But you have an accent

[otter]

Minnesoota... ya, that's how we say it, you betcha! I'm on the east coast now and everyone talks funny!

I can pick up an accent by talking to someone, but I'm afraid of offending anyone so I suppress it (and when I was in 4th grade I was afraid of being made fun of, so I squashed that Southern accent right quick and picked up the Minnesota one!)

But I still amalgam my sayings ("coke" "pop" "soda") so I drive my coworkers nuts XD

[Trixie]

I'm from New Jersey (No we don't say Joisey) and live in the Midwest. I've noticed that I've lost some of my accent. and picked up some of the Midwest one. Though I can still go full Jersey when I want. Though in this area there are people who have a southern twang and other that barely have anything at all and they've lived here their whole life.

I like to think I can pull off other accents but I wouldn't want to go up against any native speakers.

[nutraxfornerves]

I am another accent picker-upper. It's useful when studying a language, but can also be a problem. When I travel, I try to at least learn the most important phrases. You know: Hello; thank you; where's the toilet?; another beer, please.

I may only know six words in some language, but I pronounce them impeccably. So the locals assume I am fluent and happily start chattering away.

[Headset Hellion]

I suppose it would be rude to tell the nosy customer that you had a stroke and it left you with a speech impediment, thank you so much for bringing it up and embarrassing me.

A fellow instructor kept asking one of our students where he was from. The student repeated that he was from here in the US.

"No, where are you really from? Originally? I hear an accent." He was being really rude.

"Oh. I have a speech impediment."

It got really quiet and then I just started laughing and said, "I bet you feel like an asshole right now!"

[MoonCat]

Like several others said here, I can pick them up from customers, so I try not to do that. I love British accents, though.

Years ago I was writing something with a British character in it. I didn't spell anything differently as I was writing (I hate when people try to write in dialect, etc.), but in my head I was focusing on the fact that this man was English. The next morning I was halfway to work when I realized I was thinking in a British accent (you know how a lot of thoughts are abstract but some are actual words? Mine all "sounded" British in my head)

[raudf]

Military brat. Early years on military bases, and at the end, two years in Iceland. I come back to Arkansas and get, "Wow, you have no accent! You can't be from around here!" Or I'd get, "Your accent is very Midwest! Did you come from (X state that is apparently Midwest?)" Nope. My life was either spent just south of the Mason-Dixon Line (and not many Arkies seem to know what that is any more) or just barely south of the Arctic Circle.

My parents liked extremes for military bases... either in Southern America (not South America) or frozen islands for the overseas.

[EricKei]

I have actually had people ask me why I don't have an accent, once they found out that I was from New Orleans. About all I really do is to elide the occasional word ending (especially if it ends in -ING; those tend to become -IN'). Granted, I can DO accents quite well -- and I can sing well, too, Empryss -- but I don't normally use one unless I feel the need or just want to mess with someone.

[notalwaysright]

Ha, I'm not good at either recognizing accents or attempting to speak with an accent. Well, when I say not good, I mean utterly horrific. I can tell British, Irish, Valley Girl (is that a valid accent?), and kinda East Coast, yes I lump them all together and I'm aware there are many. I have an aunt from Minnesota. Until I was in my TWENTIES I didn't realize she had an accent. Yes, I noticed she spoke differently but I guess I didn't think anything of it, I just thought "that's how my aunt talks."

There is an accent associated with my location, though. I think I read that accents grow as an area becomes established. Which makes sense, because New York does have a strong accent. And British accents can get very specific geologically, or so the movie Pygmalion taught me.

[EricKei]

Valley Girl (is that a valid accent?)

Like, f'sure! Yeah! Really, ya know? (Gaw!)

[Aragarthiel]

I pride myself on actually not having an accent at all, though in fantasy novels the way I speak is often considered a "peasant" accent. I've never had anyone ask me where I'm from, even being 2,000 miles away from where I started. I have noticed, however, that after a decade I'm finally starting to pick up some of the Southern pronunciations of words.

[Mytical]

Heh it depends who you ask what my accent is. Most say Southerner, but when I am speaking to a person from the South, they think I am from Northern ohio. As in way north.. so .. *shrugs*. In my college days half would tell me I had a southern draw, the other half would tell me to stop using such big northern college words *shrugs* (the same ones who thought I was from Northern north ohio.

[Marmalady]

in my head I was focusing on the fact that this man was English. The next morning I was halfway to work when I realized I was thinking in a British accent

But was he British, or was he English? They really are not the same thing, although it's often assumed that they are (not intending to imply that this is an assumption that you make yourself).

[Kittish]

I remember as a teenager and young adult being in the area I grew up in, and being frequently asked about where I was from because apparently I did NOT speak with the common local accent. I was accused of being from darn near everywhere else. I can speak with an accent, either the slightly hillbilly southern drawl of central Arkansas (and I DO know what the Mason-Dixon line is, being born south of it), or a 'purer' Texas drawl. I can also do various flavors of British accents, ranging from high class posh to guttersnipe. I spent a couple of weeks apparently with a NY accent after spending several days there back when I was a truck driver (my dispatcher commented on it, so it must have been fairly thick).

[Bardmaiden]

I was at a table at DragonCon talking to four other people one was from the states and the others were from within 30 mile radius of where I live, there were four different accents at the table and one of them is my identical twin sister

We lived in Barnsley for 2 years when we were 5-7 and I kept some of the accent while my sister lost most of it. One was from Northallerton and the other from Leeds and when we all got going the Lady from the US went I know you are talking English but I can't understand a word you said!

[Ophbalance]

Gobbless central PA... We're such a hodge podge. Where I grew up you warsh cloths. You also don't color with crayons you keller. Most sentences end in 'so I did'. We also left out most forms of to be. .. 'That milking needs done'.