how do you talk??

[Hope]

(If this should be somewhere else please move it) :)

Here is the question

When I get tired or really relaxed I have a southern accent. No I do not nor have I ever (well this life anyway) lived in the south. One gal told me it sounded like an irish accent to her.

Thoughts anyone??

love
hope

[Flaire-FireStar]

Usually, I'm either slurring words together (fun with Math class and having the teacher think I'm nuts) or I talk much like a hill billy...Sometimes I use a Russian-type accent, but that's rarely. ;)

[flar7]

This is in exactly the right forum! A Just Talk forum with a thread
about....Talking!

Sometimes or most of the time we acquire our accent from the
people around us, but we can still modify our accent, sometimes
not even on purpose. We start listening to certain music and sing
along, and this works its way into our language. May start out
with a few words we like from the song and then we change a bit
more, until we notice that we now have two ways of talking.

I have an "Okie" accent(oklahoma) didnt realize it til I went to
Texas and got all kinds of comments and requests to say certain
words. heheh "c'mon, say,'dog' again" and stuff like that. Then
I have my, country music accent(John Anderson inspired with a
little Rany Travis) and then a totally different one(dont know what
you would call it) for when I am gamemaster for my friends...?

[Ball-Bhreac Ròn]

I have no accent, apparently :D Our area was the original area the Chaucer chose as the standard English and accent area so yey! :)

[Euphoria]

i sometimes have a very japanese accent .... but most of tetime its a cross between american and russian

[Enchantedlight]

Hi all, i'm new and in the UK. :wave: I love the American accent, specially Texan. The UK is such a small island, but accents can differ so much in a 200 mile radius that I sometimes find it easier to understand french!!
Enjoying your site so far, thanks for letting me into your world.
:)

[Chibi-Fallon]

There's times when I sound exactly like one of my buddies. I have mannerisms that I got from all of them. People have told me it looks weird if I talk like one and gesture like another. I never pick anything like that up from other girls. That technically would make more sense, but who knows.

[Azure]

Well, I'm originally from the South, but I'm an Airforce brat, so lived everywhere in the world, literally. I'm an actor, and have a very trained voice, but when I get tired, there's a whole lot of South Carolina that comes spilling out. It does when I'm with my family too.

When I was a kid and moved every year, I found I got teased less if I mimiced what other kids sounded like. (When I was seven I had a very posh London accent that didn't quite work in Norfolk VA). Anyhow, start listening to the people around you. Listen to TV and movie actors, and get a good idea of what you want to sound like. If you aren't a natural mimic, try taping yourself speaking, listening, then deliberately "correcting" your speech and retaping. This is what newscasters and other such folks do to lose heavy accents.

A final note - while you can certainly make your speech patterns and dialect more ideal, don't try to eliminate you in the proccess. I may get up on stage and sound all London, or New York, or California, or Moscow, or whatever - but at the end of the day, talking to my BF on the phone, i really don't mind a little south Carolina seeping in - it's who I am.

[Melysande]

I never had much of a distinguishable accent before. But in the last twelve months I've been working in Boston, I now sound like that. I HATE it.

[manstranger]

I have an SJ accent, which is not a New York accent, nor a Bosten accent. They are their own people, and we are always steryotyped to sound like them. People from the East Coast, that it. I myself think they, The NYers and Bostonians are the weird ones, cause everyone else sounds the same to me. But o well. *wrinkles nose*

[Melysande]

Hey.....! :p I resemble that remark.

[Dancin Girl]

How do I talk?? Jeeeeez, I'm not really sure... at times I've been told I sound like a little girl... people have called and asked me if my Mother was home... I have a hard time modulating my voice and knowing how loud I'm speaking, which comes from some hearing problems. It's wierd, I've never really thought about how I sound or how I talk other than when people make a comment on it..... I've lived in quite a different places and have had friends with a lot of different accents and variations for words and some of those have made their way into my Minnesota accent... and then there are the words that I use that I have no idea where I picked them up from cause no one else around me ever uses them..... Ohhhhhh I give up!! Someone call me and let me know how I talk!!!!

