When people expect you to have an accent?

[gemeyemar]

Is anyone else in a similar situation?

My name gives away my origins immediately. I have a very welsh first name and surname. This means that when people meet me, they expect me to have a very Welsh accent.

I was born and raised in Swansea, and speak Welsh. Both my parents were teachers but only my mum really had what you would call a welsh accent. My dad was educated in England, but even his (welsh) parents don’t have a welsh accent.

I moved to southern England for university and got a job here. People assume I’m from London. Just the other night, someone asked “what part of London are you from?” (!) I’ve never lived in London in my life.

People almost seem disappointed that I don’t sound welsh. Some treat me with suspicion. Some even try and get me to admit that I’ve altered my accent!

@AGreenerShadeofKale

NotMyCat somewhere between Blackburn and Leeds?!

Ooh close for one of the places! I haven't lived in either of those though

I thought it was a ridiculously large area to cover!
We need a poster who can watch Emmerdale and spot any Lancastrian interlopers.

I was born in Torbay which always REALLY confuses people

[quote NotMyCat]Here you go. I've lived in a few different places but born in one, lived in another between 5-11 and another from age 11 onwards. See if anyone picks them up!
[[https://streamable.com/e49whw]][/quote]
I love these! You sound a bit like my friend from York in some places. Definitely Northern but I’m not familiar enough with the accents to guess.

I have a Welsh name despite having no Welsh heritage (my parents just thought it was pretty) and it's a complete annoyance for exactly this reason - people are surprised I don't have a Welsh accent and I've had (Welsh people in England who think they have met a countrywoman) greet me in Welsh and I feel embarrassed that I can't reply!

On the other hand some English people assume that my name is 'made-up' Yoonique-type spelling (it's quite an uncommon Welsh name so English people don't always recognize it as such) and I've noticed people are much nicer once I tell them it's Welsh if they previously assumed my parents invented it, presumably because 'made-up' names are a class marker.

Oh 'ell. Hardbackwriter, my daughter's both have Welsh names - we do have Welsh heritage on both sides. On the other hand, coming from NZ, it was assumed that it was to do with the LOTR's!

@NotMyCat Bradford? What's the book?

[quote JaneJeffer]@NotMyCat Bradford? What's the book?[/quote]
Nope! And it's Lucy Dillon, where the light gets in

Thanks! You have a nice voice. I'd be happy to listen to you read the rest.

I have a sort of generic Scottish accent, but I've lived all over Scotland including Glasgow (now, for 16 years) and the outer Hebrides, as well as the east, where I'm from and went to uni. I'm one of those people who unthinkingly takes on a bit of the accent of the person I'm talking to, my kids laugh when I'm speaking to a Glasgow taxi driver.

Dh is from NI and again the children laugh at his accent when he says thinks like 'power' or 'eighty eight' but he's very soft these days and when we go to visit his mum, I can hear the Scottish parts of his voice.

My dc all sound quite posh Glasgow, until ds is watching footie with his mates and it all goes unintelligible! (He's 19). All three of them (dds are 17 and 21) use the word "cunt" in everyday conversation as a term of endearment. "Pal" is a threat,

But the dc all speak Gaelic, they went to school in Gaelic and have beautiful lilting island accents when they speak it to one another. I hope that they'll pass that on to their children.

the children laugh at his accent
That reminded me of my favourite YouTube video https://youtube.com/shorts/wGGqWwVb3sU?feature=share

My best firmed from Uni is from a NE pit village and she speaks with a strong Wearside accent. She did French and German at Uni, met her husband on her year abroad and has lived in Germany ever since. She speaks German as their family language in the home. Her German friends are astonished when she speaks English and often don’t believe that she is really from England. She was told by a German friend that her English was terrible

[quote NotMyCat]Here you go. I've lived in a few different places but born in one, lived in another between 5-11 and another from age 11 onwards. See if anyone picks them up!
https://streamable.com/e49whw[/quote]
Lancaster or up towards the lakes

@Bloodypunkrockers I'll give you that! Preston (since age 19)
Nobody has picked up the two main places I lived

I have a welsh name. Born in North East Scotland. Attended nursery school in Wales. Returned to Scotland at age 4. Had to learn doric, a new language. Left at age 15, now live in Dorset with no discernable accent.

