Good morning. Happy Saturday.
Do you have an accent? What kind? Do people ever comment on it or misunderstand you because of it?
I have a slight West Country accent. My family moved around a lot until I was about 12 and my father is from Cumbria, so I grew up with a Lancashire accent without even realising I had one. Then my family moved South and I suddenly noticed that no one else spoke that way.
Being sent to a comprehensive school in Bristol was a powerful incentive to fit in. I think I started trying to talk with a different accent on my first day there.
These days I try to keep my accent as neutral as possible because I teach English as a second language. My West Country accent comes back if I talk to my brother or sister. Particularly my sister. There are a few words I still pronounce with a Lancashire accent though. People think it's hilarious when I say "Stroke the cat" or "Tooth" because I can't say without sounding like a sheep farmer from The Lake District.
How about you? What kind of accent do you have?
Do you have an accent? What kind? Do people ever comment on it or misunderstand you because of it?
I have a slight West Country accent. My family moved around a lot until I was about 12 and my father is from Cumbria, so I grew up with a Lancashire accent without even realising I had one. Then my family moved South and I suddenly noticed that no one else spoke that way.
Being sent to a comprehensive school in Bristol was a powerful incentive to fit in. I think I started trying to talk with a different accent on my first day there.
These days I try to keep my accent as neutral as possible because I teach English as a second language. My West Country accent comes back if I talk to my brother or sister. Particularly my sister. There are a few words I still pronounce with a Lancashire accent though. People think it's hilarious when I say "Stroke the cat" or "Tooth" because I can't say without sounding like a sheep farmer from The Lake District.
How about you? What kind of accent do you have?