But you have an accent

[KellyHabersham]

I remember talking on the phone with a guy in Canada some years ago, and he told me I had a really cute accent. (he couldn't/didn't imitate it though, so I have no idea what I sounded like)

[scruff]

I absorb the accents I hear too.
I grew up in south London (pronounced "Sauf"), then moved out to a rural village, then shared a house with a Liverpudlian and a Mancurian. Now I work in Essex with a bunch of mostly Irish workers, and some Asian and eastern European...
It's safe to say my accent is 'patchwork'. It's such a muddled accent, I've been accused of 'coming over here and taking our jobs' when I last visited Scotland ( as a tourist - some lovely historic buildings there).

[rapana1]

As small a country as New Zealand is, we do have variation in accents. If you're a Mainlander you can sound quite English in comparison to someone from the North Island like myself.
Someone from further south, eg Invercargill, Gore or Dunedin, can have a slight Scots burr to their voice- No surprise, given that areas heritage.
In Auckland we are such a cultural melting pot that we have become known as the city that nobody is actually *from*- everyone just moves there! LOL however, as a born an raised Souf Aucln'r (mumbled, as we do) I can tell you that It can vary from suburb to suburb. Southsiders sound very different to Westies or Shore Girls.

[Ted_The_IT_Guy]

Perhaps it is the fact that I've spent all my life in Colorado that has given me a real lack of an accent - there are so many people here from so many different states/nations, you aren't bombarded with any one accent over anything else.

Will be interesting to see how my future kids sound, with the American dad and French mom. Likely more American as they'll grow up here, but with a bit of French nasal-y thrown in for flavor. Understandably, my wife wants to speak to our kids almost always in French, so they learn her language (and Breton as well), and don't grow up ignorant of half of their heritage.

[wolfie]

I absorb the accents I hear too.

That must make things VERY interesting if you test-drive a Hyundai.

[Gilhelmi]

My accent.... Is somewhat beyond description.

I was born and raised in Western Kansas, no one in my family speaks with an accent.

(based on the stories my mother tells) When I was a child, I spoke, but not "English", my Grandmother (allegedly) could understand me but no one else. It was uncommon in those days for kids to go to pre-school, but I did so that they could help me with verbal communication skills. I was taught "Perfect English" and have been told that my accent sounds English, European, Eastern European, even Russian once.

Here is an example of my speech patterns.

My favorite theory is that sometimes twins develop their own personal language between themselves. For whatever reason, that is what I did. Do not know if it is true, but I like it.

[raudf]

(and I DO know what the Mason-Dixon line is, being born south of it)

Yay! Someone else who won't look at me like a deer in the headlights when I say it! My teenage son did when I said it so I had to drag out the map and show him what I mean and WHY it came about. Apparently, it's not on the tests, so the schools don't teach it any more, or at least our school district doesn't.

My husband, depending on his mood, can slide between accents without realizing it. My oldest and I can point it out to him when he does it, but he doesn't believe us. One minute, he'll sound like he's from the Bronx (and this is a born Arkie*), go into a slight Scottish burr (well, his dad was full blood, so...) and then into a mild Southern drawl and never realize it. One of these years, I'll get record it so he can hear it for himself.

When he's at work, he's had people accuse him of not being from the US, because he seems to go accent neutral in a professional setting. Or not from Arkansas, or Earth.. I don't know...

* Proper term for a resident of this level of Hell is Arkansan. I'm too lazy to type it out, though.

[Caractacus_Potts]

You might like this: https://youtu.be/crAv5ttax2I

[Sakka]

It always amused me when I was growing up, being asked where my family was from. Dad was local, mom is from the prairies. For some reason, a lot of people wouldn't believe me when I would tell them that I was born in nearby community with a hospital, and had lived in this small mountain town all my life. It was always met with incredulous looks and some variation of 'But you have an accent.'

It finally clicked when I was in high school and the French teacher, in a rare moment of frustration blurted out, in a full class, 'Sakka, how is it that you speak French with a German accent?'
Rest of class looks at me oddly as I start to laugh.
Me: My German grandmother complained about my German having a French accent when she tried to teach me German when I was younger (French is taught in schools starting at grade 1 locally. Grandma tried teaching me German before I started school and gave up trying in grade four.)
Teacher: And your English has an accent that I can't tell if it is Scottish, British, Irish, or what.
Me: German grandmother, Scottish grandfather (live on the prairies), Irish/British/American grandparents on the other side. (Odd family tale there, never got a straight answer as to where they were from and that grandfather passed away when I was five). .... Oh, and the neighbours who would often watch me when I was little were Scottish.
Teacher throws up hands and walks out muttering as the bell rings, much to the amusement of the rest of the class.

I am curious what accent I had when I tried simple Italian on the local Italian community. It was met with a very long stare, then in heavily accented English, 'Sakka, don't try speaking Italian.'

And I won't get into how a speech impediment I had growing up also messed with how I pronounced various words.

[protege]

Then there's this I don't sound like the late Myron Cope, but I do have a Pittsburgh accent...and drop the occasional "Yinz" now and then. But seriously, the local dialect was the result of various groups coming here to work in the mills, and adding their own "mix" to the language.

[catcul]

I remember when the hockey sticks changed their technical support without telling us. I get on the phone expecting to hear someone from India.

Instead, this guy answered in a very thick Texas accent, "Thank you for calling hockey sticks technical support. How may I help you?"

They went from Indians to cowboys.