Friend and her accent

She would not let me record her no. I know without even asking her, she’s very private and funny about things like that. Won’t even have her photo taken on a night out even though I tell her I’d never post it on sm

Definitely something secretive about her past (or present) then !

She's definitely a russian spy.

Spy

My eldest son's girlfriend does this. She spent her whole childhood travelling the world for her dad's job. There's a video of her - aged 9 - fresh back from Canada. She has a pronounced Canadian accent. Her mum says she had a broad regional accent local to where they settled withing three months!

The mother of a girl I used to teach changed accents due to a stroke. When I first met her (at a parents' evening) she had a very RP English accent, then at another parents' evening a couple of years later I was baffled when she spoke with a very obvious Russian accent (I only found out later that she'd had a stroke). Apparently she was Russian but had moved to England when she was young and had developed an English accent.

Could be Russian interference that's given her an accent.

Maybe she's having a laugh at your expense and the other person's in on it? Maybe it's your ears? You describe her as highly successful but working in isolation and with few friends. Maybe she's an out of contract spy? Does she have family? Do you know where she's actually from? I'm being lighthearted. But I do know people who pick up the accents of people around them in a heartbeat. Other people who, under no circumstances, deviate from standard RP. Possibly, you just don't know her very well.

Could she be watching a tv programme or listening to a radio show with that accent? I pick up accents VERY easily as does my dad. I remember as a teen listening to my dad on the phone to a potential client and looking at my brother and both of just saying 'whoever he's speaking to, they're German'. This was within about 5 mins of dad talking to the guy. I'm similar. I wish it wasn't the case but I can't help it 😬

Play back a voice mail she's left you so she can hear she's sounding different.

I wonder if she's in a relationship online with someone from Russia? A friend of mine married a man from up north and she's completely taken on his accent, it's really bizarre and sounds put on. To begin with she would drop it and go back to her normal accent around family/ friends but she must talk like it full time now because she doesn't bother.

This can happen if a person isn't autistic too, I'm an accent sponge and have picked up Australian and Scottish accents as well as (once) someone else's actual lisp, which was luckily only brief. It's subconscious and I often don't notice it until I hear myself recorded. Your friend could be picking it up somewhere, even a podcast or tv show, although I find the idea of her being a Russian sleeper agent much more alluring.

Do you know if she speaks an Eastern European language? If she does, she may be from there originally, and recent contact with natives, watching tv, talking more on the phone etc. might be bringing her accent back. I am a long term resident of a different country, and my accent fluctuates depending on exposure to my native language, and also simple things like how tired or stressed I am.

But it might also be a medical problem, especially if there is no obvious reason why she would have that kind of accent. I think you should try to talk to her about this again.

I used to work with someone who some days would have a British accent (she was British) and other days, absolutely American. She wasn't American at all, nor had she spent any time there.

She was troubled however and the American accent would appear on her 'moody' days. We're not even sure she knew.

I’ve developed a few Welsh lilts since moving here!

We went to Malham on a school trip, geography A level. . We decided not to go to the pub with everyone else so we went to a more local pub. After talking to the local lads I developed a Yorkshire accent and it took me a fortnight to get my normal accent back

Everyone has an accent. The "newsreader" one is RP (Received Pronunciation).

This could very well be a neurological issue. You need to really spell it out for her: "Your voice has changed. I think you should see a doctor, because sometimes you sound Russian. No, you do not sound the same as you always did". Record her and play it back if you have to.

Yes this is possible. I quite often develop a slight American accent, and use American words if I've been on my own for a few days, and I assume it's due to TV shows. I'd try to persuade her to go to her GP though, just in case.

Don't accept a cup of tea from her unless she's already taken a sip and make sure she doesn't poke you withe the tip of her brolly.

What on earth does she say when you or anyone ask her why she’s doing it?

Either that or she is secretly Elizabeth from the Americans and is tired of faking it :)

Sorry but I think it's a bit of a rude assumption. People don't usually consciously copy an accent/ try to be something they aren't.

Shakira fo example has had periods of speaking both with an Argentine and Catalan Spanish while living in those areas.

I started off with an American-ish accent with a Scandinavian flavour. I'm not exposed to the US and Scandinavia anymore so my accent is more British. However, I spend most of my time around Italians and Spanish at work, so I pick up how they speak, and body language. I also mirror the accent of who I am talking to, so if I am speaking to someone that speaks very informally, I won't speak back to them in perfect RP. If I am speaking to someone that speaks very formally, I notice myself speaking formally.

None of this is conscious, it just happens. I mirror people.

It's a trait that's hard to control. My best friend is the same, she is British but her pronounciation can be a bit foreign at times when she's around foreigners a lot.

My bf's mum is British but living long-term in Australia. She can sound British or Australian depending on the environment, her accent switches.

Talking of other reasons, she could be having some dental work done, etc, etc. I really wouldn´t think about it too deeply unless it impacts you.