Would you lose your...

accent? This question is more directed towards people who are not born and raised in England or US. My question is would you lose your accent if you moved away from England (or the US)

E.g. I wasn’t born in UK but I came over and now have an English accent, if I were to move back to Pak, never speak English and return to UK after like 30 years would I have lost the English accent?

Weird question I know :blush:

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Shak I don't think you would lose your accent if you don't speak at all. I think you would lose your accent if you do speak english with people who have a really different accent because we tend to pick up other people's accent and thats pretty much how you developed your british accent in the first place.

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i lost my pakistani accent but didn't adopt the british accent either....and i think it was a conscious effort because i don't wanna sound british or amrican when i'm not.
but when it comes to arabic and persian i try my best to adopt their accent coz it doesn't make me feel that i'm being fake or anything.

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I think you will lose SOME of the British accent for sure. The accent depends on how people around us speak.
But it may take a few months only to regain the accent after moving back to Britain. Depending on your effort.

[quote]
I wasn't born in UK but I came over and now have an English accent
[/quote]

Can British people tell if you were born outside? Just curious.

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My accent is a complete mess. Europeans think I sound American. Americans think I should British. Pakistanis think I sound paindoo. I swear you can't please anyone these days.

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how the hell can you loose or forget the way you talk ????

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I’m a born and bred Brit, but my accent goes transatlantic sometimes…don’t ask me why :konfused:

If you don’t speak English with a Pakistani, British or American accent, then what accent do you have?

Please say Cajun or Jamaican…:smokin2:

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In America I worked with so many Indians for one year that I almost lost my accent . :smack:

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Oh I’d do anything for a West Indian accent :wub:

Shak, from when I’ve heard you speak in chat I can definitely tell that you weren’t born here if that makes sense…so I think wherever you end up living you pick up on the local accent and perhaps it always stays with you. I think accents are definitely governed by who you’re surrounded by…I have the horrible habit of imitating other peoples accents without even realising it. One South African guy even asked me if I was taking the piss out of him…oops :phati:

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LOL, I think my accent changes when I sound stressed, weird I know :smack:

Some can’t tell, but some like Saira can but like she said I think I dont sound PURE British if that makes sense. Though within England people can usually tell I am from North West. I think it also has to do with age i.e. my brother was a lot younger when we moved here and he sounds exactly British when he speaks now.

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A friend I’ve known since high school had an American accent and then got married to a guy who lives in England. She had only been in England for about 3-4 months I think, when she came back with a British accent.

Here’s an interesting link to check out if the OP or anyone else is interested. And I’ll quote some part from it.

“Your accent results from how, where, and when you learned the language you are speaking and it gives impressions about you to other people. People do not have a single fixed accent which is determined by their experiences. We can control the way we speak, and do, both consciously and unconsciously. Most people vary their accent depending on who they are speaking with. We change our accents, often without noticing, as we have new life experiences.”

"Why do languages develop different accents?
Human nature. In all sorts of ways, we behave like those we mix with. We are members of social groups, and within our social group we like to behave in similar ways and show that we belong. We do this in language as well as in other ways (e.g. what we wear, what we eat).

Which English accent is closest to the spelling?
English spelling is based on the pronunciation of the fourteenth century. No one speaks in that way now. English spelling therefore represents all accents of English equally well, or equally badly. As there are so many accents of English, it is fortunate that we have such an old spelling system which we can all use; otherwise we would be arguing about which accent we should base our spelling on!

No modern English accent is exactly like any accent of the past. All accents change over time. It has been suggested that some isolated rural accents (such as in rural Virginia) preserve more features of older accents than do cosmopolitan and mixed urban accents. This is controversial.

Can I change my accent?
Yes. Accents are not fixed. Our accents change over time as our needs change and as our sense of who we are changes and develops. Usually this happens naturally, and often unconsciously. Accents can be expected to change until we are in our early twenties. This is usually the time we come to some sort of decision about who we are. But even after that, if you want (and need) to change your accent, you can.

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no accent is bad. so to fit it and not sound alien, i will give up my accent.

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Ya maahn. :smiley:

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If you never speak English you wont loose your accent, but, if you speak English regularly, you’ll pick up the Pakistani accent or it will have some affect.

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I think different accents are nice. They give a sense of our background and who were are.

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lol…my husband thinks I sound like benazir bhutto. :bummer:

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That would be the Saraiki Drawl.