Loud, annoying, and racist!

[iradney]

My stepfather once did customer-satisfaction survey calling for car dealers, and every once in awhile would adopt the accent of a person he was calling. Never did figure out why he did that; it was simultaneously horrifying and hysterically funny.

At work, we do data support for an Australian company. Now, they don't call very often, but when they do, and they get through to me, EVERYONE at work listens to me. Why? Because within ten minutes I am talking fluent Australian, accent and all. When I'm speaking to someone with a distinctive overseas accent, it's all I can do to NOT slip into their accent. I don't know why

[Dreamstalker]

He said it was to "make the customers feel more comfortable". Not sure how true that is...it was just so funny and wrong to hear a middle-aged white guy try to pull off an East Indian/Chinese/Korean accent (an actor he was not, it sounded horrid). I often wondered what the people on the other end of the phone thought...

I've been known to slip into other accents as well, but only if it sounds "natural" to me.

[tollbaby]

ah... well see, I don't do it on purpose, and I never realize I'm doing it until someone else points it out *blush* I do know for a fact though, that I do NOT slip into a British accent when talking to the boyfriend or his parents (which is good LOL they'd think I was a freak). But Chris has said he's heard me do it when talking to my Chicago friends on the phone LMAO

[sportsmom]

One of my friends from school was married to a man from Guam and their son looks NOTHING like her. T is pale and pasty white with strawberry blonde hair, her son J is as dark an olive complexion as I have ever seen with jet black hair. When J was very little, about 12-18 months old, T was in the grocery with him when some old biddy came up and said "Oh, he's so cute. Where did you adopt him from?" When T told her, "He's mine, my husband is Guamanian", the biddy said "Oh no, a nice girl like you wouldn't marry one of those people."

When T told me the story, I was completely WTF?!?!

On a good note, while the ex hubby is a huge jackass, J is one of the best kids I have ever met and is a wonderful teenager. Gah, I can't believe he's going to be 16 next month! I feel old!