How do you speak?

[TheBibliophile]

Please refrain from the obvious "vocal cords" joke.

There was a thread like this a while back, I think, but it's a really interesting question. In what way do you speak English (or whatever is your first language)?

I have a crazy mixed up English/American/Scottish accent, from being an English/American hybrid and living in Scotland, and I tend to use rather complicated and unnecessary words. The strongest swear word I use is "damn", and I swear by the Greek gods (so what the Hades instead of what the hell, for example.)

Also, for multilingual folk: do you ever find yourself trying to say something in one language but only being able to think of the word in a different one? Every time I try to say "that's all right" if someone says sorry, the Chinese equivalent pops out. :smallsigh:

Anyway, enough about me: what about you?

[Dogmantra]

I have been told, and drink the irony of this, that I "speak all proper like".

That said, my mannerisms are weird. I'm half Irish but you couldn't tell from my voice, except when I say "Dublin" where I sound crazily Irish. Apparently I have a massive range in normal conversation. I tend to go quite high and quite low rather often.

[Castaras]

I speak with a proper english accent. Described by the people I game with as a "Cute oxford english accent". Otherwise, I don't know how I talk. Other than I mix up american and english terms due to speaking to too many of those people that don't use "u"s. :smalltongue:

[thubby]

i know that i tend to fall into completely bizarre accents when I'm tired or not paying attention. which is weird because I've never spent more than a week outside my home state.

edit: coffee's post reminds me, my talking speed tends to ramp up. in an actual conversation I'm fine, but given the chance to go on a long rant I'll talk too fast to actually make sense. :smalltongue:

[Indon]

I have been told repeatedly that I speak english with no accent, except "Y'all".

The only other languages I know are programming languages. They don't get into my vocabulary often, though some jargon sneaks through.

[Starscream]

I have a slight American Midwest accent, because I grew up in Northern Ohio. Basically it's a Cleveland accent, but nobody has ever heard of a Cleveland accent because it is much less pronounced than, say, a Boston or Chicago accent.

[Soonerdj]

Midwestern Accent, please don't ask me what that entails because I have no idea. Basically I have the same accent that all movie characters do if they don't have a specialized background.

I do however have an extensive vocabulary and that can lead to being labeled as speaking "intelligently".

[Thufir]

I think my accent is fairly neutral English (As in, from England). I've been told I have a slightly northern accent rather than a southern one, but not much. When I was younger, some of my schoolmates considered me posh, because they were all geordies.

As to vocabulary, mannerisms, etc, I can be quite verbose given the opportunity, I may end up following an excessive circumlocution because I started my sentence without thinking about where it was going; I don't swear much when other people can hear me, but in private I do. And I'm unlikely to use phrases such as "Oh my God," because I feel weird doing so given I'm not religious. So if I have a moment to think, I'm likely to substitute something from a work of fiction (e.g. "In Valen's name"), or just change "God" to "Goddess (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/member.php?u=24463)"

[Supagoof]

I speak Minnesotan or Mid-western americanized english. Think of the movie "Fargo" or the more recent one that featured the accent "New in Town"

"Ya, shure - ya betcha. Dontcha know dat dem der bears are gonna looose da super bowl."

Not to that extreme, but you get the picture.

[Asta Kask]

I speak Swedish with a clearly noticeable Gothenburgian accent. But I'm prone to catch on to other people's dialiect, unconsciously. So if I spend a lot of time with someone from northern Sweden, after a few days I'll add Norrlandicisms to my language.

[valadil]

I grew up near boston but avoided the boston accent because it sounded wretched to me. When I went to summer camp the kids there assumed I was some sort of english exchange student because they thought my lack of a boston accent was the same as having a british accent.

I still avoid the accent when speaking but drop my Rs when singing. I'm a terrible singer though so that doesn't happen too often.

Despite still being in New England I use "y'all." As a linguist I recognize the lack of a plural you and I happen to find "y'all" less offensive than "you's."

If I can't decide two words I unintentionally merge them. People usually seem to think it's a joke and I'm okay with that. This isn't an issue when I type because I have more time to decide between the two words.

[Crimmy]

I don't know how I speak english, really. I haven't had anybody to tell me.

Spanish, however, I have the typical, normal, non southern accent.

[Gem Flower]

I speak English with a slight French and Ukrainian accent. Besides I was in a French program for eight years, I often find myself accidentally slipping into French, especially if I hear French spoken.

[ScottishDragon]

I have that mexican accent that pops up occationally or if i'm talking to one of my mexican friends I ALWAYS speak with a mexican accent.Usually I have the typical american accent.

[Slavaa]

I was born in, and currently live in, Atlantic Canada, but my accent more closely resembles that of someone from south Ontario; which is, as I've been told, "Normal".

I do, however, sometimes use French words when I don't think the English phrase conveys the same meaning, since almost everyone I know speaks French anyway. Mostly it's "Chez-moi" (At my house), "Quel Surprise" (What a surprise) and "Allons-y!" (Let's go!)

[The Vorpal Tribble]

I have no accent. Not proper nor west coast nor british nor hick. Just no accent. I do however have a south-eastern American dialect. But I say "y'all" without any kind of inflection. Folks comment on it even, asking where I'm from cuz I can't possibly be southern.

[evisiron]

I am apparently a bit of a accent chameleon (either Northern Irish (home) or American), and have no control over it.

It has got to the point where people in NI, less than 30mins from my house, have not asked me if I was from the US but where in the US I was from.
Other times, while in the US a person flat out refused to believe I was foreign, and thought I was making it up. :smalleek:

[Dallas-Dakota]

Apparently I speak with either a australian or germanic accent.

[Atelm]

The register I use when speaking Finnish changes depending on the person I'm talking with. For example, to my relatives from Eastern-Finland I add a mix of Savonian dialect words into my speech, while as when speaking with other relatives, friends, etc, I speak a strange mix of "standard" Finnish, Häme dialect, English phrases and Finnish words I've just spur-of-the-moment-coined* (though some of them are certainly not unique to me).

*words like "Päivähdys", when greeting people, for example. The word has no English equivelant, probably something like "Good Dayish" or "Gutes Tägchen" (Auf Deutsch) or something.

It is therefore no wonder that people consider me a weirdo. Though, considering my general demeanor my way of speaking probably isn't the only reason. :smallamused:

As for my spoken English; on another forum I was told, after posting a sample of my English I recorded, that I A) had no accent whatsoever (1 Swiss person and 1 Norwegian), B) had an extremely distinct accent (1 Australian person) and C) not sure, but I probably have an accent (some American posters).

