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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Wish I had a regional accent?

138 replies

turnyourmattress · 18/05/2022 11:08

I don't know why, but I don't have a strong regional accent. There are occasional hints of it, and it comes out when I'm really angry. Most people think I am southern, or sound a bit RP (not really imo).

I am from Liverpool. Went to an inner city state comp, lived around people with strong scouse accents. My parents don't have strong ones, but do have accents. My grandparents were near unintelligible to outsiders 🐲

I think my accent softened a bit at uni. Or in other words, any accent I did have, disappeared. I never ever made a conscious effort to change it.

People are always surprised when I tell them I'm from Liverpool. They don't believe me, or ask if I went to boarding school/grew up down here. Ask when I changed it. I've had other people from Liverpool claim that I am pretending to be someone I am not. Some people think I am a huge snob, others think I am trying to hide where I am from.

AIBU to wish I had a regional accent, just so that I could conform to what people expect from people from Liverpool?

OP posts:
stuntbubbles · 18/05/2022 16:53

My husband is from the midlands, he has no accent at all, you wouldn’t have a clue where he is from
Unless he’s mute, he has an accent. Everyone does, because there’s no standard form of speaking off which everything else is accented.

Suprima · 18/05/2022 16:55

secretllama · 18/05/2022 16:24

i have had to neutralise my accent hugely due to snarky comments about where I am from. Even the politer ones (there are many comments like this on this thread) where people ‘love’ your accent because you are so ‘friendly’ and ‘warm’ is horribly patronising and weird.

Oh jeez sorry. Next time I wont bother telling someone when I love their accent... especially in a discussion thread about accents. 🙄 how weird of me, instead I'll pretend like accents dont exist and I dont like/dislike any.

Nothing wrong with saying it on a discussion thread- this is anonymous.

But having someone who speaks beautiful RP and has never had a rugby team harass them them into singing a very popular accented comedy song, or has been insinuated that they are thick and uncultured because of where they are obviously from, absolutely fawning over you because they loooove your accent and it’s so trustworthy and niiiiice isn’t really welcomed irl.

EmotionBot9to5 · 18/05/2022 16:56

Boood · 18/05/2022 15:25

It annoys the hell out of me when people assume that Northern = working class and Southern = “posh”. There’s nothing wrong with being any combination of those things, but they all definitely exist and they’re all equally valid.

Im not even from the uk qnd this annoys me!

secretllama · 18/05/2022 17:24

Suprima · 18/05/2022 16:55

Nothing wrong with saying it on a discussion thread- this is anonymous.

But having someone who speaks beautiful RP and has never had a rugby team harass them them into singing a very popular accented comedy song, or has been insinuated that they are thick and uncultured because of where they are obviously from, absolutely fawning over you because they loooove your accent and it’s so trustworthy and niiiiice isn’t really welcomed irl.

Show quote history

I'm Scottish and the amount of times I've been asked to say something specific, stereotypical phrases etc I've lost count but it really doesnt bother me tbh. That's fair enough if you dont. But I dont think its patronising or weird to point out you love an accent. As hard as it is to believe some people genuinely are trying to just be nice .

Abhannmor · 18/05/2022 17:32

I like the fact there are so many accents in the UK and Ireland. You can travel 1000 miles in the USA and the first person you speak to sounds like a clone of the last one. There's about 4 accents in the whole continent. Boring 😴

Isitsixoclockalready · 18/05/2022 18:16

yellowsuninthesky · 18/05/2022 13:04

My mum is from Liverpool but has lived away from the city for about 2/3 of her life. Any Liverpudlian instantly knows that's where she's from, though. I don't think she has much of an accent (north-west but that's it) but there are certain things Liverpudlians say.

Not sure why EddieMair'sWife thinks it's worth posting. Did you ever hear if you can't say anything nice, don't bother saying anything at all?

Agree with this. Unfortunately some people seem to have a compunction to be unpleasant or 'just being honest' as they might say. Especially with the anonymity of being online.

bullywee · 18/05/2022 18:33

I have an extremely broad regional accent. It has hindered my career as I come across as "common", "rough" and "thick".

YABU.

eddiemairswife · 18/05/2022 22:10

Seem to be a lot of touchy Liverpudlians reading this.

Dontsayyouloveme · 18/05/2022 22:13

I’m from Chester.. I bet you sound scouse to me!

Momicrone · 18/05/2022 22:25

Everyone has an accent

TheOriginalEmu · 18/05/2022 22:31

BananaShrimp · 18/05/2022 13:21

Autistic people often lack a strong accent. Their voices can be very flat with unusual pronunciation and stress on the wrong syllables. I’m autistic and I don’t have a strong regional accent, which is something I was bullied for as a child.

Im autistic as are two of my children and I definitely recognise the flat affect in my son, my daughter and myself though, we are parrots. We both pick up the accents/vocal habits of people we are around very very easily. This is something I have had to consciously fight as I work as a SaLT 😂.

TheOriginalEmu · 18/05/2022 22:33

Belephant · 18/05/2022 13:47

The irony of referring to RP/generic SE accents as "educated" is that a well-educated person would likely never say such a thing 🤣

Absolutely this!!

