luuknam Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 I get a lot of northern European countries as guesses, all the way from Ireland to Russia, the most frequent one being British (which I think probably just means that people lack imagination - white, fluent English... hm... Britain?). However, recently someone thought I sounded like I came from the Dominican Republic. What are the weirdest guesses you've gotten for your accent? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChocolateMomster Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 We don't get such wild guesses. We're Dutch, who have lived in Scotland, England and now in Ireland. Here in Ireland they all think we're English. Some guess we are German or Dutch, because we sound a bit harsh haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah CB Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 I have two kids who have received a lot of comments and questions about their "British" accents. Ok - one of those kids was born in the UK, but he moved to Canada before he turned 1. The other kid was born here and never lived in the UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 I get 'Canada' quite often in the UK, because I have a slight north American tinge to my accent after 27 years with Husband and many years spent overseas. In Chinese, someone on the phone once thought I was from Shandong, which is considered one of the worst-sounding accents in China. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 People can easily guess I'm from the Midwest (I live in the south now) when I tell them South Dakota they reply, "Oh I've never been to North Dakota!" I enjoy telling them I never have either. 😀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeAndTheBoys Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 I live in the south, my family is from the south, but I grew up as an Army brat. I've been here for the past 26 years now--over half my life :) Southerners think I'm from up north; Northerners think I'm from the south. So obviously I have no clear accent-- BB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cottonwood Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Nothing weird here. There's no mistaken the small Southern twang. Lol. It's small but recognizable. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
go_go_gadget Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 I'm Californian, born and bred, but my parents are Canadian immigrants and I grew up watching more British television than American, so my accent and dialect are both a bit of a hodgepodge. When I address my mother , it's a cross between "Mum" and "Mom", my "been" is homophonic with "bean", and I enunciate my t's (as in butter). My vocabulary is equal parts British and American, and there are words I spell in American English and others in British English. I think I sound unmistakably American, but some people are thrown. Tangentially: I had a teacher once who was trying to illustrate some differences between American and British English, and she said "See, none of you would understand if I told you to "Get your bumpershooter out of the bonnet and get in the queue." I told her that a British person would also be confused by that sentence, and would wonder why the umbrella was under the hood of the car instead of in the boot/trunk, and she had a good glower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Tangentially: I had a teacher once who was trying to illustrate some differences between American and British English, and she said "See, none of you would understand if I told you to "Get your bumpershooter out of the bonnet and get in the queue." I told her that a British person would also be confused by that sentence, and would wonder why the umbrella was under the hood of the car instead of in the boot/trunk, and she had a good glower. Not to mention that this Brit has never heard of a 'bumpershooter'. According to Wiktionary, it is an American word associated with British umbrellas. The standard British slang is 'brolly'. This Slate article has more on it. It sounds a bit like 'English Breakfast Tea' which is an American coinage (now used here too) used to make a blend of tea sound traditional. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambam Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 My youngest, born and raised for 14 years in Texas, regularly gets questions about her accent. British and Australian are regular guesses. She does have a strange accent, but it doesn't come from any of her family or friends. I've wondered if her early speech therapy is responsible. I'm pretty sure her speech therapist as all Texan too though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 I don't have an accent. All the rest of you guys talk funny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 People think I am from Massachusetts. I went to college there but that was it. People used to comment they could not place my accent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 People usually just ask what part of Tennessee I'm from..lol. I have such a twang. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeacherZee Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Wales. I've never even been to Wales. But I think it's because my Swedish causes me to "sing" even in English :lol: Having lived in Sweden, PA, Edinburgh, Leeds, South Coast of England and NC I do have a VERY odd English accent though. In Swedish no one can pin point my accent unless I say some tell tale words (I am sure it will change in the next few months when I move back to the county of my birth which has a VERY distinctive accent, where those tell tale words comes from) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 We're in Texas, but I've been asked a number of times if we're from Canada. We're originally from northern Illinois. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lllll Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 my son frequently has people thinking he's from the UK. . . . no. when taking the online "where are you from" based upon accent - the software has no clue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Never had a weird guess. I've only ever been around people who knew there were only two options, NY or NJ. I can't imagine what else that might be mistaken for! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slache Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Everyone thinks I'm from France. Everyone. I'm from California. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 What are the weirdest guesses you've gotten for your accent? New Jersey. Leningrad. (Seriously. A graduate school professor thought that, based on how I spoke Russian, my parents were from there and had brought me over as an infant.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonesinIndiana Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 I'm from the Midwest (US) and when I lived in Sweden and spoke Swedish everyone thought I was Danish. One time, when I was explaining I was from the U.S. a man told me, "It's ok to be Danish! Some of my best friends are Danish!" 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MistyMountain Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 I never had a weird guess. When I first moved in my early 20s people asked if I was from NY which was pretty close. Nobody guesses where I am from anymore. I lost my accent and live in an area without a strong accent. I still use the terms and pronounce a handful of words in a way that is unique to the area I grew up in and those online quizzes peg me but in every day conversation I do not have a strong accent anymore. I hear the accent as soon as we are visiting where we came from and it is interesting to think I used to have that accent. There are still traces I am sure but it is not obvious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mabelen Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 In English I have a hybrid accent right now. Originally from Spain, twelve years in the UK, ten on the East Coast and six on the West Coast. I still listen regularly to the BBC world service and I am in close touch with South Asian English speakers. I mix a lot of pronunciations and words from all areas so most people are just right down confused and don't offer any guesses. They hear some British influences but not quite and can't place it at all so they just ask me out right. In Spanish, some people recognize my Spanish accent, some others have ventured Argentina. In Italian, one upon a time when I was still fluent, Italians would think I was Italian but couldn't pinpoint my accent. This was I think due to the varied origins of my many conversation partners, ranging from Milano all the way down to Sicily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luuknam Posted June 27, 2015 Author Share Posted June 27, 2015 In English I have a hybrid accent right now. Originally from Spain, twelve years in the UK, ten on the East Coast and six on the West Coast. I still listen regularly to the BBC world service and I am in close touch with South Asian English speakers. I mix a lot of pronunciations and words from all areas so most people are just right down confused and don't offer any guesses. They hear some British influences but not quite and can't place it at all so they just ask me out right. Yes, most people just ask outright, but sometimes I make them guess before answering (or sometimes after answering I might ask what they thought). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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