Of those, the Norwegian also commented how British I sounded when I said "doesn't really matter, does it?" in the recording. Also, I've been told by a Belgian exchange student that I most definitely have a British accent.

My own opinion? I don't have a clue, I have an accent but there's no clear concensus of what kind of accent I have amongst anyone I've asked. :smallconfused:

As for any potential accent I may have when speaking either Swedish or German, no clue on those and haven't asked anyone's opinion on those.

[Silly Wizard]

I've been told my voice is very distinct. My mother is Filipino and my father is British, but I was raised in the United States so my accent is all muddled and hard to pin down.

I guess the closest thing you could say is it's a thin southern US accent, but I tend to have a noticeable Filipino accent when I talk faster.

[readsaboutd&d]

With lots of stuttering.

[Dhavaer]

With an Australian accent weak enough to be easily confused with British, American and Swedish accents.

[Starbuck_II]

I have no accent. Not proper nor west coast nor british nor hick. Just no accent. I do however have a south-eastern American dialect. But I say "y'all" without any kind of inflection. Folks comment on it even, asking where I'm from cuz I can't possibly be southern.

Why do you say "Y'all"?
Why not "you all"?

[Logalmier]

With lots of stuttering.

You mean, "w-w-wit-th lo-lots of stu-stu -studer-i-ing."

[Cicciograna]

My Italian is a bit influenced by my dialect, Napoletano, and I tend to use many vernacular expressions in my speech, but I'm proud to say that I know my mother language very well, as I can generally convey significance with the best terms.

I can pride to know English too, and much better than many of my friends (of course it could be that THEY don't know English and I'm just passable - the problem with relative comparisions is that one has to define a common unit of measure :smallsmile: ), but my pronounce is bad.

[Mauve Shirt]

I speak very annoyingly!
I have no accent at all, except I occasionally say "hon" like I'm from Baltimore or something.

[Eldritch Knight]

I have two modes of speech. Depending on the topic I am speaking of, I can quickly end up speaking with such velocity and energy that you can barely recognize the Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness that comes to characterize my intellectually energized speech. The second mode of speech is Canadian English, apparently spoken with such an accent that anyone that does not live in a border state will have a hard time understanding just what the devil I am talking about.

[Jack Squat]

I was born and raised in Cincinnati, OH. My mom grew up there, and my dad grew up (mostly) in Tacoma, WA.

That being said, I've been told I don't have the same accent as either of my parents, and have been mistaken for being European quite frequently. If people try and place my accent it's most commonly urban Irish, but I can't really comment on how accurate it is; seeing as I've never been there.

[Usmok]

I have nasal problems. My voice is nasal. I also have kinda Swedish accent. Kinda

Other than that, it really depends on what mood I'm in, I'm quite good at imitating bad accents.

[Crimmy]

I speak very annoyingly!
I have no accent at all, except I occasionally say "hon" like I'm from Baltimore or something.

Which is, of course, completely endearing.

[arguskos]

I have a slight American Midwest accent, because I grew up in Northern Ohio. Basically it's a Cleveland accent, but nobody has ever heard of a Cleveland accent because it is much less pronounced than, say, a Boston or Chicago accent.
I have. Born and raised in Columbus. :smallamused:

I speak precisely like I write. Now, that isn't super helpful I bet, but it's the god's honest truth.

[Escef]

Unlike my colleague from Slummerville, I don't try to hide my accent. I drop "R"s off the end of most syllables, and tack them onto the end of the word idea. My accent is relatively light, but it's there if you look for it. I occasionally break into a faux Irish accent. I prefer to use the correct second person plural pronoun, but if I fall into a slang word for it I use "yous" or "you guys". ("Y'all" is something that I associate with an overall lack of intelligence; be that a correct association or no is irrelevant.) I tend to not be conscious of the volume at which I speak, so I may start a conversation at normal, conversational volume, and have to be reminded several times over the course of a few minutes just how loud I'm getting. Also, I swear. A lot.

[CoffeeIncluded]

I have a slight but noticeable New York/Brooklyn accent, since, well, I live in New York and was born in Brooklyn. :smalltongue:

But I talk very quickly. My mouth can never catch up to my brain...

[TheBibliophile]

Oh yeah, should have said - in America people think I'm English, in Britain people think I'm American.

I also had a bit of a Filipino accent at one point when one of the main people in my life (a lady that did most of the cleaning and looked after me and my brother) was from the Phillipines. I had kind of a weird childhood.

I guess depending on your personal opinion, I still have a weird childhood, being as I'm home-educated and all.

[Drakevarg]

Minimal accent, Sophisticated As Hell (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SophisticatedAsHell).

[Graymayre]

Reserved in new places but louder than I wish when I'm comfortable.

Hailing from Pittsburgh, I have a quick and cut accent. Not a lot of time is spent on words unless it is necessary.

[PanNarrans]

I speak too quickly, with a south London accent.

I've been trying to avoid swearing in polite company by replacing profanities with Lovecraft or spork related euphemisms. Sweet merciful Cthulhu, son of a shoggoth, what the spork, you complete runcible... that kinda thing.

[Winthur]

I speak Polish and lately (through a bunch of Singaporean tourists to Poland; nice guys and gals, those were) I learned that I can have a pretty nice chat with someone in English. Although it kinda tires my tongue out.

Unfortunately, years of unsociable behavior made my enunciating a mess. I tend to mumble and speak very unclearly. I often need to repeat myself. Especially when I'm nervous around somebody. I often need to repeat myself. I'm VERY fast talking and I have no idea how do people like Vince Offer pull it off AND be understandable. I often need to repeat myself.

However, I believe my vocabulary is decent; unfortunately, I happen to use "borrowings" from English that in Polish usually give blank looks from onlookers - that might be because I tend to think in English from time to time due to how "catchphrasey" that language is (I really hate the fact that the "That's what she said" in English just rolls off your tongue, but in Polish it's rather hard and I can't quite put my mouth on it*.) Sometimes I also use the wrong word in a wrong situation, but that's because I'm nervous in conversation and it tends to happen - saying something while meaning something else entirely, just because it was on my mind.

I also tend to use a word from Kashubian dialect in almost every conversation. ("Jo, jo.") :smallwink: I don't actually have any idea what a "Polish accent" is, so I don't see anything remarkable in my way of speaking, except for the fact that I often need to repeat myself.




