to think Adam from Cold Feet has the wrong accent?

[user1474926891]

Lived in Didsbury since the beginning of primary school, but still had broad Irish accent and irishisms in his speech. No hint of a Manc accent at all.

Hmmmm, aibu to be unconvinced by this?

[jusdepamplemousse]

Yes! And why do Karen and David's kids have such thick Manchester accents then when both parents are posh voiced?!

[madamginger]

My mum has lived in Manchester for 40 odd years and she still has her Belfast accent.

[user1474926891]

But Adam has lived there all of his life

[intheknickersoftime]

I never understood Adams accent either

[raisedbyguineapigs]

I think the problem may be James Nesbitts inability to do accents He just uses his own accent in everything I've seen him in!

[BarbaraofSeville]

Not as bad as when Daphne's brother appeared in Frasier to have a London accent when her's was Mancunian/Lancashire .

[Charmed18]

I can't see how he's lived in Manchester all of his life...When he went to Belfast for his stag do (before marrying Rachel) he showed his mates all his old haunts and ex-girlfriends houses. He then snogged his first love that night (they had gone out as teenagers there).

[drspouse]

How has Adam lived there all his life if he has loads of friends and a bunch of old teenage girlfriends back in NI?

(I am watching the old series at the moment so no spoilers for the new one, and I've just watched the one with him going back to old haunts for his stag do. He clearly had a geography teacher there as his tour included "front doors I have shagged behind" one of which was his geography teacher).

I assumed he came for 6th form or at the very most O levels (as it was in my day) and 6th form.

[squoosh]

Yes I've always been a bit perplexed by Adam's accent.

[drspouse]

Oops cross posted with Charmed gosh we are nerds!

[Step]

Cach yerselves on.... you can assimilate your parents' accents. My cousins are English born to Northern Irish parents but have East Belfast accents.

[squoosh]

Wikipedia

'Adam's backstory was inconsistent; the first series established that Adam and Pete had known each other since their childhood when they attended the same school in Manchester. To justify Adam's accent, his Northern Irish origins were developed in Series 3 and it was explained on screen that he spent his school holidays there. His background is reinforced when his father is introduced in Series 5. Bullen admitted that Adam's biography was never fully planned but conceded that Cold Feet was "full of gaffes".'

[NinaSimoneful]

My dad moved from northern Ireland when he was 17. He's now in his late 50s and still has a broad accent.

[Charmed18]

Oh apparently he 'spent all his school holidays there'. Think they didn't think that one through so tried to make out he spent time there in the episode I saw.

[Eminybob]

I think strong accents like NI do stick.

My mum's husband is Scottish, he's lived in Jersey since he was 8 I think and still speaks with a pretty broad Glaswegian accent.
On the other hand, my mum lived in Yorkshire until she was 7 but has a Jersey accent through and through, not a hint of northern.

[Charmed18]

Drspouse- too much phone time on my hands while getting baby to sleep

[DadOnIce]

Although it's Jenny's accent that worries me the most - it covers more of the M6 between Birmingham and Manchester than a travelling salesman!

[Diddlydokey]

Charmed he went back for the summer holidays. We rewatched that episode recently.

It is a bit silly though, yes.

[passingthrough1]

And his ex girlfriend was Victoria Smurfit (remember her from Ballykissangel ) and she's Irish? Not NI Irish? That confused me too.

[manyathingyouknow]

Who cares?! It's just great that it's back

[eatdrinkandbemarysfairy]

karens voice as changed so much from the pilot episode to the first series its like shes had a voice transpant

[anotherdayanothersquabble]

Love this discussion. I think the problem that it was launched as a one off and the story never quite hung together.

Lots of children have the accent of their friends rather than their parents, part rebellion against their parents, part blending in with their friends.

I have relatives who left West Kerry in their early 20's for Boston and didn't come 'home' again for 40 years and sounded like they had never gone further from their home than the nearest market town.

I am a bit of an accent cameleon, thick Kildare accent when I was a child despite my parents having neutral Irish accents. Moved to the west coast, cultivated myself a posh Dublin accent so I wouldn't blend in with the locals. Moved to London for university, promptly neutralized my Irish accent to avoid everyone constantly mimicking / laughing at my accent. Went to Australia for three weeks, mistaken for an Aussie on my return. Used to spend a lot of time at work on calls with people in America, speaking like them just made the conversation flow better though I sounded like a bit of a twit in an open plan office.

[wasonthelist]

How about all the Corby Glaswegians :)

[drspouse]

he 'spent all his school holidays there'.

Did he do Geography lessons in his school holidays?

I agree you can pick up elements of your parents' accents - one of my parents is not from the UK and I spent all my summer holidays with my grandparents as a child, but I don't have any traces of that accent now (though occasionally did as a child, especially in a September if I'd been to summer activities).

My brother no longer lives in the UK, but not in our parent's home country, and has about 4-5 words that he pronounces differently, while I have none at all - I assume his is more long lasting due to not spending as much time with British English speakers. We've both spent time working in our parent's home country as adults too but neither of us would in any way be mistaken for coming from there (which is irritating when waving my other passport and trying to keep my mouth shut to avoid annoying questions).

[drspouse]

wasonthelist I'd never heard of the Corby Glaswegians, how fascinating! But they had a whole community to preserve their accents.