[~**foxglove**~]

Well, I have a New Zealand accent, being a kiwi and all! But it's hard to describe. Usually the rest of the world hears a 'funny' sort of an Australian accent (because there are some similarities - note SOME - but our countries can really hear the difference!) or a British one or a mixture of both, but generally have no idea! Only kiwis really recognise kiwis! Some even say we sound a little dutch!? We're just another colonial nation with an accent that reflects that. Next to the Australian accent, I'm sure it's probably the most unnattractive in the world! :D

*ducks for cover from any australian mysticwickers

[Melysande]

DG, you sound like you're from the Midwest. You and Luc both had that same "sound". (Even though he'd be mad at me for saying that since he insists that he doesn't.)

[Melysande]

Foxglove.... Someone told me that the way to tell an Aussie from a Kiwi was to make them say "Fish and chips." The one who says it and makes it sound like "Fush and chups" is a Kiwi. (Of course, I have no practical experience with this test, and all of my Kiwi exposure has been on Xena and Hercules.)

[Dancin Girl]

Thanks Mel!! I never think of myself as having an accent of course! It's the rest of you who do!! And, you do have that certain Bostinish flair to your voice Dearest!!

[Melysande]

**grins and nods** Hate it with a passion. But how many times can I listen to people in Boston talking (Or worse, listening to the subway conductors) without sounding just like them?

"Wundahlann nex' stahp. Dohs op'n t'd'right. Make shooah t'take all ya personal b'longins with ya when ya exit thuh train."

[Garnet]

I think I have the typical flat Midwestern accent. Once, someone said he though I had a Danish accent (huh?), & some people claim they can tell I watch a lot of British programming on PBS by the way I talk (again...huh?). When I come back from visiting my brother who lives in the UK, everyone tells me they can tell where I've been on vacation by the way I talk...but nobody said that when I came back from Poland! :lol:

[Earthcup]

My sis is a mimic but she comes home and sounds so southern(in a smarmy way) that she even makes me wince!

I was told once that I sound like Forrest Gump which I didn't find very funny. :eyebrow:

I normally have a very old folks type Georgia accent but I also have what I call my telephone voice. I ordered something on the phone once and the guy asked me how long I'd lived in the south. I said all my life and he wanted to know why I didn't have an accent! :rolleyes:

I love accents and devour movies and books that feature them so every now and then something odd pops out of my mouth. ;) Too many shows have bland Californian accents, I prefer more diversity.

[Sequoia]

I get a british-ish accent when I get angry. . . can't explain it lol

[Topazz]

How do I sound? Depends on who's listening. When I'm in Nebraska or Iowa folks think I'm from the south. But when I'm in Oklahoma or Texas those folks sure don't think I do! I can do a pretty good Irish brogue that has fooled several people. But mostly I sound like my sisters.

[Old Witch]

Definitely a heavy Southern accent, y'all

[Earthcup]

My dad had bad hearing so I've always talked really loud. I can't help it. I still haven't outgrown it completely, especially when I get excited... lol

[Dancin Girl]

Ahhhhh Earthcup, we could have a contest to see who talks the loudest!! My ears wouldn't have a problem with it, but yours might!!

[Earthcup]

I dunno, I bet I'm as loud or louder than you are!:D

[Niamh]

I live in Connecticut, and don't really consider myself to have an accent. Although occassionally some words come out sounding like a Bostonian said them!

[Yvonne Belisle]

My accent depends on who I am talking to. I find that here in Pennsylvania I am around a lot of New Yorkers and I sound like my great aunt a brooklyn jew and I don't care where they are from if they speak hebrew there is a tone in thier accent that tells you that. I normally speak with an accent that I got at my mothers college growing up with just a dash of new englander in it for example I have difficulty with hte word drawer I say it draw oh well thanks for that dad. When I am on the phone for buisness I have been told I sound like a phone sex service but it gets stuff done so oh well. If I am around anyone with a strong accent I will sound like them after a bit I tend to mimic accents unintensionally and can do a fair job intensionally too. I have had people from england surprised before because I have picked out northern and southern englich accents which I have been told is not easy for someone who has never been there. Must be since I love the accent and it facinates me who knows

[shnen]

I get that too, sometimes when I am in a slightly altered state, say tired, I tend to go southern-celtic!