I have a slight but noticeable New York/Brooklyn accent, since, well, I live in New York and was born in Brooklyn. :smalltongue:

Nyeh, does your accent make it difficult to concentrate on card games? :smalltongue:

*That's what she said.

[Morty]

Well, I used to speak way too fast and too loud in both English and Polish, making it hard for people to understand me at times. But several months ago, I fixed that. I don't think I have any accent in Polish - although around a year ago I was surprised to find out that a word I've been using all my life comes from a dialect - but I do find proper English pronounciation hard - and since I'm studying English Philology, I'm supposed to be able to talk with a clean RP accent.

[Fifty-Eyed Fred]

My accent is most certainly a southern one, and strikes a compromise between the local regional accent and RP English, leaning more and more towards the latter as I grow older. I am perhaps overly eloquent on occasion, but I tend towards making sure that everyone can understand me by speaking clearly; something I've found a great asset in my many endeavours.

[Mathis]

English isn't my first language but I speak it rather well thanks to an amazing teacher I had in High School. I've been told I have a proper Oxford English accent like many others who doesn't have English as their native language. I also feel that The Queen's English is far cooler than any other type, like american *shudders*.

Now, whenever I get into a heated debate in English or talk about something I'm passionate about, which is quite often as there are tons of English speakers on my University and in my social circle, people tell me I sound like Sean Connery. Something I find incredibly cool :smallcool:. Think James Bond Sean Connery though, before the crumble.

Something I personally find very weird is that I most of the time think in English aswell, and not my native language. I often have long english internal monologues which probably is some sort of sign of madness, but hey atleast I'm good at something!

[Zevox]

Well, I speak English, I guess with whatever sort of accent someone from southeastern Michigan would have. Couldn't say, I'm not really well-versed in accents.

Whenever I'm around others my age or strangers whose opinions I don't care about, I'm not at all shy about swearing when I feel like it, using whichever terms come to mind. I have a good vocabulary and sometimes can be more verbose or use more complicated language than is necessary, and even sometimes use old-sounding terms like "ere," "thus," or "hence."

Being not particularly social, I often hesitate on what exactly to say in conversations, particularly if they're not on a select few topics related to my preferred pastimes (gaming mostly). Or I start saying one thing, decide mid-sentence that I want to say something else, and have to interrupt myself to say what I actually want to. That can get rather annoying, even for me.

Since becoming an atheist a few years ago I've tried to stop using phrases like "my God" because I feel strange doing so, yet they're so reflexive after twenty years raised as a catholic that I haven't succeeded yet. For a while I tried substituting references to clearly-fictional entities (such as "Great Chtulu"), but I decided it was more trouble to explain why I use that than it was worth - certainly more trouble than explaining why an atheist would say "my God." So I've instead moved to trying to catch myself every time I'm about to use such phrases and just let out a sigh of frustration or somesuch in place of it, in the hopes of just eliminating them from my reflexive vocabulary. Still working on that though.

I actually occasionally toss in some Spanish words while speaking, a result of four years of Spanish classes in High School. Most of my vocabulary has eroded from disuse since, though, so it's pretty basic stuff that I rarely have to explain. It does annoy my brother and sister though, who for some strange reason don't like the language.

Zevox

[Thanatos 51-50]

I speak with a horrible mash-up of Bostonian, Californian and that Australian accent that sounds almost British accent. I've also been in the Navy for years, my accent has continued to transmute under these pressures into some horrifically bland-yet-undeniably-American edifice.

I also tend to speak very precisely, and tend to focus on the actual meanings of words to convey my thoughts instead of a number of normal social/cultural shorthands and turns-of-speech. When I'm paying attention and speaking at a "normal person's" pace, I'm also very concise.
When I'm not paying attention - and this usually happens when I'm lecturing/training/teaching and rambling information off the top of my head, I speed up to speaking at a mile a minute with accompanying hand gestures and a speech impediment which all make me harder to understand (My 'r's sound wrong). this same impediment is present in my slower, more concentrated speech, but not as much of a barrier.

[Shades of Gray]

I speak English (My first and primary language) with occasional french words thrown in, especially when I am talking to my mother.

When I'm speaking French I occasionally throw in some Latin. >_<

[CWater]

I speak quite ordinary Finnish for most of the time, except when I have just visited one of my aunts, who lives in Lappeenranta, in Eastern Finland, because the local dialect there sounds so nice to me. I can also speak the Savonian dialect if I want, but I usually don't.
When speaking to my oldest friend however, I use "proper" Finnish. Meaning we don't shorten words. This is rather funny and I actually hadn't noticed it at all before my cousin told me it annoyed him. :smallconfused:I really don't know the reason why we talk that way with each other, it has just become a habit.

My Swedish has a Finland Swedish accent, though sometimes after a trip to Stockholm I find myself talking "rikssvenska". Even though I believe it would sound rather horrible to anyone who actually is Swedish.

As for my English, I have no particular accent there.

[Flickerdart]

I speak English well, I learned it from a book (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2XqjBqwsRc).

[Thufir]

I speak very annoyingly!
I have no accent at all, except I occasionally say "hon" like I'm from Baltimore or something.

Everyone has an accent. Everyone.

[Starscream]

I speak English well, I learned it from a book (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2XqjBqwsRc).

:smallbiggrin:
Great, now I have to dig out my Fawlty Towers DVDs and watch every episode back to back. See you in about six hours, more if I require bathroom breaks.

[Fostire]

For English I have a neutral american accent but I often use British words. At least thats how it starts but I pick up accents very quickly so I end up speaking in the same accent as whomever I'm talking to (in both English and Spanish). Also if I'm nervous or self-conscious about my accent then I start talking with a heavy Spanish accent.

In Spanish I have the typical accent from the Rio de la Plata area (Uruguay and Argentina).


Also, for multilingual folk: do you ever find yourself trying to say something in one language but only being able to think of the word in a different one?
All the freaking time.

[CrimsonAngel]

I confuse words alot, I talk fast sometimes, and my voice breaks only when it would be inconvinient.

Also, I laugh like Tak from invader Zim, but more offbeat and it gets progresivley louder. :smallfrown:

[Krade]

I think I speak in the closest thing to a standard* American accent. There is no real specific region/state/city you could peg me as being from from how I speak. At least, that's my opinion. I've had several customers at work ask me if I was British because, apparently, I sound British. I don't know how they came to that conclusion. After a while I asked an actual British person what they thought of it and she said "I think it's because you pronounce all of your letters correctly." This seemed arrogant at first, but then I realized that I do put conscious effort into pronouncing thing correctly. I put the 'r' in when saying February, the second 'a' in caramel, etc.

