I love this board.
That is all. Carry on.
God’s English.
So don’t take the piss…
You somehow sat on a toilet right after Madonna finished using it didn’t you?
What? You just hold it in? Ouch!
I hate to break it to you, but most of the time if someone won’t “let you” speak with an accent you’ve “picked up” it’s because it’s really really bad. As in fake-sounding, inaccurate, and irritating.
If you’ve picked up individual words, it’s not a crime to use those – Gods know I say “innit”, “thar” and “aight” a lot, none of which are from the dialect I grew up with – but drop the accent.
For those of who who said I should drop the accent:
A. It’s not that easy.
B. I was suggesting subduing it, not dropping it entirely. Eventually I hope to be able to do that, but for now, I can’t do it.
Thank you, Usram; it’s good to know that at least one person can identify with my situation.
What? Has this accent taken over your mind? “English Accents Of Doom!”
Well, you may sound like a twit. Let’s just hope you don’t start liking soccer and craving organs in pie form.
That’s not what I meant and you know it.
I have liked playing soccer for years. And with the exception of pot pies, which have muscle, not organ, I don’t like meat pies at all.
In any case, I have a British accent, nothing more. I certainly do not have (stereotypical) British cultural or dietary habits.
Soccer is rubbish. So keep your stereotypes to yourself. 
I sympathise with you as much as Usram does. I just need to have watched an episode of 'Allo 'Allo and people start thinking I’m French. It has its upsides, though; the women here love the accent!
I tried to do a english accent to impress my best friend who was going to marry an english guy. She didn’t mind. But one time I found this program that converts english to jive, so I wrote something & put it in the jive translator & sent her the result. She got pretty upset & said that I was making fun of her friend’s english accent. I had to explain how it was a jive thing. It didn’t make sense to me but jive sounds kinda funny.
I can empathize, dwalin, because my favorite 10th grade teacher was from Texas, so throughout my sophomore year I had a faint, not-on-purpose Texan accent.
That being said, a fake British accent is one that could get you mocked or pounded. I’d suppress it. Soon it will go away on its own. How’d you happen to pick this up, BTW? Have a Brit roomie?
And for all you Brits (and others) being catty about Madonna, try to show a little understanding. It’s very difficult for some people to not adopt the accent of the people they’re around. (I, for instance, sound like my little sis for a few hours after getting off the phone with her. Or so my husband says.) Just because it sounds affected does not mean that it is affected.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Giraffe *
How does one acquire a British accent at summer camp? I mean, syphillus, sure – who hasn’t? But a British accent?
[QUOTE]
Haha!
I haven’t had a ‘laugh out loud’ moment on the boards in a while. Thanks!
Er, and I also haven’t had a coding problem like that on the boards in a while. Well, they say good things come in threes…
I’m sorry, I have no advice to add, but I really am curious – how did you acquire a permanent British accent?? Was the summer camp full of British expat kids and counselors? I have a habit of unconsciously slipping into the accent of whomever I’m talking to at the moment, which can be annoying, especially when people assume you’re making fun of them. But it always goes away after the conversation ends…
Anyway, if you really can’t help pronouncing things with a British accent, my advice is not to worry or think about it at all. I can’t see how you could permanently acquire an accent this late in life, from such a short period of exposure. I bet a few more weeks of hanging around at home and it will go away on its own.
Is there some Brit who’s getting a toaster now?
Sorry, dwalin, couldn’t help it. It sounds like you have a real ‘ear’ for languages. Maybe you can use your powers for good?
Actually, something more useful: maybe you can rent some video’s with a heavy American accent and repeat the lines?
Once I spent a whole lot of time in another country with a bunch of mixed Europeans, Australians, New Zealanders, and various other folks. I heard almost no English spoken that didn’t have a (to me) foreign accent. I did start to sound different–didn’t ‘pick up an accent,’ but didn’t sound quite so Californian, either. It went away.
Suppress it. Do your absolute best to talk normally. People will think you’re a pretentious jerk. It will go away soon enough, unless you try to hang on to it, which is a Bad Idea.
When I go to places on holiday sometimes I find myself talking a bit like the locals, but when I return it seems to vanish.
As far as the term for this - I think it should be wimey.