funny. :(