Aside from pronouncing things correctly, I do use slang terms and, when inspiration strikes, throw insults that make exactly zero sense while I'm playing a game online.

*Standard American AccentTM probably doesn't exist.

[Setra]

I've been told I have no real 'accent', I tend to speak somewhat like Spock from Star Trek.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Also, for multilingual folk: do you ever find yourself trying to say something in one language but only being able to think of the word in a different one?

No, but I do pepper my everyday speech with Spanish and Japanese, and often find myself for a lack of words in Japanese and ramble out EXACTLY what I need to say in Spanish.

[KerfuffleMach2]

Alrighty. I hail from the Midwest. Detroit, to be more specific. I, of course, don't really know of my accent. Usually.

But, I have thought about it before, and noticed something. People in this area don't pronounce t's in the middle or end of words most of the time.

For example:

Interstate is pronounced "Innerstate"
Element is "Elemen"
That would be "Tha"

It's like the t is implied, but we're too lazy to actually pronounce it.

[Dvandemon]

Reserved in new places but louder than I wish when I'm comfortable.

Me too, but even when i'm comfortable I tend to talk to softly for people to hear me and often need to repeat myself. I have a great vocab but usually have trouble spitting things out when I get excited (I almost get a stutter). Sometimes I get loud and maybe when i'm not paying attention, I imitate the way people around me talk. Strangely despite all that I'm rather good with reading and other languages and hope to major in Linguistics when I get to college.

Non Sequiturs come out usually smooth :smallredface::smallconfused:

[Zevox]

Alrighty. I hail from the Midwest. Detroit, to be more specific. I, of course, don't really know of my accent. Usually.

But, I have thought about it before, and noticed something. People in this area don't pronounce t's in the middle or end of words most of the time.

For example:

Interstate is pronounced "Innerstate"
Element is "Elemen"
That would be "Tha"

It's like the t is implied, but we're too lazy to actually pronounce it.
Huh. Must be a pretty specific area, because I'm from a suburb not far from Detroit, but have never encountered such a thing. Well, outside of Stephen Colbert, anyway.

Zevox

[Temotei]

I use my favorite words at the time often. My all time favorite word is scalawag though. Just...so fun.

My voice is kind of weird, I suppose. Not nasally, but maybe...throaty? I'm not sure how to describe it, but rarely, if ever, have I heard someone with a similar voice to mine.

I'll try to get something with my voice in it. Maybe there's something on my computer...or on YouTube.

With some words, I'm just too lazy to say the full thing. Sometimes I'll change t's to d's just because it's faster, and sometimes I'll ignore the t's altogether.

Of course, I imitate voices a lot. Sean Connery is probably my best. When I do that, I change everything about my speech patterns, including the smallest inflections. It's an art! :smallbiggrin:

[Phae Nymna]

Emotively, with many made up words and flecks of German, French, Russian, Italian, and British Slang. Odd, seeing as I only speak French and English, but how I wish to learn the others...

Also, I'm Sicilian. I talk with my hands. :smallcool:

ALSO I speak kind of higher than most. I mean, not Truman Capote, but "Teh Ghey" seeps into my voice sometimes constantly.

[SDF]

Everyone has an accent. Everyone.

Not true, you could just pronounce words phonetically.

I was born, and learned to speak, in Cali. Specifically the bay area.

[Nano]

Very slowly. And I draw out my words like I'm sleepy.

[blackfox]

I sound like nothing in particular, now that I'm in college... It's some strange mix of a slight southern accent (dropping g's off gerunds, using way too many contractions, EDIT: OH and elision either between words or over internal hard consonants etc), dark Philly vowels, random colloquialisms from literally everywhere, and speaking VERY VERY FAST.

[Egiam]

I speak with a north-west accent, and I also have been told that I speak "all proper-like". I'm sort of a much less severe Vaarsuvius. :vaarsuvius:

My favorite words to add into my speach:
Y'all is a word that SHOULD be in english. It's a whole form that is missing.

T'is is a great contraction.

Inshallah (one word) is an expression in Arabic meaning literally "God willing", or more practically, "hopefully". So... I will meet you at the grocery store, Inshallah.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

My favorite words to add into my speach:
Y'all is a word that SHOULD be in english. It's a whole form that is missing.

T'is is a great contraction.

YES. Yes they should.

[katans]

Hauling from the Parisian suburbs, I speak a pretty accent- and dialect-free French.

My German is mostly Hochdeutsch (read: standard "by the book" that almost nobody really uses, except on TV, much like High Arabic) mixed up with local Southwest German (where I live) and North German (where my wife and her family come from) expressions.

When I've had enough sleep, my English is rather plain American. I love British accent but fail utterly at reproducing it, so I eventually gave up trying. When I'm tired, I speak English with a German accent. And THAT sucks, folks.


Also, for multilingual folk: do you ever find yourself trying to say something in one language but only being able to think of the word in a different one?

Oh yes. All the time.

[Deca]

I'm Australian. Foreigners pick up my aussie accent but for some reason, my fellow australians seem to think I have a British accent.

[Delta]

Although I've been living in Southwest Germany for my whole life, when people meet me first, most insist that it's absolutely impossible for me to have grown up here because most of the time I lack most of the regional accent curiously, I don't really know why.

When speaking English, my teachers at school always told me I had an american accent, probably from spending the summer in the US when I was 16.

[rakkoon]

My English is pretty good, fairly British RP English, the problem is that I tend towards an Irish accent a lot. Since I spent 5 months in Manchester without meeting one Irishman, this is a bit weird.
An Englishman in Croatia once thought I had a Gaelic accent.
Don't even know how that sounds but I'm taking it as a compliment :smallsmile:

[Nameless]

I have that accent people have around the North London and Oxford areas. Not sure if it has a a specific name.
According to some of my friends in East London I'm a "Toff". (:smallconfused:)

[Asta Kask]

I have that accent people have around the North London and Oxford areas. Not sure if it has a a specific name.
According to some of my friends in East London I'm a "Toff". (:smallconfused:)

Isn't that what's called RP?

[Player_Zero]

How do you know what you sound like exactly?

I suppose if you recorded it and played it back... But finding your voice distasteful would be... Distasteful.

So I'm going to perpetuate that I sound like Unicron (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oItKg8l7htE).