And I am neither! It just might be the lazy pronunciation for you of the words... or, maybe not...

I find just growing up in a small town I have a different accent then the people here in Toronto!

Wait... and yes, I am told by the American folk I have a Canadian accent... that's fine... ay!

[Danustouch]

My friends in college called me the Linguistic Sponge. You see, I was born and raised in Connecticut. Connecticut people don't tend to have much of an accent, except that we annunciate our words very clearly. Thus...when I say Broccoli, I pronounce it Broc -o- lee clearly putting that O in it. And when I say Celery..I prounounce it Sel -er-ee. I get made fun of for that, by my husband, who has a rich Rhode Island Accent (which is curiously somewhere between a Brooklyn accent, and a Boston accent). He say's Broc-ley and Cel-rey.

Anyway...back to the linguistic sponge thing. The reason I earned that nickname, is that though I came from CT, which is a very non accent type place, I have this habit of picking up whoevers accent I happen to be talking to. Except for like..asian and middle eastern accents. I do pick up English, Scottish, and Irish accents. I pick up a boston accent when near boston, southern accent when speaking to someone from the south, midwestern when talking to someone from the midwest, a little bit of a jamaican accent when talking to my friend from jamaica....it's pretty pathetic! I dont' do it consciously..it just kinda slips into my speech patterns. In college, I switched from Bostonian, to Southern, to a Maine accent, frequently. You see, my college was five minutes out of boston, my roommate was a southerner, and two of my closest friends there, who I spent the most time with...were from Maine. :ahhhh: :huh: :bug: Pretty freaky. LOL.

But..right now...I'm struggling really hard to hang on to my Connecticut Non-Accent, in the face of the Rhode Island accent (which I HATE ....I think it sounds really stupid). Yet when I go back to CT to visit my family, my sister points out differen't words I say with a Rhode Island inflection... :(

[Melysande]

I say "brock-lee" (no relation to Bruce), and "ce-ler-ee".

Hey.... How does a person from Connecticut pronounce the name of that state? (I say "Con-NET-i-ket')

[Danustouch]

Heh...yep..that's how we say it. Conneticut. Connet-i-cet, kinda :)

I can't stand when people say "Connect-i-cut".

[Dellit Tandannon]

i'm from new jersey and i lived in boston for about six months like a year ago so i picked up that accent a tiny bit too. is it just my friend or do all people from deleware not pronounce the letter L?

[Myst]

I'm in Canada but don't have a Canadian accent - I don't say "aboot", "root", or "eh". I say brock-uh-lee and sell-er-ee.

[AradiaSupernova]

supposidly, I sound like I have a french/english accent (I'm from Michigan, I've never heard this accent, but supposidly all of us from the glove state have it)

sometimes I mess up and I get a southern twang, and other times I sound like I'm from the heart of Boston. lol

[Niamh]

Yes, we Connetikites tend to anuniciate clearly... unless you're from New Britain (otherwise known as "New Brih-in")! Really, I don't know how to phonetically spell how they say it, it's just too hilarious!

[Man/Wolf]

I talk like a Texan! 'Nuff Said, y'all!

:smooch:

[Cat Goddess]

i talk with a strange korean mixed with japanese accent VERY STRANGE lmao

[Aajah]

Originally posted by ~**foxglove**~
Well, I have a New Zealand accent, being a kiwi and all! But it's hard to describe. Usually the rest of the world hears a 'funny' sort of an Australian accent (because there are some similarities - note SOME - but our countries can really hear the difference!) or a British one or a mixture of both, but generally have no idea! Only kiwis really recognise kiwis! Some even say we sound a little dutch!? We're just another colonial nation with an accent that reflects that. Next to the Australian accent, I'm sure it's probably the most unnattractive in the world! :D

*ducks for cover from any australian mysticwickers

i totally agree with you **fox**, aussies do sound a little on the ugly side!!
We kiwis are not australian.

[Danustouch]

Hah! Yup Niamh. Those are about the only words that we do not annunciate correctly.

Connecticut, and New Britain (new Brih- in)LOL we used to make fun of that, too. lol.

Broc -uh- lee and sell-er-ee are non negotiable, though, for the proper connecticut yankee. lol.