Accents can be weird. I was out with a group of people recently and one of them had a strong Australian accent. I asked him how long he had been in the U.K. and he was born and raised in the same area of London as I am from and has never set foot in Australia. He is bewildered why people keep asking him this!

My BFF and her DH, both Brits, live in an area of France with a strong regional accent. Their bilingual child was born there and speaks French with the local accent, however when he speaks English it isn't with his Dad's Dorset accent or his Mum's London one but an almost Jamaican lilt . BFF puts it down to him watching a lot of Rastamouse when he was younger.

No one from my hometown believes I grew up there because I don't have the accent. It's always men that want to grill me on it weirdly.

My close friend works in a call centre here and constantly has people saying they're relieved they aren't speaking to an Indian person when they get through to him, they don't realise he is Indian he just has a Midlands accent, until he tells them and they begin the frantic back pedal.

[quote NotMyCat]@Bloodypunkrockers I'll give you that! Preston (since age 19)
Nobody has picked up the two main places I lived [/quote]
The vowels have a distinctive West Yorks feel but it' not a WY accent

Preston is quite a mild Lancashire accent so I think that has softened your accent.

Say the word Bradford? If it sound like Bratford then I'm going to say Mirfield, otherwise I think you may have spent some time 'down south'.

@sashh impressive! The places people didn't pick up were Oxford (5 years) and Bolton (age 11 onwards)

[quote NotMyCat]@sashh impressive! The places people didn't pick up were Oxford (5 years) and Bolton (age 11 onwards) [/quote]

My own journey started in Dewsbury, but we moved to Mirfield when I was a baby.

Then

Shelly

Burnley, stayed in Burnley and worked in Preston

Oxford

London

Wolverhampton with frequent visits to Leicester.

My mum was from Huddersfield and my dad Dewsbury so I grew up with their slightly different accents.

My brother lives in Cornwall and is married to a Devonian.

I think being exposed to so many accents has given me an appreciation of subtle differences.

I once impressed a Kiwi who was working in Walkabout by picking out his accent.

Good guesses... Interesting you all said English! @JaneJeffer @Dadvdtret @AGreenerShadeofKale @MandyMotherOfBrian @TheMarzipanDildo @Bloodypunkrockers

@brokenbiscuitsx was closest, I'm actually from west Wales. Local accent srange from very English to very Welsh sounding so I guess I'm somewhere in the middle. It is quite disappointing that I don't have a "proper" Welsh accent given me and all my family are generations of Welsh.

Thanks for letting us know Pepsi.
I didn't get Welsh at all, no. Probably because I am used to Cardiff friends and I have no "connections" near you.
My accent doesn't scream my origins. I grew up in a family with accents from a few places. (I did have a stronger school accent though! 😄)

[quote Pepsipepsi]I'm also from somewhere with a strong regional accent but have always had the "well you don't sound xyz" spiel. I've uploaded a voice recording of me reading a paragraph about flags (apt subject I thought!). Any guesses? streamable.com/z8kc1d[/quote]
Haven't got a clue but I would say vaguely Northern English? Although in South Wales there are people that sound like this.

@jclm haha close, see update above!

@Pepsipepsi

Good guesses... Interesting you all said English! *@JaneJeffer* *@Dadvdtret* *@AGreenerShadeofKale* *@MandyMotherOfBrian* *@TheMarzipanDildo* *@Bloodypunkrockers*

@brokenbiscuitsx was closest, I'm actually from west Wales. Local accent srange from very English to very Welsh sounding so I guess I'm somewhere in the middle. It is quite disappointing that I don't have a "proper" Welsh accent given me and all my family are generations of Welsh.

Yes!! Thought my fellow Welshie radar was going off 😄👍🏻