To find this incredibly irritating and rude?

[Whatonearth17]

Name change for this and I’m sure I’ll get flamed…but here we go…

I’m a Welsh speaker living in Wales and have an accent when I speak English. It’s a lovely thing and I love other people’s accents. I’ve just returned from shopping where an older English speaking ‘gentleman’ asked me to get something he couldn’t reach for him. I did him the favour and was polite to him at which point he repeated what I said in an over the top mocking Welsh accent. It is the THIRD time this week that a variation of this scenario has happened. Once at work (which I pushed back on) once when I was in the park with the kids and decided I couldn’t be arsed to say anything and today. Why do people think this is ok? The guy today in particular was patronising and belittling and quite frankly just rude. Would we do this to someone with a German/ Chinese accent? Or any other accent? Heritage? To their FACE? When it has happened at work and I can definitely identify their linguistic background, it tends to be people with one language? Multilingual people tend to do it far far less. I just find it so rude and ignorant.
YABU - it’s just banter
YANBU- let’s stop copying people’s accents shall we?

"Nac ydw, dyn hen, fel arfer dw i'n siarad yn fy iaith gyntaf," (or anything else in Welsh) smile and walk away. Would have driven him mad trying to work out what you said.
But serious, why a) mock someone speaking with a welsh accent in wales and b) mock someone who has just done you a favour?! weirdo

FFS 🙄 People really are twats.

Many years ago I had a friend and her friend come to stay with us for a few weeks whilst they were job hunting. They had just been on holiday to Dublin and thought it was hilarious to keep saying things in a fake Irish accent. My Northern Irish husband hinted very politely it wasn't very funny. They kept at it. I wasn't very well at the time, had tricky family stuff going on, my husband had just been promoted to a new stressful role and the constant tee hee hee we are so funny just drove us demented. They were really offended when they wanted to extend the stay and we said no. I did actually lose her as a friend. I am sure she saw it as my siding with a boy (we were not married at that point) and therefore being a terrible friend. But please mocking someone's accent can be just rude and that with other stuff just tipped us over the edge.

I've experienced this with my RP accent, most often when I lived in the North. I suspect not as often as you're experiencing it though.

It's the sort of thing which might be banter between close friends or family if they know it won't offend, but which is otherwise incredibly rude.

I'm not counting those who unconsciously imitate an accent, but it's usually pretty clear who's who!

Scottish and I started getting bored of it about 20 years ago, now I really dislike it. I can’t ever recall a woman doing it though. Only men older than me…. 🤔

I've got an unusual accent too and I hate when people imitate it. I've always found that as rude as you do. They think it's a great laugh and ever so cute of them, but if I was to turn the tables I know they'd be mortally offended. So it's not really a bit of fun, is it? It's a joke at my expense. It's a bit mean, and frankly rude.

I also hate the way some people feel entitled to demand your life story, the minute they detect an accent. I'm just trying to exist in the world and go about my day. I don't feel like sharing my life history with some total stranger! It never occurs to them that I don't owe them a conversation, just because they're curious.

As I said I didn't read previous comments. Yes people might not be able to tell the difference. Sounds like you have extra time in your hands to write this reply to me. Bravo.

What a horrible man! It’s a lovely accent, very friendly.

I always do a Welsh accent for Fox when I read The Gruffalo to DS

Ok, I was just talking about North Wales in particular as that’s where I’ve grown up and therefore my experience. Didn’t mean any offence.

@Gonners, xenophobic and rude.
(literally they are stranger-hating and shameless but in this context they are as above. Extroverted is allblyg.)

Online translation apps generally can't cope with Welsh.

When I'm away, normally in the USA, when someone says that, I reply with "I don't have one, you do" 😁

Not another one 😀

There must be some gene/DNA mixing thing at play.
I would prefer almost any other accent.

(And I'm sure loads of men have looked at me, then I opened my mouth and they were like "uuuugh, Northern Irish/Irish".
Especially because many English people seem to perceive us as peasants).

@Gwenhwyfar, I'm a Welsh speaker (mother tongue), but from nearer the borders. People are usually surprised that I speak Welsh. My accent isn't particularly Welsh.

The accent varies a lot within Wales. I say the odd word or phrase in a Welsh way.

I'm itching to correct 'dyn hen' above.

I'm Scottish I have a very East coast mix of an accent Edinburgh/Aberdeen East Central Scotland and a very clear professional voice People (for that read English people) seem to find it hilarious to either claim I'm not Scottish or reply to me in a very West coast "hey you Jimmy" accent It boils my blood !!

I’m English, living in the USA. People do this to me and my family on the daily and think it’s absolutely hilarious and ok. They do get a bit confused with my husband though (who’s from Wigan). He doesn’t seem to get the piss taken as much, maybe because they don’t understand him?

I live in the North and without having a pronounced Northern accent, don't flatten the vowels like a Southern accent does. ('black hat' not 'bleck het'). DP's mother apes what she thinks is a heavy Northern accent and says things like, 'O 'eck! Na thaz dun et!' followed by a tinkly little laugh. It does me in, especially as DP's dad is Scottish. It's very rude to mock how people speak. You have to be really close friends for it to be acceptable even as a private joke.

I worked for a woman who would mock my accent. I complained. No one cared. It was really nasty.,

I’m Scottish and worked in England for a couple of years, folk constantly mimicked my accent, often asking me to say things, such as “there’s been a Murder” IYKYK. It got tiresome, but in the main, I found it endearing, as most folk said they loved my accent. From a stranger it is incredibly rude though I think.

I'm really sorry this post has ended because I wanted to say: I love regional and national accents but often catch myself mimicking them unconsciously. As soon as I realise I stop, of course, because I would hate people to think I was making fun. I have had a few sideward glances when I obviously haven't stopped in time.

Really sorry to hear this, I love a Welsh accent - I may be bias as half Welsh. But I think its beautiful xx

The Welsh are the same race as the English so whilst he is a prick, he cannot be called racist by the true definition of the term.

Problem is these days you get called "woke" if you dare to call out irrational discrimination.

Should have taken it back from him and put it well out of reach....

I live in a Dorset holiday town. A friend had a Dorset accent, but used to lay it on really thickly for a laugh when visitors (usually DFLs) talked down to him as if he were an ignorant country bumpkin.

It is so demeaning. All you are saying is “I’m not listening to a word you’re saying” as you’re too busy focusing on the accent.

And the poor person has to stand there and laugh along and pretend they’re a good sport when the only “bonding” they want to do is your head into a wall.