Oh..here's a Vermontism, for you..."Yeeeeeeeeaaaaaap" a long drawn out "Yep" starting out with a "Ye" as in "Ye Merry Gentlemen" But flattening out to an "Ap" as in apple sound at the very end, and a pop on the "P". That is the proper Vermonter way to say "Yep". Their FAVORITE term :)

[Sequoia]

hey, I'm from California! We don't have accents. . . YOU PEOPLE DO!! Even the MOVIES sound like us!! (gee, I wonder why. . . *cough* hollywood *cough*) ;)

lately I've been noticing. . . -_-; I say "like" "dude" "yo!" "whoooaaaah!" etc a lot. . . never picked this up till about a year ago LMAO though I've never lived anywhere else.

sometimes I just start speaking with weird, random accents. I don't know if they're even from a specific language! Usually if you catch me in the middle of really deep meditation, or when I'm thinking about something like that. . . -_-; I get this accent, and it's hard to describe. It doesn't sound like anything I've heard before, but the problem is I barely notice it at all when I speak that way. I know it sounds different, but it's more natural to me ^^;; weird.

[CoolJ]

I speak with a... brooklynish, russian-ish, accent... i don't have much of an accent whatsoever...

i'm from new york, so i talk like a new yorker ;)

[shnen]

I have no accent... eh? ;)

where's my beer... eh?

[Dalia]

Oh, well, I am hispanic so I speak english with a hispanic accent :rolleyes:
When I speak spanish I tend to use a weird accent like colombian or something. Some people have asked me were I am from cause I dont sound puertorican. As a puertorrican I tend not to pronounce the final s (speaking spanish) maybe if I could attach an mp3 of my voice LOL! (Mp3 is not what I meant but dont know how to say it ) We puertoricans have a strange hability to copy accents- we can pronounce almost any accent-sound.
Hum, I tend to mix languagues, I start speaking spanish then I say something in french (Je parle un peux francais) and suddenly I start speaking english. It drives my mom crazy!
oh, my mom has an american accent cause she had a stroke like 3 years ago.
My dad has "frenillo" which means that he cant pronounce well the "r" in some words (like "carro")

[Dalia]

oh, did I mention that I tend to copy the accent of the person I am talking to and tend to use the words other people around me use! oh, another weird thing, I've noticed that I copy the laughs too. . . :eek:

[fey]

definitely doing the heavy southern drawl here :D

[shnen]

actually Dalia, I can do that too sometimes! If I hang around someone I tend to pick up their slang, sayings, etc. I don't mean to, but it just happens... eh? ;)

[Flaire-FireStar]

Originally posted by shnen
I have no accent... eh? ;)

where's my beer... eh?


Heheh... 's about time to put our toques away, eh? :D

[Dalia]

yeah, weird accents are like a good song, you cant take them out of your mind (does that make any sense LOL)

[Flaire-FireStar]

:D Sure does.

[shnen]

hey Flaire, i'm not putting my toque away just yet eh?

unless I have enough beer I just don't care what it's like outside... eh? :P

and I believe we say aboot, not about! :)

[Flaire-FireStar]

:eek: The commercial was wrong then, eh???? :D

heheh... Well, I suppose the toques could stay out a little bit longer - that weather can be quite unpredictable, eh? ;)

[shnen]

considering in the dark depths of Toronto it's freezing, my toque isn't aboot to go anywhere, but on my head!;)

All commercials are wrong!:)

eh?

[Jeleia]

I've been told I have a strong Canadian accent... however this was from a guy with a strong southern accent.

hmmm...... :rolleyes:


Blessings
Akasha

(aka Andromeda)

[shnen]

I can't tell usually, sometimes I do overemphasize on my aaaa's, and I do say eh... but most of the time when Americans tell me I have an accent, to me it sounds like I'm saying the same thing as them...

my hardest words to say:
bagel and bag...