[rakkoon]

You sound like Orson Welles? Cool

and RP English is indeed posh British English :smallsmile:

[Lioness]

I'm Australian. Foreigners pick up my aussie accent but for some reason, my fellow australians seem to think I have a British accent.

Hey snap. I've had multiple people ask whether I'm from Britain. I've never been outside Australia in my life.

[Amiel]

Hopefully nothing like this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuPsoPIzRXQ)

[Nameless]

Isn't that what's called RP?

RP? :smallconfused:

[Amiel]

Received Pronunciation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Received_pronunciation)

[SDF]

My favorite words to add into my speach:
Y'all is a word that SHOULD be in english. It's a whole form that is missing.

Or, you could just use the grammatically correct, "... all of you." :smallwink:

I'm told I'm decent at sounding native in Japanese and some Arabic dialects. I am however terrible at anglicizing Arabic words. (Japanese has the whole katakana/romaji thing which makes that really easy)

[KuReshtin]

Or, you could just use the grammatically correct, "... all of you." :smallwink:


or you can then use the phrase "All y'all". :smalltongue:

[SDF]

or you can then use the phrase "All y'all". :smalltongue:

:smallsmile: Well played. I concede this round...
:smallcool: to y'all *YEEEEEOWWWWWWW*

[Anuan]

I change the way I talk frequently and without conscious decisionmaking. Occasionally I slip into a vaguely Scots or Irish accent that I find myself incapable of departing from until it leaves naturally. Most of the time I talk rather softly, and very quickly, and mumble my words together a bit. If I try to slow this down and increase my volume, generally because I'm trying to make an important statement or logical argument, I generally end up using a lot of 'ums' and 'thing' and 'er's.

Oh, and I swear incredibly casually, unless around children. As a matter of fact, being from rural Queensland, I fluently speak a first-language comprised mostly of yelling orders, swears, curses and threats not only fluidly but confusingly.

Most of my slang is from rural Queensland, or from Britain, so oft times people don't understand what the smeg I'm going on about.

Oh, and I'll casually make references/metaphors/similes to/with martial arts techniques/terms/philosophies and weapons/armour/components or parts of them. This frequently draws a 'whut?' from the less martially-focussed crowd.

[Egiam]

Oh, and I'll casually make references/metaphors/similes to/with martial arts techniques/terms/philosophies and weapons/armour/components or parts of them. This frequently draws a 'whut?' from the less martially-focussed crowd.

Give us an example!

[Nameless]

Hopefully nothing like this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuPsoPIzRXQ)

I certainly don't speak like that. :smalleek:

[Anuan]

Give us an example!

"I need to write a character who's...the opposite of the typical 'I hate everything, no wait, I'm lovable on the inside' kind of character. One who seems happy but really he's hard and calloused on the inside." "Like a Jack of Plate." "...Whut." "A Jack of Plate is an old type of armour that was basically a jacket with plates of steel sewn inside it. So it looked like rather soft clothes, but in reality made you well protected from most slashing or piercing attacks." "...Oh."

[Ravens_cry]

English, I speak it.
In what manner? In a manner that befits a personage such as myself, using outdated slang, neologisms of my own devising, and chewy, big words that are just fun to say, interposed with the most hideous of puns.

[Nameless]

English, I speak it.
In what manner? In a manner that befits a personage such as myself, using outdated slang, neologisms of my own devising, and chewy, big words that are just fun to say, interposed with the most hideous of puns.

So what you're saying, is that you're secretly Russel Brand? :smalltongue:

[Coplantor]

Inshallah (one word) is an expression in Arabic meaning literally "God willing", or more practically, "hopefully". So... I will meet you at the grocery store, Inshallah.

Weird, here we say something like "Ojala" (spelled Oh-Ha-La)

For some reason, I do not posses the typical accent of the place where I live.
I'm not sure though, some people say I do not sound strange at all, while a lot had asked me at least once if I was foreigner.

Oh, I speak spanish by the way.

[Ravens_cry]

So what you're saying, is that you're secretly Russel Brand? :smalltongue:
Considering I don't know who Russel Brand is, that would be a no.
Please explain further the vocabularational similarities..

[Erothayce]

I speak with a lack of accent I think as I'm from Northern California. I use slang and swearing in almost every casual conversation but when the situation calls for it I can actually speak intelligently. I use the word Hella a lot. Like a whole lot.

[Asta Kask]

Weird, here we say something like "Ojala" (spelled Oh-Ha-La)

...

Oh, I speak spanish by the way.

And if Ojala is not borrowed from Arabic, I'd be very surprised.

[Coplantor]

As a general comment, can we agree that there is no such thing as "no accent"?

EDIT 1
And if Ojala is not borrowed from Arabic, I'd be very surprised.

Oh, it is, I quted his message because both words sound similar, mean the same and are of arabic origin.

EDIT 2: Besides, a lot of spanish was influenced by arabic.
I love my language

[Erothayce]

As a general comment, can we agree that there is no such thing as "no accent"?

Well I've asked friends from other regions of the country and world and they say I have no accent. So that's what I'm going off of.

[Crimmy]

As a general comment, can we agree that there is no such thing as "no accent"?

EDIT 1

Oh, it is, I quted his message because both words sound similar, mean the same and are of arabic origin.

EDIT 2: Besides, a lot of spanish was influenced by arabic.
I love my language

I love your language, too.

And Ojala comes from Arabic, indeed. The original term, before ojala, was Ojh Allah. And before that, it was In Sha Illah, and Wa Sha Llah.

[Coplantor]

Well I've asked friends from other regions of the country and world and they say I have no accent. So that's what I'm going off of.

But how? I think I can identify an accent on every person I've heard speaking, be it in RL, TV, movies, etc...

Why? Because I compare it to the way I talk, the way I feel is without accent. Yet, some people with the weirdest accents have told me that they have no accent and I speak really funny.

Even the "neutral" version of spanish used in dubs for TV have a distinctive accent, and with my experience with american television, I can say the same thing about english.

So it is really strange for me to believe that there is a "no accent" way of speaking

[tyckspoon]

Well I've asked friends from other regions of the country and world and they say I have no accent. So that's what I'm going off of.

"No accent" is usually more precisely said as "the accent most commonly used in a language." For many English speakers, for example, General American (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_American) is considered "unaccented" English (it's used in national media and usually the accent taught to foreign speakers) the way Received Pronunciation is "unaccented" British English.

In a more general sense "no accent" may just be taken as "no accent notable enough to impair communication."

