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Original poster

Why do some people pick up accents so quickly, whereas other people never change their accent?

91 replies

CalIie · 26/01/2022 16:32

Just a question I have never had a satisfactory answer to.

I pick up accents ridiculously quickly. For example, when talking to my friends in Canada over the phone I will pick up a Canadian accent, I'll suddenly notice I am saying "aboot" or something and then become very self-conscious.

Similarly, when my Welsh grandfather was alive I would go Welsh over the phone.

My cousin and her husband moved to Australia 9 years ago. Her husband developed a full on Ozzy accent within a year, yet she still sounds very English, there is not even an Ozzy twang.

What about you guys? And any thoughts as to why this is?

OP posts:

FannyFifer · 26/01/2022 20:24

I pick up peoples accents that I'm talking to, it's mortifying. I'm Scottish but lived in Dublin for 5 years & after about a week I just sounded like that was where I was from.

SalsaLove · 26/01/2022 20:27

I still have my American accent despite living in England for 15 years. I have adapted to the vocabulary but otherwise I have my lovely accent.

Baystard · 26/01/2022 20:30

Oh I do this, it makes me really uncomfortable because I do it on the phone depending on who I'm speaking to and colleagues think it's odd. If the person had a broad local dialect then I do too, but if the next caller speaks in RP then so do I.

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PotatoGoblins · 26/01/2022 20:31

I have a typical generic, southern English accent. You can’t really place it to one particular geographical area.
But my DM is Polish, and when I’ve spent time with her, switching between English and Polish, a there are certain English words that my brain simply will not form without a Polish accent

LarryUnderwood · 26/01/2022 20:34

I think this ability/habit is more common in people who moved areas as kids. Combo of childish need to fit in and ability to pick up language more quickly.

Unescorted · 26/01/2022 20:35

The empathy angle is interesting... I change accents really easily but do it less when I am tired or stressed.

Shopgirl1 · 26/01/2022 20:38

I pick up accents easily depending on who I’m speaking to. I moved around a bit as a child, and have one parent from Ireland and one from England, so not sure if that’s the reason. I can’t just do another accent, but my accent will change depending on who I’m speaking to.
I also speak another European language fluently and pick up regional dialects in that easily as well - after a summer in one area with a marked dialect I sounded like I was local.

woodhill · 26/01/2022 20:40

I do as well

museumum · 26/01/2022 20:40

I do it a lot and involuntarily. I grew up between “posh” and “working class” speaking groups of friends and family all from the same area.

woodhill · 26/01/2022 20:40

And have a phone voice

LondonQueen · 26/01/2022 20:41

My accent is still the Southern and I have lived up north for years!

Dmsandfloatydress · 26/01/2022 20:41

I sound exactly like whom ever I'm talking to. It's a nightmare to be honest and I really have to make a conscious effort to not do it and I usually fail, even then. I am an excellent mimic though and I can do any accent under the sun, quite convincingly. My husband gets really embarrassed as does my best mate but I literally cannot stop it from happening. My mum said I was exactly the same as a child. It's called code switching, I think and I work with vulnerable people so I find it really helpful in winning people's trust and making them feel comfortable.

My husband speaks RP and cannot change it at all. He finds it has alienated him in the past when trying to mix with people from different backgrounds.

DobbyTheHouseElk · 26/01/2022 20:42

I wish I didn’t do this. It’s totally subconscious. I can hear it and I can’t stop it. I immediately take on someone’s accent. They must think I’m taking the piss.

Jobseeker19 · 26/01/2022 20:43

I can't pick up accents quickly and I actually really like that.

I feel like it means I'm not trying to fit in and I'm comfortable in my own skin.

When I see people quickly doing it I feel like they have a weak personality and can have their opinion swayed easily.

I have witnessed this too in real life.

YesPleaseMary · 26/01/2022 20:45

I did this a lot when I was younger. We moved about a fair bit so I got good at fitting in. I’m English but have lived in Scotland for 15 years - haven’t got a Scottish accent though. I can mimic pretty much any accent and have a good ear for music.

Toddlerteaplease · 26/01/2022 20:46

I had a friend who would mimick the accent of the person he was talking too. It was really embarrassing. But he had no idea he was doing it.

ofwarren · 26/01/2022 20:49

Another autistic here who does it. It's quite common in us.

SometimesRavenSometimesParrot · 26/01/2022 20:54

I do this! I always thought it was because I was brought up to speak ‘properly’ and also watched exclusively American telly so I spoke like a posh Valley girl till I was about 12. I was then tormented for being posh in a rough, regional secondary school with a thick accent as standard so I quickly learnt to speak like that (to my mams despair). As an adult I swap back and forth depending on the circumstance but also have a best friend from London and one from the US so I adopt a lot of their expressions. I think it’s called code switching

Jules0702 · 26/01/2022 21:02

We moved here from Canada almost 8 years ago and haven’t picked up any accent including my 13 year old daughter who’s lived here longer than she lived in Canada. It’s odd since she has cousins who moved here around the same time and they all have English accents now. I don’t know if the fact that we go back at least once a year (or used to) affects it.

Kinsters · 26/01/2022 21:03

I live overseas and do this deliberately if I'm speaking to someone whose English is not so good. They understand me a lot better if I have a similar accent and speech pattern to what they are used to.

SeedsSeedsSeeds · 26/01/2022 21:26

I don't start speaking out loud in other accents, but my internal monologue does. On holiday, talking to people with a different accent, or binge watching tv, all my thinking will suddenly be in that accent.

sleaf · 26/01/2022 21:30

DH has picked up the regional accent of where we moved to 5 years ago I on the other hand still have my home town accent and it's quite noticeable - people here have commented on it and the fact it's not a local accent!

woodhill · 26/01/2022 22:16

I find different accents fascinating, they can vary so much even a county away

Original poster

CalIie · 26/01/2022 22:29

@LarryUnderwood Interesting theory! I did live abroad for periods as a child. Spent a lot of time with Americans and Canadians in the Middle East…

OP posts:

WalkingOnSonshine · 26/01/2022 22:35

I’m musical, good at languages and empathetic & find I hugely converge my language and accent when I speak.

DH is Australian & it’s often assumed I am too.

I am absolutely excellent at hearing/picking up on an accent too. I can really quickly pinpoint where someone is from or a faint twang etc.

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