I say baygle, and bayg! :D

[Jeleia]

I sometimes tend to turn my "Th" into "ffff" if its at the end of a word

My friends always make fun of me for it.

mouth = Mouf
bath = baf

[shnen]

is that a Canadian thing also??? the fff thing?

eh? ;)

[Jeleia]

Nah, I think its just me.. :bubbles:

[shnen]

Ah, everyone has their own thing! :T

[Athena-Nadine]

I have a Brooklyn accent, though it comes and goes now, since I've moved around the country a few times. Although I've been told when I speak to one of my sisters on the phone it gets really thick. The only other times my accent is really noticable is if I'm angry or if I've been drinking. Then I have a tendency to start speaking really fast, and everyone can tell I grew up in NY.

[Melysande]

**grins** I could tell where you were from, too, when I talked to you on the phone. You need to work on being totally accent-less, like me, sis. **bats eyelashes innocently**

[Athena-Nadine]

Of course, you knowing where I'm from didn't hurt either. ;)

You know, I used to want to get rid of my accent completely. I spent about five years working on it. But now I actually worry that I may end up losing it completely living away from NY. I don't want to completely lose it. *...shrugs...* It's a part of who I am, and I've learned to be proud of it.

[Melysande]

:D Oh, absolutely it helped. Otherwise, I would just have said "somewhere in New England."

My biggest fear is that I'm going to spend that one tiny week in Alabama in October and go home sounding like an Alabamian. Actually, I'll be trying to convert everyone to Bostonian while I'm there. Should be fun. **rubs hands together with glee at the thought of being worshipped by hundreds of Neo-Bostonians in 'Bama**

[shnen]

Originally posted by Melysande
You need to work on being totally accent-less, like me, sis.

How do you acheive such greatness??? eh? ;)

[Melysande]

;) I was just kidding. I've got a terribly strong accent most of the time.

[Athena-Nadine]

Your accent's not that bad, Sis. But then, it could just be that I'm used to New England accents.

[Melysande]

Thanks.... I think. :P

[Flaire-FireStar]

Originally posted by shnen
is that a Canadian thing also??? the fff thing?

eh? ;)


:confused: I do it too..But I dunno if it's Canadian or not.

[Élistariel]

Judging from what I've heard, on my answering machine, the message I recorded. I sound like a little kid from the south. I don't have a hickish yee-haw accent, just hint of it, and a few words that really slip out. Hey ya'll! :D I actually like my voice, it's fun when telemarketers call and ask for my mommy or daddy. (I'm 18 for pete's sake) (who's pete?) :P

[Haedis]

I dont really have a distinct accent. I just mumble a lot, and use all sorts of p.c. terms like "chick" and "dude" which makes me sound like a cross between a burnout and a pseudo-intellectual when coupled with the fact that some times I talk like I'm reciting a bad essay.
I've been told I pronounce things like a Canadian (which I'm not): route would be "root", I've been known to say "eh" quite a bit. I'm not one to wear a toque though...they make me look pedophilic.

And hold on a minute..."baygle" isnt the correct pronunciation? eep, I'm hopeless! :(

[Mithrea]

I live in West Virgina so you'd think I sound like a hick. But people here think I talk funny. Even my exboyfriend who was from Iran constantly told me he didn't believe I was from here. He kept saying, "you don't have an accent!" Everyone says I sound "northern." But West Virginia is in an odd place. We aren't North, South, East or West. :rolleyes:

Anyway the only person here who has heard me is Melysande. What do I sound like to you hon?

[Altheia]

I live in North Carolina, and when I speak to people who live around me, they say that they can hardly detect my accent...I guess it's from all of the vocal training and theatre. I can pick up accents and mimic them very easily (there's the theatre) and I dated an Englishman for the past four months...quite interesting...didn't work out though. (it's a shame) The funny thing is, is when I go somewhere else (away from NC) I get all kinds of comments and guesses about my accent. Some people say it's cute and they like my suthern' draaawl, but for the most part, I try not to let it seep through when I am conversing with others. My drawl shines through when I get upset or angry with someone.

[Witchy Cowgirl]

I have a Southen/Country accent. Yup, it is different than a Southern accent. A Southern accent is that stuff you hear on GONE WITH THE WIND.
Different parts of Tennesse say things differently too. Like folks in Middle Tennesse say "ya'll" and folks in East Tennessee say"you'n's".
My husband was raised in Middle Tennssee and I moved around from Middle to West. Folks where he was raised say "white, light, and night" I say "whiiiite, liiiight, and niiiight.
I'm a customer service rep. and I refuse to change my accent. I'm proud of who I am and where I'm from.
Somtimes I tell folks to send there e-mail to Bill's attention and it comes in as, "ATTN: BEAL". Also when I'm listing colors folks up north will sometimes say,"You already said white." When I just said BLACK.
I lived in Texas one time and I didn't think I sounded different from them but they said I did.
Anyway, 'nuff said.

