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

What does code switcher mean?

I think I explained in my other posts, I was wondering if this was a natural switch, or performative somehow, but idk what the motivation could be if so, bc that would be odd.

What triggered the memory today was watching a comedy where two characters are having dinner and psyching themselves up to live life 'on their own terms', without judgement. One of the characters who is an aspiring actor says she wants to order her meal in a German accent, and then tries it, and both characters cringe and she stops. It reminded me of that friend 🤐😂

I therefore would have been awkward or perhaps even rude to mention it...

Yes, you handled it right OP. It's practically a disability so you drawing attention to it would be like saying "So Bob, I notice you are shouting"Fucking Fucker" a lot this evening" to someone who has Tourettes.

Wow, the first 11 people on this thread have the same issue...what are the odds!

It's definitely not common in my experience. I think there's a possibility of both it being involuntary and purposeful. I think you'd have to ask him to find out. Personally I don't think it's rude to ask him, it's a pretty tame question to ask a friend!

Hold up.
Have a little think here.
A disability?!
You surely do not mean that, do you?!

DH does this and it's somewhat uncomfortable to hear. People often think he is mocking them because it's never a good impression of the accent. And for some reason, he's broad Kent when speaking to any tradesperson.

Weirdly, I'm a complete parrot and can do any accent at will and with great accuracy but speak in a neutral English accent at all times unless deliberately switching it on/off. DH can't do a single accent believably and is often heard using some cod South African/Kiwi hybrid when talking to somebody with a thick Mancunian accent for example. It's beyond ludicrous but he apparently, can't help it.

My DH does this, he doesn't even realise. He even does it with our toddler!

This is what I posted to find out!

I think I could've said something like 'oh your accent changed just now' but I don't know if that would be insensitive or not. Or just very, very awkward! We just wanted to catch up.

But it was very sudden and noticeable so maybe they would be aware of it and not offended or anything. Idk.

You surely do not mean that, do you?!

Well, perhaps just a mild social disability, like a lack of humour for example. Not within the control of the individual.

I work for a very international company with head quarters in the UK so daily speak to people with all sorts of accents. A good number of people do slip into other accents. It seems most common when they have lived elsewhere then speak to someone from 'home' and its impossible to not slip back to their old accent. However it does occur with other accents that have never been their own too. I have a neutral accent at work to make sure I'm understood but if I'm speaking to a geordie I'm straight back matching them as that's my home accent. I occasionally do a Yorkshire or Scottish accent to although I have no reason to.

It's a known linguistic phenomenon and you might want to educate yourself.

www.unitedlanguagegroup.com/blog/linguistic-code-switching

Joining in with the non- GF and sensible conversation, I'm currently having to battle not to speak like Siobhan Finneran every time I open my mouth.

Interesting stuff. It says it's generally about fitting in with the people you're speaking to, which is also how I've always understood code switching to work.

What threw me off in this case was that there was no fitting in, it was actually the opposite - the friend's accent changed from being the same as mine and dp, to being different to everyone in the room, including the wait staff. That's what made it stand out. Perhaps it's another linguistic phenomenon I've not heard of.

Did the wait staff have an accent? Other people's accents bring out mine. I'm Northern and live in the midlands. If I'm taking to people who have a neutral accent mine is fairly neutral too, but if I'm speaking to a Brummie my Yorkshire comes out.

Lol, or perhaps not 😆

Having lived in a few different countries, I find different phrases somehow suit different accents and automatically come out in that accent when I speak.

I switch accents a lot though it is usually related to the accents of the people I am talking with, sometimes it goes very off, if I am aware and worried they'll think I am mocking them.

Weirdly, I can't 'do' accents on purpose like a party trick though my sister can, she's really REALLY good and can switch between Brummie, Northern Irish, Welsh, various flavours of scottish, Scouse, Manchester pretty much on demand.

Stick me in a room with someone with a strong accent though and in minutes I sound close to native, and people have asked if I am taking the piss in the past so I am wary of it with new people.

You’ve reminded me of a Welsh boy I met at a castle concert with my parents. 🥰😍

Yeah I do that sometimes. My parents have two very different accents and brought be up somewhere with a third accent. If I talked to grandparents growing up I did so in their accent. If I meet someone with a different accent sometimes my tongue feels muddled and I eg find myself being Irish at an Australian.

It’s a bit like a really crap version of being trilingual

I’m exactly the same 😳! It’s so embarrassing, so I have to say at little as possible in that situation, and work really hard on sticking to my normal accent.

My friend from Ireland has lived in America for 20+ years when she comes home her accent is mostly "home" but occasionally will become pure American!

I had a colleague years ago with an accent that i seemed unable to stop myself mirroring. He called me on it. I pretended it hadn't happened. Argh, the cringe.

This thread could almost be about me out in Leeds last night with my friend and her friends. I'm autistic, I often chameleon my accent and manner of speech without realising it - depends on where I am, who I'm with. I often parrot back at people the way they sound to me. It can be quite embarrassing.

Sometimes it happens because of things or memories I'm thinking of in my head, so it can be entirely random from the outside.

When I'm happy and excited or drunk, I often end up with a particular British regional accent; when I lived where that accent came from I spoke the language also.

So since being away from that area, and picking up the posh accent for where I currently live, I switch between the posh southern accent, the accent I had for a decade and a half when I was daily speaking a whole other language, and whatever accent and dialect the people around me have.

I'd be mortified if anyone thought I was a fake. I'm a harmless sod with a lot of autism-related quirks and this is just how I am.

I also sometimes go posh when I'm tired.

This is pretty normal. I grew up in a medium sized town where there’s a bit of an ooh-ar tone to the accent.

I’ve lived in London for decades and normally speak a standard RP/Estuary hybrid but when I go back to my hometown the bumpkin comes out.

My partner has always lived within5 miles of where we live now but he speaks differently to everyone he talks to 🤣
Honestly if we got into an Albanian shop he becomes Albanian 🤣if we get a taxi he becomes Indian 🤣.
I fancy a trip to Scotland but I couldn't bear to listen to him with the locals so that's off the cards 🤣😂🤣