Accent not fitting with upbringing

[artichokebakedbean]

I have quite a 'posh' accent as I've been told, especially considering I grew up in the provinces. I attended a Jewish state comprehensive school. Lived in a 4 bed semi where my parents were teachers. Pretty lower middle class, with parents who'd fallen in wealth from their upbringings so had pretty similar accents to mine.

People always assume that I had a naice upbringing with boarding schooling and lived in a huge detached, like my parents did growing up.

People always act so surprise when I tell them I come from humble roots.

do you feel like your university education has made you adopt an accent that doesn't fit with your roots?

Hm, well...as the daughter of teachers who were northerners who lived in a terraced house in Essex (which I never thought of as 'humble roots') , I realised near the end of my PhD I'd accidentally started acquiring an accent when a stranger was able to tell I lived in Brum. I didn't adopt the accent, it moved in uninvited ... I think I managed to evict it.

People differ. Some will move to America and soon have a US accent. Others will keep their own for ever. I tend to adapt to who I am with and the children even point it out on holidays. I have a fairly middle of the road middle class type of accent. I am from the NE but private school type NE where people don't particularly have an accent although I do my impression of being a geordie. I am not sure it would convince a real Geordie. I sing this fairly well -

Born and bred In Merseyside but moved to Surrey for work in 1995. My accent is gone, which is a shame because I love a Merseyside accent and can still pin others down to nearly each town. My kids sound very plumby. It’s not a good thing. They are applying to northern unis and I’m worried they sound like a couple of toffs......but what CAN one do for pity’s sake?!

I am terrible with accents. I'm like a chameleon and hate it. My accent changes according to whoever I'm with including all their mannerisms. When i arrived in the U.K, i took on a perfect british accent within 3months. Anywhere i travel to i pick up the accent within an incredibly short time. I pick up my friends accents depending on who i spent the day with. I would prefer to stick to my own accent, whatever that is, but just can't seem to.

I read somewhere that if you identify with a place, you’ll subconsciously keep the accent even if you don’t still live there. Which is probably why I sound like a scumbag from Glasgow next to all my central Scotland workmates. Fifteen years working in the Weeg also hides the fact that I grew up in a lovely middle class household and went to a decent school and good uni, all of which were nowhere near Glasgow. By contrast, my sister has adopted the central Scotland lilt and throws in a ‘ken, eh’ occasionally as she lives and works in Clacks. We both went to the same uni incidentally!

I have my parents' midland accent most of the time.

I can go more northern (where I was brought up) when I am around people up north. Part of that is deliberate (non-northern accent is automatically "Posh" and unforgivable) so I do it to fit in and part is that I do pick it back up fairly quickly, having used it through secondary school. Then when I come back here everyone says "I didn't realise how northern you sound."

It's Fen Polytechnic, surely. Founded by some disgruntled Oxford Dons in the 13th century who had a vision of an early Polytechnic. I believe it is still in operation.

Stealth boast

I hope those are a series of typos rather than spelling and grammar mistakes in your post OP otherwise your ‘time in Cambridge’ may not have been time well spent.

My mother was Glasgow born and berd. Not University, nor years spent living in the in USA or a decade or two 'down south' back in the UK made a dent in her accent!

I don’t mean this as spiky, but nothing about you sounds lower class or humble.

I grew up in rough inner city council estate, terrible schools, bilingual. Fantastic supportive family with great values.

I didn’t go to uni but I have worked very hard and have a very successful career and sourounded by Oxbridge graduates who are often surprised when flashes or my authentic accent come through.

So like you, these days my accent probably doesn’t match my upbringing either.

This whole thread amuses me. I live in a place where most people speak in a similar way - the idea of someone sounding "posh" or "humble" because of their accent, seems rather silly to me.

I feel a bit like this. I have my parents accent but times have changed.