[Xander67]

:( People get mad at me sometimes because I have one of those voices that adjust to the rythym and accent of the person I am speaking with, :dis:

it is a gift and a curse :(

[Aotearoa]

Ive got a kiwi accent, we say stuff like "air gun?" which is "how ya goin?" and "good on ya mate" never heard of the "fesh and churs" Some "well known kiwi accents" are some of the new StarWars guys like Anican and the clone guy and his son! :cool: My name, "Aotearoa" is the name of New Zealand in Maori (native language), which means "land of the long white cloud" Its pronounced AO-tear-rower. "Kia Ora" means hello in Maori. (pronounces key aura):D So there ya go!

[SimplyStrange]

Well I learned to speak with a southern family... and lived in Arkansas and Georgia... then we moved here in the accentless west when I was 6... so I lost it... but every now and then it comes back, and my friends make fun of me. :p

[Nissala]

I have lived in the south for the past 27 years, but was also an airforce brat and traveled most of my life. I have a tendency to "lose" my accent from time to time. Some who have been in the south most of their lives swear I am from the northern part of the united states. BUT when I get totally relaxed and comfortable, I slip into a true southernbell speech pattern.

[Tammy Sullivan]

Hmmmm, this is interesting.
I was born and raised in the south, but when I am relaxed or excited I speak with a "yankee" accent.
My mother always told me as a small child I sounded like a "yankee". I never really thought about that, makes you wonder.
Perhaps past life intruding into this one?

[Xander67]

:eek: :eek:

[Armitage]

I have a slight Philly accent (saying 'wooder', stuff like that), but I try to avoid it because it sounds bad when you also have a habit of stumbling over words. :ugh:

[Élistariel]

Armitage: You think stumbling over words is bad? Try having a habit of making up words
Example: (made up sentence)
ME (like I sound):
I was wahkin' along, takin' pictures, and tha cam'ra's shudder speed fritzed out on me. What shuda do aboud'ih?
Translation:
I was walking along, taking pictures, and the camera's shutter speed messed up. What should I do about it?
*sorry if that made NO sense

[Xander67]

the cary thin ith, I unerstood the furs line betta beefoe da tranzlachin

[SimplyStrange]

Whoa... I could actually understand everything you said just now, Xander! :D (I think that just comes from typing online and writing letters to people... i'm always playing with words and sounds and language:))

My accent tends to come back the most when I've been in the south and hanging around a bunch of southern people. My mom still has a thick southern drawl, and if I talk to her for a long period of time, people can hear it coming through...

Or if I really wanted to, I could make it come back...

it's just funny 'cause I've picked up the western/west coast teenage slang and say "dude" and "like" too much... plus then I throw in Southern slang, plus normal words people don't use here too often, but stuff we said in the south... so I have a totally screwed up language, with an accent that can't decide what it is!

[Mithrea]

Originally posted by Mithrea
I live in West Virgina so you'd think I sound like a hick. But people here think I talk funny. Even my exboyfriend who was from Iran constantly told me he didn't believe I was from here. He kept saying, "you don't have an accent!" Everyone says I sound "northern." But West Virginia is in an odd place. We aren't North, South, East or West. :rolleyes:

Anyway the only person here who has heard me is Melysande. What do I sound like to you hon?


Well, it's official. Bree says I have an accent :wah2:

[Silver_Alhena]

Normally, I have what has been described as a slightly 'hick' accent, as I don't roll my 'R's like most Scots. My normal accent has a slight Irish lilt to it as well, but it's pretty much non-geographic.
However, when I'm really angry, I have a full-on broad Scottish accent!

[SpikesPet5150]

Originally posted by Mithrea



Well, it's official. Bree says I have an accent :wah2:

Not just an accent. An *adorable* accent. :)
~Bree

[Mithrea]

aaawwwwwww!

