Accent, does this happen to anyone else?

[BigPinkBall]

I’m originally from the North East, like many people I went to school with I’ve got Scottish parents, but I’ve never lived in Scotland. I grew up near Sunderland, so on some words I stretch the vowels and I use a soft r sound, because I’ve lived in the South for the last decade I speak clearly and a little slower than I would in the North East. However I have, on numerous occasions had people ask where in Scotland I’m from, and when I tell them I’m not Scottish they insist that I have a Scottish accent. I find is so strange because I would totally understand not hearing the difference between Sunderland/Newcastle/Middlesbrough but Scottish is a very different sound.

Does this happen to anyone else or is it just me?

I have a friend from Stoke-on-Trent and often think she sounds Scouse, other people have mentioned it too! But she can't hear it at all.

Haven't heard anyone from Stoke sound SCOUSE, but some people from Cheshire do.

Also, I don't think anyone from the North East of England sounds Scottish, but they do use a few similar words; like bairn, and 'aye'.

I used to pronounce a popular supermarket name with a thick Russian accent for the first half of my life. I honestly couldn't hear the difference. My parents are Russian. I have never set foot in Russian. Odd.

i came from birmingham havent lived there for over forty years, now live in yorkshire and as soon as i speak to new people the first thing they say is either you dont come from round here or is that a brummie accent

I'm from Northumberland, and when on holiday, was asked where in Wales I was from

I was born in Scotland to English parents, and mostly grew up in the West Country, BUT in spite of not having a scottish accent at all anymore I still do say things you only hear up here.

Remember and not remember to
How instead of why
Messages for shopping and stuff

I think if your parents have a particular accent, you can sometimes end up with a hint of it. We grew up in Kent, DM was born and raised in London/Kent, and we moved to the Midlands where DM had my two youngest sisters. Both sisters have never been to Kent, but have hints of a Southern accent occasionally. In fact the older one had a very strong Southern accent until starting school, due to spending most of her formative years listening to people who had that accent I suppose.

Haha, as daughter of an Irish woman, I find myself saying tings like tree (3) and dropping the H all over the place, saying Ye etc

Also I speak like a train... you can totally tell where my roots are :)

(But have a totally rp accent)

To be fair, to someone not acquainted with Scotland/Sunderland they may not register too much of a difference in the regional accents. I mean if they don’t know anyone from there and don’t visit, they won’t notice the nuances of those accents.

It’s like people thinking all southerners sound the same when there’s a dramatic shift of regional accents in London alone, let alone the Home Counties, Essex etc. I can always figure out someone from Kent, Surrey, Southampton etc.

Personally I do this a bit. I think some regional northern accents sound the same and do sort of ‘lump’ them together as a general northern accent, but that’s just because I’m barely up north and the northerners that I do know don’t sound that distinctly different from each other (they probably have a slightly toned down accent from living in the south?)

I'm born and bred Devonshire, yet I don't have a Devonshire accent at all. I went to uni in the midlands and no one could place where I was from. I have a non-accent.

My aunt on the other hand married a Welsh man and then moved abroad. She now has a partial Welsh accent from spending so much time only speaking English with him.

I think I don't sound terribly Irish, but apparently I only have to open my mouth PMSL!

I am also from Tyneside (South Shields, in fact, went to school in Sunderland), but haven't lived in 20 years. In the time since I've lived in Lancashire, Devon, Greece and London.

Vast numbers of people think I'm Welsh. I've even had a very drunk Welsh bloke insist upon it. I've never even been to Wales!

I'm born and bred Newcastle but live in Northumberland. Apparently I sound like a posh geordie

I'm from near enough Sunderland and I've had people thinking I'm Scottish, Irish, Geordie, Yorkshire and from Middlesbrough

My DH thinks it’s this I think some regional northern accents sound the same and do sort of ‘lump’ them together as a general northern accent but it’s not like they’re even similar!

I’m in the unfortunate position of working in a call centre so I have to listen to my recorded voice 3 times a week and I’m certain I don’t sound Scottish in any way shape or form. I avoid using colloquialisms like bairn and aye because my mother —beat it out of me— thought it sounded common.
I look quite Irish so I’ve had people assume I’m Irish before but they’re not as insistent as the Scottish ones

I'm a Mancunian. I haven't lived there for nearly 20 years but people can still apparently hear it.

I was born in Scotland to Geordie father and County Durham mother. I spoke with a Geordie accent til I went to school in Scotland.

@DairyIsClosed - is it Tyesko?

I have a Welsh accent, although a posh one, but my daughter is always being picked up as a Welsh accent although she doesn't.She does, however, have Welsh intonation in a lot of words because she learnt them from me.

I'm from east coast Scotland (NE Fife)and often asked where in Ireland I'm from...
dd1 was born in Glasgow but moved with us to Wales when she was 15 months( so not yet talking much) ....went to Uni in Scotland and folk frequently asked where in Scotland she was from because of her accent
Dh grew up in Wales and he's asked where in Scotland he's from....my accent's not strong but they must have picked it up from me!

I can often detect Scottish twangs in people who have Scottish parents (much to their surprise).

@MrsSchadenfruede no I grew up overseas but simar to Vaitross. I genuinely couldn't tell that I was mispronouncing it.

I think its true that you can inherit some accent habits from your parents even if you don't actually have the accent itself.

My dad was born in Yorkshire and his parents both spoke with broad Yorkshire accents -- he was educated in the South of England for most of his life and speaks standard RP but he does have one or two Yorkshire verbal mannerisms, like saying "pooer" instead of "pore" for poor etc.

Also I work with someone who has lived in the South all her life but her parents are northerners and while she doesn't sound like a northerner she occasionally has flat vowels ("last" instead of "larst" etc).

I think you inherit more of that than you realise.

I'm from Sunderland but live elsewhere... People have mistaken my accent for Welsh, Scottish and most commonly, Geordie. I always point out that there is a big difference between the Geordie and Mackem accents/dialect. I do use regional dialect, but since moving away (not too far away may I add) my own family think I sound very posh now.

DM is northern and although she doesn't completely sound it, we both have some Yorkshire inflections and vocal tics/dialect words and phrases. DP goes Scottish- scots family, and uses Scots words although we both live in and grew up in SE England.

Good friend with an irish DM, no accent but uses idioms, we were actually talking about this today!