[Eddums]

Allegedly, I speak English with a upper-class accent. I tend toward unecessarily complicated language, and tend to speak very fast. As far as unusual mannerisms go, I occasionally come out with a few Japanese phrases, as I'm studying it for my IB, so the amount I practice it causes it to slip into my day-to-day speech. The only unusual word I utilize regularly is 'Feth', which I shamelessly stole from Gaunt's Ghosts, and rather enjoy.

[Adlan]

I speak Norfolk Dialect with either a Broad Norfolk Accent (very rare, ecept when I'm pissed), or I speak Norfolk Dialect in an English BBC accent.

Norfolk Dialect means I use many non standard gramatical constructions, many words that would otherwise be considered out of date, or plain bizzare.

I also use many odd and unusual words, just for the fun of saying them.

I swear with a typical norfolk phrase 'Blast'

[Asta Kask]

(very rare, ecept when I'm pissed)

Is that 'pissed' as in angry or 'pissed' as in drunk? Or both?

[Lioness]

Allegedly, I speak English with a upper-class accent. I tend toward unecessarily complicated language, and tend to speak very fast. As far as unusual mannerisms go, I occasionally come out with a few Japanese phrases, as I'm studying it for my IB, so the amount I practice it causes it to slip into my day-to-day speech. The only unusual word I utilize regularly is 'Feth', which I shamelessly stole from Gaunt's Ghosts, and rather enjoy.

IB?
What are you doing on the internet?

Never mind me...all of my IB friends are rather busy at the moment. Snap for studying Japanese and randomly saying stuff. I often talk to myself in Japanese, just so no-one else can understand.

[The Extinguisher]

I have a bit of a speech impediment that has been improving but keeps popping up from time to time.

I personally don't hear myself with an accent but no one does I guess. I'm pretty sure it's actually pretty heavy.

I tend to speak quietly to people, especially to people I don't know, and I often wonder if I'm loud enough to be heard sometimes.

Lastly, I tend to stumble over words when I talk, and backtrack and say things repeatedly. Again, it's been getting better but it's still there. This also goes in with my paranoia that people can't here me, so I'll often say things over and over again, which is mostly unrelated to speech habits and more thinking habits.

[Eddums]

IB?
What are you doing on the internet?

Never mind me...all of my IB friends are rather busy at the moment. Snap for studying Japanese and randomly saying stuff. I often talk to myself in Japanese, just so no-one else can understand.

I buggered up my IB first time around, so I'm resitting my final year. Thus, all my coursework is already done, so all I've got to do is exam revision. Plus, I'm not resitting all my subjects. My workload is therefore a little lighter than normal. Not much, unfortunately.

Kids, never do the IB. It takes lives and souls. Baby's souls.

[ForzaFiori]

I speak English with a moderate Southeastern American accent. Its usually not too horrible to understand, unless I hang out with some of my hick friends, which makes my accent get worse.

Also, according to my mom, who took a group of students from a small town here over to Europe, our accent apparently sounds like Cockney to the French.

[Xallace]

I appear to speak in a middle-American newscaster accent, although my local dialect seems to be annoying to those from other states (leaving out "to be" in questions is common, we just consider it implied. "What needs done?" for example, or "The laundry need washed?" Really bugs my buddies from out of state). I use contractions when possible ("don't," "can't") rather than the original words.

When people say "I'm sorry" or "Thank you," I try to avoid saying "I forgive you"/"You're forgiven" and "You're welcome" when I can. I prefer "no problem" or "don't mention it," "that's what friends are for," etc. because I feel like it puts us on a more even plane.

I don't swear unless I really deem the situation appropriate, normally the most you'll get from me is a dejected "Well crap."

I have a tendency to clam up when interrupted.

Mostly though, I put emphasis on facial expression and gesticulating to get my point across. I'd rather say something with a look and a gesture than a statement.

[Atelm]

I often talk to myself in Japanese, just so no-one else can understand.

I do this in English, mumbling to myself on occasion in English has become a bad habit for me. And now I've started doing it in Japanese on occasion while walking the dog. :smallsigh:

In the former case, I don't really care who is around to hear, but in the latter case I always make sure I'm absolutely alone with regards to human company before I start mumbling in Japanese.

[GoC]

Posh Brit.:smallbiggrin:

[Dancing_Zephyr]

I've been told that I have an almost completely emotionless, monotone voice.

[ForzaFiori]

I've been told that I have an almost completely emotionless, monotone voice.

There is a guy like that in a couple of my classes. Pretty cool dude. Oh, and he raps, which is hilarious, cause he's the whitest person you'll ever meet.

[waterpenguin43]

I have a squeeky, high-pitched voice. Like a choking dolphin.

[Kelb_Panthera]

My accent and mannerisms are so mutable that it's impossible for me to tell which ones are my natural speech. :smallconfused: By rights I should have a southern accent with rural Alabaman mannerisms, but for some reason I can't quite understand I shift around in accent almost at random, and my mannerisms unconsciously shift to match the people I'm with. No one can ever tell where I'm from without me telling them, and they're almost always surprised to here me say, "I'm from southern Alabama." Pretty much the only time I sound like someone from my region would be expect to sound, is when I'm so tired I can't think straight anymore.

Edit: I almost forgot, the linguistic mutability includes my swearing habits. In the company of strangers I almost never swear, but amongst friends and by myself, I curse like a sailor.

[Lioness]

I buggered up my IB first time around, so I'm resitting my final year. Thus, all my coursework is already done, so all I've got to do is exam revision. Plus, I'm not resitting all my subjects. My workload is therefore a little lighter than normal. Not much, unfortunately.

Kids, never do the IB. It takes lives and souls. Baby's souls.

Ah. Right-o.

I think I would've liked to do the IB, but I decided I wasn't good at doing homework, so I didn't.

[Remmirath]

Well, I'm not entirely sure. I live in Michigan - have all of my life - but, according to people in Michigan, I do not have a Michigan accent. I've been asked many times where I'm from.

I speak somewhat slowly, as I tend to think a lot about things before I say them. I have a fair amount of habits I picked up from many years of acting starting from when I was very young, which probably stamped out most of whatever Michigan accent I had (the director I learned from most and longest was very particular on proper pronunciation). I suppose I tend to speak fairly correctly, albeit with odd sentence structure.
I was also homeschooled, which probably had some effect on my speech. Words I didn't learn from my parents or watching movies I originally winged the pronunciation of from books, and sometimes I still say them a tad strangely (though much of that has been ironed out over the years).
I used to have a very bad time pronouncing my Rs, so I worked on that for a long time. Still, if I'm tired or otherwise not watching myself, I tend to fall back into hardly pronouncing them at all.