:smooch:

[Kaylara]

When I get really angry or really worked up about something, I just start going off in this twangy southern accent... Most people up here can't understand it. (probably because they're all from Staten Island, and talk in that really annoying Fran Derscher voice... You know, that high pitched nasal voice...)

In the Staten Island accent,
any word that ends with an "a" becomes ______er.
(EX. names like Rita, Rhonda, Lisa become Riter, Rhonder, and Liser respectively.)
and any word that ends with "er" now makes an "ah" sound.
(Ex. water becomes= wadah, newspaper= newspapah, and remember = remembah)

grrrrr.
Damn Benny's!!!!!!

Kaylara (Not Kaylarer)

[Kaylara]

Just as a side note...
Shouldn't the title be "How do you speak?"

Kaylara

[PrincessHLHofMW]

hmm id dunno i gues i have a jersey/newyork accent

[FelixFire]

I guess I talk with a California accent most of the time (?)

I once asked a friend from New York what a California accent sounds like (since I can't hear it myself). He says Californians talk fast and use a lot of slang, but we pronounce most of our words correctly. (as in, by the dictionary) He said I don't have too heavy of an accent, despite growing up on a beach. LOL I confess though, around age 8 and 9, I sounded exactly like a "valley girl". Omigod! I mean, like, totally, gag me with a spoon! LOL (Hey, it was the early 80's...that was cool then, or so I thought...)

I'm one of those "linguistic sponge" people too. I pick up accents at the drop of a hat. I've been known to switch accents several times in a conversation, depending on whom I'm addressing directly. Funny part is I totally do it on accident, I'm not aware of it until someone points it out to me, or says something like, "I didn't know you're from Texas!" LOL I've never even *been* to Texas, yet "y'all" is a main staple of my daily speech patterns.

I actually once really made a Russian man very angry when I was a bank teller, because I picked up his very heavy accent when I was talking to him and he thought I was making fun of him. I was so embarassed! I felt terrible too, and fortunately I think he could read that on my face because he was only angry for a second until I started blushing and apologizing and trying to explain that's just what I *do*.

I think it's because I really enjoy accents, and I'm paying so much attention to how the other person's saying their words I start to mimic it. It's useful though, when I'm trying to learn a new language I always do a great job picking up a fairly accurate pronunciation. :)

[WtchyChick13]

What a great thread! I'm one of those people who picks up on accents very easily--which was actually a hazzard the summer I co-managed an Irish soccer team! LOL

I'm originally from Yonkers, NY (Yaaaaahhhhnnnkahs) and the accent really kicks in when I talk to a friend of mine who still lives down there.

I do notice though that when I am alone and I talk to myself (Yes, I'm one of those) a full-out British accent comes out. I took notice of this a while ago and still haven't quite figured out why. But there it is everytime!

Yet, when I talk to my birdie and we are alone in the house, my regular boring voice comes out of me. Go figure! LOL :D ;) :D ;)

[PrincessHLHofMW]

Originally posted by Kaylara


grrrrr.
Damn Benny's!!!!!!

Kaylara (Not Kaylarer)


HEY IM A BENNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:mad: full blooded benny at that!!!!!!!;)

[CoolJ]

hmmm..... i'm told i sound like Darth Vader ;)

i have a real... brooklyn type accent.. kinda... i dunno.

I sound like a foofy ;)

[Mithrea]

Bree spots it, LdyStarlite confirms: people do think I sound like a hick. Blah. You people are nuts. :crazy:

[SimplyStrange]

Thar's nuthin' wrong with soundin' like a hyick. ;)

[SimplyStrange]

I like, say like like, way too much... ;););)

[Scarlettvixen]

Hey come on Aajah and Fox glove what happened to tolerance!

I dont think the ozzie accent is that ugly!!
so in the sense of tolerance i wont post what i hate about yr accent and the south african and some american ones lol

[Witchy Cowgirl]

Originally posted by SimplyStrange
Thar's nuthin' wrong with soundin' like a hyick. ;)

Naaaa, I reckon thar ain't nutn wrong with soundin liiiike a hiiiiick!
Been soundin att way mosta my liiife!:lol:

But it sure is easier to talk that way than type that way!:rotfl: