Why and how do we pick up an accent

[interele]

Why do people acquire the accent of places they live
and, suppose I live in England and listen to a US tv
channel all day would I pick up an accent or is there
something unique about living in a place

M

[jackthehat]

People adopt the speech patterns of those around them whose accents they hear most frequently.

[follyfancier]

you might do if you listened to it long enough
my friend's son was born in central England but now lives in Scotland and speaks with a very broad Glasgow accent

[boxtops]

It depends on the individual too. I've lived all over the UK, I pick up accents and local terminology where I live. OH was born in Scotland but after leaving as a baby, never came back until he was adult - he's got as broad a Scots accent as you can get.

[venator]

It's about fitting in - my daughter as a child had a posh accent and vocabulary at school, and a local accent and vocab with her friends at home. It's quite common.

[sherrardk]

I lived in South Wales until I was 18 and then moved away. I still have a really strong accent although I do speak slower than I used to (because no one could understand me which doesn't help when you are a teacher).

[petal54]

I find it interesting that some people lose or gain an accent quite quickly,yet some retain their accent however long they live away from where they came from.my sister-in-law speaks Danish with a strong somerset accent

[ttfn]

John Barrowman is a case in point. From broad Scots to American in a split second.

[whiskeysheri]

My great-aunt and uncle moved to America 50-odd years ago. He now sounds as though he was born and bred there, whereas she still sounds as "proper" English as she always did.

[supersuezy24]

My cousin, also from Dublin, spent two weeks in london years ago, came back with a complete different accent..

[pretty_snowdrop]

My mother in law picks my youngest daughter up from nursery 3 days a week and now my daughter speaks in a horrible accent. Funnily enough my husband who was brought up in the same area doesn't speak in what we call ' the West Town drawl'.

[mollykins]

Apparantly lady GaGa was going to learn how to speak english 'properly' by listening and watching recordings of speaches by the queen, for when she did her british tour.

[ummmm]

My daughter was brought up in England. She's lived in Ireland for the last 3 years and has quite a strong accent. She was brought up around Irish people though...

[boxtops]

Too much time with pirates, aaar Jim Lad....

[supersuezy24]

Awk Aye Elizerbeth..
Hows about ya

[cazzz1975]

some people pick up accents easier than others as well, just been surrounded by a particular accent over a period of time will make you pick up either a lot of it or a hint of it.

[Huderon]

I went to Ireland to live with my grandparents before I could speak, so when I came back here a couple of years later I had an Irish accent. My normal accent now is close to RP and I can't imitate any other accents. But when I'm with people who have a strong Irish accent, I pick it up again along with the speech patterns.

My wife grew up speaking Polish and only learnt English when she started school. Her normal accent is also close to RP, but she can pick up any accent with no trouble. which makes her a great storyteller ... and embarrasses her when she has spent ages with a phrasebook working out what she wants to say in another language, only to be taken for a native speaker :-)

[mrs_overall]

Some friends of mine went to live in the US about 25 years ago. He sounds as if he was sborn and bred there, while his wife still has a strong Lancashire accent

[seadogg]

Social class has a big effect as does education. Remember being told off for speaking "common" as a kid and we were nobody!