Accent slip - real or fake? (Not too serious)

[Idkrealorfake]

M dp has a friend who visits sometimes after moving away some months ago to live in the region where they spent the first few years of their childhood.

I noticed that when they arrived to visit, we had a full conversation together and they spoke the same as they ever did, before the move.

Then a couple of hours later we were out in a restaurant and when speaking to the staff, the friend's accent changed entirely, taking on a different lilt and pronouncing words completely differently. The new accent didn't match that of the people running the restaurant either, who were from a different region to all of us.

After the meal, and for the rest of the visit, speaking to others etc the new accent didn't reappear again once.

We didn't say anything in the restaurant to the friend, but I mentioned it to dp afterwards. I thought the accent change seemed odd, especially as it didn't last long and never reappeared that weekend. Dp agreed they'd not heard that accent before from them, but suggested it could be something that happens naturally to people sometimes. I'm curious about it, and wondered what caused it and if it would be terribly rude to point it out if it happens again. I felt weird that neither of us mentioned it at the time, it was such a change.

I'm aware of code switching which makes sense to me and I find myself doing it sometimes myself, but it's not really a conscious thing and not a change to an entirely different regional accent.

This was more like switching from their regular Leeds accent to a Somerset one and then back to Leeds for the rest of the time.

What do you think caused it?

YABU, it's perfectly normal in these circumstances
YANBU, it's odd

I was amazed when I heard (Etonian) Damian Lewisbeing interviewed on Jay Leno or something. He spoke in an American accent throughout!

Yeah, that makes total sense to me, as your parents would have your original accent and it would probably feel natural, like the conversations you grew up having in your formative years.

I have a mixed accent. I've moved around a lot throughout my life and sometimes I will randomly sound more Scottish, Irish, English or American . I generally pick up the accent of the person in speaking to if my accent changes at all. But sometimes, the Scottish accent will come out in a pub for example as that's where I spent my younger days and the pub atmosphere brings it out. I lived for years in all of these places so I think it's quite natural that I'd have picked up some of the accent. That said, my original accent is the strongest one and most people would be able to guess its origin.

I know people can get quite irate when an accent changes and therefore seems to be fake, but I don't necessarily think it's a nasty thing people do when they quickly adopt the accent of somewhere they've only lived for a short time. It's just a way of fitting in. The only exception might be when someone with a strong regional accent adopts an RP accent. That can sometimes be deliberate (but still understandable). I remember meeting a girl at uni with a very 'posh' accent. When her mum and sister came to visit we couldn't understand why they had strong Essex accents. The girl explained she had cultivated her accent when she started uni as she wanted to sound that way and why not I guess?

Sorry to hear people have got irate with you about this! I don't see how it's a nasty thing to do personally, just curious.

Changes in accent 'class' I'm definitely more familiar with, esp in the south of England where people might presume a lot about you depending on how you pronounce your words.

My accent changes involuntarily. It doesn't so much depend on who I'm with and how they sound as it does on what is the context of the interaction. When I meet someone new I am a bit north American. I have interpreted it s part of masking to do with being ND.

I do the accent thing. I genuinely don’t mean to but it happens but it is always taking on the accents around me not some random accent. I moved a lot as a child and I had a few accents.

I've lived in four different parts of the UK, all with very strong and distinctive accents and my own accent changes hourly.

I've a friend who I've noticed has an accent that she only ever used for waiting staff and it's the total opposite of a posh accent. I don't think she realises she does it!

No, they haven't got irate with me at all, sorry. I referred to people who change their accents quite quickly. That isn't me really, as I lived for a number of years in each of those places. But I've definitely known people to lose their shit when Dave moves to Edinburgh for one year and then comes back with a new accent. I think that's the instinct, but logically it isn't a nasty thing and I'm not sure why it bothers people so much.

Is the new accent the local accent of the place he's now moved to? And the place he spent some childhood years? If so, it's not strange at all.

If it's another accent entirely that's more unusual, I suppose.

I am English, grew up in the south east. Have lived (v far) Away for 20 years. I now have a pretty flat SE accent, not particular to where I grew up. When I am cross/super animated I can v easily swap into my more particular sE accent. I am prone to picking up a Hampshire twang or Australian twang, but only when speaking to people from those places. But I don’t think that’s really the same thing. Im surprised by these responses!

I sometimes do this! It's very odd, I have no control over it. Not a full accent change just the odd word.

Same here... especially using colloquial phrases..
'Grand so' 'catch yourself on'.....

My kids switch accents easily, I come from one place, their dad another, and lived in lots of places.

DH's accent sounds like whoever he's talking to. It's absolutely mortifying and I'm sure someone is going to punch him one day!

My brother is a bit like this, he's always been one to mimic an accent of those around him but emigrated around 10 years ago. To all intents and purposes he now sounds like a local in his new (English speaking) country to most natives, until he picks up the phone to us or steps off a plane and then he's back to English, but if he were talking to someone over here who didn't have an English accent (using your example, greek staff in a Greek restaurant for example) he'd be back to his 'new' accent. It took me by surprise the first few times as like you say he'll be talking to us for hours in our local accent then we'll bump into someone somewhere who doesn't have an English accent and it disappears again

Omg do you feel cringe that you sat through a whole meal with this person and didn't pull them up on on weird accent change? I almost feel embarrassed for you

When my daughter was a teenager - pre mobile phones. I could tell which of her friends she was talking to, depending on her voice, inflexion, etc.

I could always tell even which of two cousins she was talking to - and they grew up in different areas of the same town. The mother of one of them had less of a regional accent and somehow it came through, not only in C's voice but also my daughter's when she was talking to her.

I moved from one end of the country to the other. I’ve lived here for so long that my accent has naturally changed a little, I have less of a twang. That being said, sometimes I revert back to my original accent purely without meaning to. Wishing the same conversation I can interchange how I say a word without thinking about it.

also depends on mood or if I’m drunk 🤦‍♀️. When I get together with people from the town I grew up in or family I talk completely differently as my accent becomes very strong. My other half says I need a translator on those occasions 🤣

Yes I do! 😆I appreciate your second hand embarrassment. And I question why I didn't say anything at the time, which that's precisely why I wanted to hear from other people about it.

But judging from the majority of these responses, what the friend did is an entirely normal thing to do, and I therefore would have been awkward or perhaps even rude to mention it...

Ive lived all over the Uk and abroad in Europe - I'm fluent in many accents and don't actually know what my default is anymore 🤣 sometimes it switches out of politeness rather than accent mirroring, I don't do it consciously. Wondering why you think it's an issue?

It was like a softer version of how someone from the new area would speak, I think. And yeah they lived there as a young child, about 50 years ago.

OP why would you say something to the friend?

What would you have said?

My friend grew up in Dubai and her accent goes from very British, to very American (American schooling) and faint Arabic and back to British in one sentence.

Some words are stronger than others. Like "Beautiful" is very British but "home" is very American and twangy.
She says "bubbles" with an Arabic accent.

It's very confusing and fascinating at the same time!

Also my other friend has a Scottish and Cornish accent mixed into one. 😍

Yeah this thread is mad to me. I do not think it's normal or usual! I think there will be a strong bias on here though as people who are clicking on it or responding to it are guilty of it. It clearly isn't normal or otherwise you and I and most others would come across it in regularly in our daily lives

Hope this makes sense