Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
most of my mates where I live go to america for a very long time and stay there for like ages.and then when they come back to australia again, they lose there aussie slang accent which is very weirdyeah...
I mean why???why should this happen.
I mean the crocidile hunter his wife is terry and bindi and bob there accents are perfectly australian but blends in with an american accent.
so what is it with aussies or other people around the world getting an american accent? I dunno because I will never lose my accent no matter where I go..
but that bindi and bob when I hear them speak there accent sounds sort of american and sort of australian.
because if an american came over hear to aussie land, would they catch an aussie accent?no and why???
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,047,835 times
Reputation: 11862
I read something very interesting, I forgot where, which basically said that Aussies who go to the States often lose their accent (look at Nicole Kidman) very quickly, while Americans who come here often take years or barely even lose their accents at all. Same with English people. Notice all the English people here who still sound so English after decades? I think there's something to do with the accent, but God knows what...maybe a more plausible explanation is we're already used to the American accent on TV so that makes it easier for our brains to naturally just pick it up. I also here some young kids sounding American, saying 'sher' for 'sure' and saying 'dude' a lot.
My SIL "caught" her Texan accent, went home to NY to visit and caught that one, in only a few days mind you. Then, back to Texas land. I personally thing she was really exaggerating the whole thing, but as you assimilate to where you are, you do start to talk like the locals--in time anyways.
In Europe, British English is what's taught to kids in school, but because of the prominence of American music, films, etc many people end up speaking the American variant.
I know a woman who grew up in Germany, but has a perfect American accent, because she learned to pick up the subtleties through TV shows. She also said that the American pronunciations are easier to pronounce, overall.
Accents change. People acclimate to their environment over time. I've been away from my hometown long enough that I don't speak like "the locals" there anymore, yet I don't really sound like a native of my new home either. Wherever I go, people ask me "where are you from??"
I am French and lived three years in the US and I ended up with an American Accent. Then I moved to the UK and now have a British accent to the point where people actually think I am a Brit. It is a not a conscious thing , I think for some people learning languages is about mimicking whatever your current linguistic surroundings are. A lot of Brits who go to the US end up with a Hybrid , a transatlantic drawl so to speak.
It never ceases to amaze me how many people live somewhere for years and still retain their native accents. So many French people in Oxford still sound like "Inspector Clouseau" after decades of living in the UK and it is the same with all other Nationalities.
It is as though their ears don't pick up the local accent which I find personally baffling. Maybe "catching" the local accent is simply a natural "camouflage" technique for some people, a way to blend in , not a conscious decision but simply what comes as natural. It is for me I think. Also maybe because I never really interact with French people I have lost the peculiar French staccato and cadences.
I've picked up some terminology but so far no accent (in 8 years). I still watch British TV for the most part- if I ever watch TV (My accent is English / Australian- but more English) and I think it helps keep my accent in tact.
Plus, I don't want to sound American. It's all well and good for others... but I like the attention my accent gets me
I am French and lived three years in the US and I ended up with an American Accent. Then I moved to the UK and now have a British accent to the point where people actually think I am a Brit. It is a not a conscious thing , I think for some people learning languages is about mimicking whatever your current linguistic surroundings are. A lot of Brits who go to the US end up with a Hybrid , a transatlantic drawl so to speak.
Similar to me, I picked up an American accent. But, I am not a native speaker of English, neither are you. Would you start to speak French like a person from Quebec for example if you moved to Montreal or start to speak like a Belgian/Swiss/you name it? Doubtful. Maybe a few words, but that's it.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
yeah...