I can only speak English fluently, but am working (slowly) on learning German. My accent will likely be awful.

My general speech patterns are quite the same as I write. I often find myself responding with things such as "aye, 'tis true" when asked a question. I'll use whichever fitting word comes into my head first, sometimes with somewhat odd-sounding results (or so I'm told).

I also apparently speak very quietly, due to having over-sensitive hearing. I'm certainly capable of projecting - I just don't have a very good grasp of how loud I need to be for people to understand me if I'm not on stage, and err on the quiet side. I don't like the way my voice sounds naturally (I think it silly), so I tend to speak deeper intentionally.

I curse fairly often when amongst friends or family, but never at other times. Oh, and while I will almost always use facial expressions, I only gesture if I'm actively trying to illustrate something (which is quite rarely).

That probably gives a somewhat odd idea of how I sound, but it might be accurate. :smallconfused:

[Drend]

Verbosely, most of the time. Some of my friends don't mind, but most of them get irritated. I'm not religious, so I interchange one god/goddess from one part of the world for another when I "swear." Christus McJesusfish is one of my favorites, along with "By Vishnu's 3rd hand!" Usually it is just to see the reaction on my overly religious families faces, and because my friends are equally un-religious, and they find them entertaining. They prefer Greek and Norse gods in their own. I am from the Mid-West (Kansas specifically) and have no accent whatsoever. I do use Japanese or French words, on occasion, and do at times fall into weird accents when distracted, or trying to be funny. (Trying the key word). My foreign language teachers have, without exception, told me that I fall into the native accents very easily, and I am much better at speaking than writing.

[Kallisti]

People tell me I have a rather pronounced British accent. Which is odd, given that I can't hear it in my speech and have never been to England in my life.

[malendras]

I have a mostly New York accent. Seeing as I've lived in NYC my whole life, that would make sense. I occasionally drop into other accents for various phrases or words. Sometimes I'm rather verbose for no apparent reason, and sometimes I'm extremely blunt and curse more than your average sailor. (Yes, I've checked. A good friend of mine's in the Navy.) My voice is also really deep.

[Pheehelm]

Normally I speak with a more or less generic American accent (although some guy once told me my voice sounds like Courier font. Odd.), but my other accent is more of a rural Southern one, and it comes out mainly when I'm around other people with a noticeable Southern accent of their own. My sister's the same way; she's had to warn people that in a minute she'd start talking like them, and wasn't making fun of them.

And I use "y'all" when I find it useful, regardless of accent.

[Aedilred]

I've noticed a lot of people saying they don't have an accent. Everyone has an accent; it's just that if you're surrounded by people who speak in the same way it will appear that you (and they) don't. Even if it's just a generic American or English accent, it's still an accent, and it'll be noticeable by people who don't have one.

Note also that, insofar as one exists, it's an English accent, not a British one. Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish accents, even the "received" versions, are very different to the English accent that Americans seem to mean when they say "British accent".

For my part, I have a pretty generic, Home Counties-esque southern English accent. There's the vaguest hint of Bristolian and Lancastrian inflections occasionally, and I do deliberately and frequently affect a broad West Country accent, which has in some cases bled over into my normal speech, but other than that it's pretty much Radio 4 all the way.

[Eddums]

Ah. Right-o.

I think I would've liked to do the IB, but I decided I wasn't good at doing homework, so I didn't.

Right choice. While I admit that the breadth of subjects is nice, and the course as a whole is more interesting than many other national equivalants, for me, at least, the workload by far outweighs these advantages.

[GoC]

I was also homeschooled, which probably had some effect on my speech. Words I didn't learn from my parents or watching movies I originally winged the pronunciation of from books, and sometimes I still say them a tad strangely (though much of that has been ironed out over the years).
That has caused me no end of embarrassment.:smallsigh:


Note also that, insofar as one exists, it's an English accent, not a British one. Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish accents, even the "received" versions, are very different to the English accent that Americans seem to mean when they say "British accent".
Tell that to my flatmate. A scot who has what an American would definitely consider a posh British accent. It's slightly different from mine but still would be identified as "received", even by an English person.

[Nameless]

Considering I don't know who Russel Brand is, that would be a no.
Please explain further the vocabularational similarities..

I will elaborate using the art of photography.

http://img.listal.com/image/476785/500full-russell-brand.jpg

[KuReshtin]

Considering I don't know who Russel Brand is, that would be a no.
Please explain further the vocabularational similarities..

Russel Brand would be best known in the US (I would guess) for his roles in the films "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and "Bedtime Stories".

[Rattine]

I mostly speak normally, except for a few choice words in which my scandinavian accent pops up. I have been told that I pronounce the words "bagel" and"roof" oddly. Also, in a few words, I pronounce the "o" like a "Minnesooooota" o. Go figure, I've never really classified myself as having an accent, though. :smalltongue:

[deuxhero]

Please refrain from the obvious "vocal cords" joke.

With my mouth! >_>

[CurlyKitGirl]

I*snip* And I'm unlikely to use phrases such as "Oh my God," because I feel weird doing so given I'm not religious. So if I have a moment to think, I'm likely to substitute something from a work of fiction (e.g. "In Valen's name"), or just change "God" to "Goddess (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/member.php?u=24463)"

oO
Really? You invoke the Curly One? Huh. *is bamboozled*
______

I speak with a fairly mild Cornish accent, but with a fair bit of Cornish dialectal grammar and phrases.
Thanks to my ridiculous reading habits and my passion for old and dead languages, oh fine, and French, and a little bit of German (immensely basic) and Japanese (likewise) I am very verbose, and prone to illustrating my speech (and writing) with over-elaborate tangents and the like.
I think my speech is a cross between a Victorian novel and an illuminated mediaeval manuscript. Naturally, I throw in a lot of archaisms and odd phrasings. I can also slip between English and French surprisingly easy because I'm mostly fluent - oddly my French used to have a broad Cornish accent until a year or two ago. I also find a few words and phrases from Old English more evocative than Modern English, so I use them as well.

I detest swearing, never going beyond 'damn' and 'crap' and I too, sometimes invoke fictional gods/goddesses/etc. if I need to curse. That or historical figures related to creating books - of Goddess of the Written Word's got to keep up her image you know.

