Hollywoodshuffle_small
Reputation: 55

I'm afflicted with accidental british accents, what should I do?

I have this terrible habit of accidentally responding in a fake british accent when I'm speaking with someone who actually has a real british accent. It happens before I can do anything about it and I just pretend that nothing happened and try very hard not to do it again throughout the conversation. What should I do to stop myself from doing this? Should I apologize if it happens? It sometimes happens with Irish and Australian accents as well. Please help!

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4 Answers

  • Mototour_small
    Reputation: 550

    It's very common to unintentionally mimic the accent of the person you're talking with. I have a foreign accent which is rarely detectable unless I'm talking with a compatriot who is very "inland" or "rural", then I find that the American I'm with who witnessed the conversation is smirking at me. But you know, the "inland/rural" person doesn't even notice or care.

    I regard this phenomenon as "chameleonic immersion". You're just more naturally adept at it than most. Don't apologize unless they bring it up or look at you funny: they might not notice.

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  • Img_5852_small
    Reputation: 775

    Oh lordy, I do this ALL THE TIME (I do it more with Irish, but maybe that's because I know more folks from there). A pal who is a Speech Language Pathologist told me it's a sign that I'm a highly social animal and seeking to mimic/fit into the group, etc. So, yay for us being social, I guess? *laughs*

    It's harder for me to control over the phone, and so when a college roomie started dating a guy from south London, she found it hysterically funny to hand me the phone whenever he was calling. Years later, a good friend in Ireland found it very funny, and so he'd often try to get me to lapse into it.

    Personally, I tend to be upfront about it. (In business/professional settings, this could be tough). But when meeting someone socially (even casually) who has one of the accents that I unconsciously mimic, I tend to state, right away, that I sometimes do this, and that they're welcome to stop me and/or make fun of me, as they see fit. (The most upsetting part is how terrible my Irish accent is...it's shockingly bad, and yet I can't stop, sometimes).

    Years ago, my former boss (another white Seattle lady) would do this with asian accents. After going to a chinese restaurant and listening to her order, I was HORRIFIED and challenged/asked her WTF was with her accent. She legitimately had no idea to what we were referring. So, I guess it could be worse. At least slipping into accents from the UK or Ireland doesn't carry as much potentially racist overtones.

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  • Rex_racer_small
    Reputation: 690

    Bloody hell - Just adopt a full time faux british accent -- Clearly you've got the anglo-philia pretty bad, eh whot, guvnah? -- problem solved.

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  • Cappa_small
    Reputation: 1045

    Just button your North and South, and Bob's yer uncle innit.

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