Losing one's accent and getting it back possible?

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etep

Member
Joined
Nov 28, 2012
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
English
Home Country
Jamaica
Current Location
Germany
Hello everyone! I was wondering if any of you guys had a problem with this? I used to live in the US (moved there when I was 10) and left the country (to Australia) when I was 17. I lived for 4 years in the UK when I was a baby, and now study in Germany. I feel like my English has changed so much that people constantly ask where I'm from. They tell me I sound American at times but for the most part, can't make out my accent. Have any of you experienced something similar? and were you able to re-acquire your original accent?
 

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
People who move around often pick up bits and pieces. I haven't moved around English-speaking countries, but grew up speaking RP, then left the country and came back to London for a few years, and picked up some of that. There are also a few regional sounds from my childhood that broke through the RP barrier. My English is not pure, but it is not multinational. I have heard other speakers like you, though.
 

Grumpy

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2009
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
I spent my early childhood on the West coast of the far North of Scotland, then moved to the East coast [some 80 miles as the crow flies] aged 11 to go to Secondary School - and could hardly understand a word my classmates were saying. I went to university in the South of Scotland, and since then have lived mainly in England, with some time spent in Germany and various other countries around the world. To me, my accent still sounds exactly as it did when I was 10 - but no-one else can ever identify my background. Most people think I am Canadian; others guess Northern Irish, some New Zealand, and some even Cornish! I'm sure that if I went back to my roots I would soon settle back into the local accent, which derives from a gaelic-speaking culture. My grown-up children still derive enormous amusement from hearing me pronounce "horses" as "horshes"....
 
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