TheOriginalEmu · 18/05/2022 22:36

BrioNotBiro · 18/05/2022 14:53

Isn't John Bishop from Runcorn? A plazzie scouser AKA a wooly back Grin

He was born in Liverpool, to Liverpudlian parents but mostly grew up in Runcorn.

caecilius1 · 18/05/2022 22:54

@eddiemairswife
Judging by your strong reaction, I'm going to take a guess that you're a Mancunian.

eddiemairswife · 18/05/2022 23:26

I'm almost as far from Manchester as I am from Liverpool, although I've have lived near to both cities. I don't live near my birthplace, but my accent gives my origins.

itsnotmeitsu · 18/05/2022 23:32

I have an aversion to certain accents, including Brummie and Liverpudlian. I was born in Birmingham and my husband was born in Liverpool. Since then I've lived in every county in Yorkshire, as well as London, Norfolk and Lancashire. My husband's family moved to West Sussex when he was young. I don't think anybody could guess where we originated from due to our accents. Certainly, in my case, I've lived in too many places for that. Perhaps some sounds just really get to you, as in the condition misophonia. Misophonia is definately a problem for me.

WiseRobin · 18/05/2022 23:34

I’ve not read all of the thread yet but I find this topic really interesting.

Both mine and my siblings accents aren’t as strong as our friends from the same area. Our Dad was from Scotland and never lost his beautiful accent, our maternal grandmother, who also lived in the same area as our Grandad was also Scottish and we saw her regularly.

I’ve often wondered how much our parents accents dictate how strong ours will be, even though we mingle with many others, it’s strange.

Yazo · 18/05/2022 23:37

It can be nice to have an accent as part of your identity, I'm from Sheffield but live in the south. No-one ever really asks me about my accent but in reality it's because most people only move within 30 miles of where they grow up and don't really have a clue what people sound like. When I worked in Sheffield plenty of locals didn't think I was from there but there's not a lot you can do. Don't be ashamed of it. When I studied linguistics it's really common for women to change their accents naturally and for men not to. I hated it when people couldn't understand me when I moved away to uni.

Now I have my own kids I can see that accent isn't necessarily that wilful a thing. They go to a school where most parents are not from the area, we're all from around the country, abroad etc, it's not a private school. So my kids don't have a very strong accent and probably never will. Doesn't mean their identity is any less though!

Be the proud Scouser you are, however you sound!

OhNoWhatYouGonnaDo · 18/05/2022 23:46

I'm from Liverpool too, but have never had a strong accent. My father is from another country, which may have influenced my speech growing up. I went to a comprehensive school. I got bullied at school for being "posh", then went to Oxford where I was ridiculed for being common because I didn't have an RP accent. I lived in various parts of England in m 20s and 30s and few people could quite place where I was from.

I now live in Formby and most people here sound like me 😂

MrsIronfoundersson · 18/05/2022 23:54

WiseRobin · 18/05/2022 23:34

I’ve not read all of the thread yet but I find this topic really interesting.

Both mine and my siblings accents aren’t as strong as our friends from the same area. Our Dad was from Scotland and never lost his beautiful accent, our maternal grandmother, who also lived in the same area as our Grandad was also Scottish and we saw her regularly.

I’ve often wondered how much our parents accents dictate how strong ours will be, even though we mingle with many others, it’s strange.

This is interesting... I am from Dublin with a soft accent and have lived in the UK twice as long as I lived at home, but a friend says she can hear my accent or a twang of it in my kids who are South East England.

Libertybear80 · 18/05/2022 23:54

I'm quite pleased I didn't grow up with a Cumbrian accent. Absolutely no one knows where you are from! Except another Cumbrian!

PeachPizza · 19/05/2022 00:03

Just me then who has a few different accents?

Maybe it's due to growing up/going to secondary school in a city school with incredibly strong accents, plus having family with a different very strong accent. And then university with a mix of lots of accents and people there (gently and usually kindly) mocking my accent. And now living in a "naice" part of the south.

But I have an accent for my school friends (which DH can't always understand apparently...), my normal/at home voice (which isn't a voice I had before university, and my 'naice' phone call/school mum voice/talking to the teachers vice.

They all of course are similar enough and I don't purposely change them. It just sort of happens depending on the company I'm in.

PeachPizza · 19/05/2022 00:06

Abhannmor · 18/05/2022 17:32

I like the fact there are so many accents in the UK and Ireland. You can travel 1000 miles in the USA and the first person you speak to sounds like a clone of the last one. There's about 4 accents in the whole continent. Boring 😴

Not in my experience.

I've only been to 10 or so different states but have heard some amazing accents!!

Chouetted · 19/05/2022 00:12

Libertybear80 · 18/05/2022 23:54

I'm quite pleased I didn't grow up with a Cumbrian accent. Absolutely no one knows where you are from! Except another Cumbrian!

Alreet marra, hos it gaan?

I miss my Cumbrian accent, noone believes I'm from Cumbria now!

RobertaFirmino · 19/05/2022 00:31

eddiemairswife · 18/05/2022 22:10

Seem to be a lot of touchy Liverpudlians reading this.

...and I bet you wouldn't dare make your shitty little comments to our faces either

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