[rakkoon]

I will elaborate using the art of photography.

http://img.listal.com/image/476785/500full-russell-brand.jpg

You are a silly and crazy person, Nameless.
Don't ever change!

[Phaedra]

Hmm. I have a slight Yorkshire accent and I occasionally use some Yorkshire slang, mostly just "owt" and "nowt". My accent is slowly drifting though since I've not lived in Yorkshire for about 6 years. It's moving more towards RP, I think, since most people I talk to now have the stereotypical posh English accent.

Catholicism sunk it's claws into me when I was young, so I still say "Oh my God" and swear in various other saint-related ways. I also generally swear like the proverbial sailor. I'm an angry person.

[Thufir]

oO
Really? You invoke the Curly One? Huh. *is bamboozled*

Yeah. That's another 'mostly to myself' mannerism actually, since I don't want to confuse random people, but yeah. The fact I can summon more religious fervour for someone 3 years younger than me, who I've actually met, than for a more widely accepted deity, probably says something about me. Though I'm damned if I know what.
Also born out of the fact that I will sometimes say "oh my God" without thinking, to which I just have to add an "-ess" to change it to something I definitely believe in.

Also, I forgot to mention: Someday, I swear, I will learn to curse in Mandarin.
Truly, my desire to incorporate my excessive nerdery into my everyday speech knows no bounds.

[Haruki-kun]

I speak in a general northern Mexican Accent. But I also speak a lot of English with my friends. I don't know why. I guess we just sorta like it.

[Zexion]

I usually speak with a Canadian accent, but when I get stressed out I start factoring in random words from Latin, Greek, Spanish, and French. Oddly enough, the only language that I know, but don't speak in when I'm stressed out is Chinese.

[Elentari]

Hmm...I've never paid attention to my accent before. I grew up bilingual in ASL and English, so I sort of have a Midwestern accent (slightly different though) so I've had people ask me where I was from because they couldn't place my accent. Hehe. When people try to place my accent they get all confusicated :smallbiggrin: I suppose thats probably because I don't vocalize all of my consonants sometimes...
Edit: When I get stressed or tired, I sometimes start slipping back and forth between ASL and English, even if the person I'm talking to doesn't understand ASL.

[Maximum Zersk]

I imagine mine would be Pacific Northwest accent, since I live there. I will occasionally trill my "R" sometimes, though.

I have heard that I'm good at pronouncing sounds in other languages, though. Possibly because of a bit of Indian English spoken at my house, makes me good at noticing sound differences in other languages. I don't know.

[Player]

Considering I live in the state of Texas in the United states I belive I would call it a southern accent if you wou would even call it that.


As far as word choice and such, I try to refrain from using sterotypical american words. Mostly because I want to travel the world someday,and dont want to be labeled "That American" you know the one whos looking for directions to the nearest mcdonalds,and is driving on the wrong side of the road.

So not sure how I speak considering no ones ever commented on it, you would proably have to talk to me and tell me.:smalleek:

[Maximum Zersk]

Considering I live in the state of Texas in the United states I belive I would call it a southern accent if you wou would even call it that.


As far as word choice and such, I try to refrain from using sterotypical american words. Mostly because I want to travel the world someday,and dont want to be labeled "That American" you know the one whos looking for directions to the nearest mcdonalds,and is driving on the wrong side of the road.

So not sure how I speak considering no ones ever commented on it, you would proably have to talk to me and tell me.:smalleek:

Don't worry. As long as you don't wear a Canadian Flag on your shirt if you come to Canada, people won't think you're American. Other parts of the world? Just watch how other people act in society I would imagine.

[Nameless]

You are a silly and crazy person, Nameless.
Don't ever change!

I don't intend to. :smalltongue:

[Vorpalbob]

I tend to vary my vocal range and accents depending on what I'm saying. When reciting Shakespearian quotation, I slip into a Pythonesque (I hereby copyright that word) English accent. Same goes for when I reenact Monty Python sketches.

I'm an actor, and often will slip into an accent and character entirely by accident and often without noticing. Yesturday, in fact, I had a half-hour long conversation with a friend in which we were discussing the pros and cons of various WWII infantry weapons. He later told me, that for fifteen full minutes, I had described every period SMG I could think of (trust me, I could have gone a lot longer) with a thick Newfie accent. One of my favourite things to do when I see a friend of mine and they haven't seen me is to sneak up behind them, grab their shoulders, and in my best Hannibal Lecter impersonation, whisper, "Hello, Clarice. Are the lambs still crying? sssssssssss..."

My standard accent is the typical Canadian one. Yes, I occaisionally call upon the "eh". Why are we so made fun of for that?

[Dreamshifter]

Hmm, how do I speak?

I suppose my accent could be called "Generic Canadian", if such a thing existed. Given that I grew up in Newfoundland, I have an almost complete lack of a Newfie accent, and use shockingly few of it's slang. Unless I'm actively teasing my wife (who's Newfie accent is clear to anyone who has ever heard it, and pegs her birth location right away, every time).

On the other hand, I've picked up words and phrases from all over the place (especially the internet), so I use y'all from time to time, and m just as likely to say "aye" as "yes". To make matters worse, Ive also picked up slang from TV, so "frell" (the worse offender) is a regular part of my swearing vocabulary.

...which is just as well, since the kids don't need to be hearing the real words any time soon. Which brings up another side note, I use to swear like a sailor (it's a proud family tradition!), but more often than not now, I censor it all (or at least, use frell or something like "fudge").

Since I've grown up around people who did speak too fast, I've always been careful to not let myself speed up too much, even on those rare times when I'm particularly animated about a subject.

Hmm. Yeah, I think that covers most of it.

[Dragor]

I speak with a posh British accent, and I hate it so. I have some typical Midlands mannerisms and the accent creeps in in some places- eg, I'll say 'Nott-en-um' instead of 'Not-Ing-Ham'.
The only compliment I've ever got on my voice is that I sound like Stephen Fry. :smallbiggrin:

[Philistine]

My sister's... had to warn people that in a minute she'd start talking like them, and wasn't making fun of them.
Now imagine that the "accent" you're picking up is in fact a speech impediment, and that the person with whom you're speaking has had to put up with others making fun of it for years. Good luck getting out of that one - especially when you don't even realize what you're doing until after a third party calls you on it. So embarrassing.

[Concrete]

I speak swedish with a west-gothian accent, in a low, mumbling and discomforting manner that makes people think of serialkillers and creepy uncles, or english in the same way...