Is it normal i have an artificial accent that i can't get rid of?

100% Normal
7 Comments

I was born in England and moved to the US when I was 7. I never really mixed with the kids here and spent a lot of time with my family, so I never picked up the American accent. But because I was so self-conscious of my English accent, when I was about 13 I tried to deliberately change it. I started to purposely pronounce the 'r' sounds in an American accent. I figured it would eventually start to feel natural and become my new accent, but it never did. It always felt forced and strange. So recently I've decided to stop doing that and to just go back to my original English accent, but now I can't. I've been pronouncing those 'r' sounds with an American accent for so long that now I can't stop. I thought I'd easily be able to go back to my original accent since the new accent still feels so awkward and fake, but it's like forcing myself to speak in a new accent all over again. And now I'm afraid I'm stuck like this.

Voting Results
100% Normal
Based on 5 votes
Help us keep this site organized and clean. Thanks!
[ Report Post ]
Comments ( 7 )
  • edwininthematrix
    6 years ago

    I know someone like that, born in England but moved to America with her family as a kid but still in her twenties has a hybrid accent that sounds almost perfectly half British and half American. Most people don't seem to mind and even find it fascinating.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
    1
    1
  • TheGypsyTaylor
    6 years ago

    Which American accent are you trying to imitate? There are several which sound very different.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
    0
    0
  • YamaMayaNyaa
    6 years ago

    I'm the opposite, an American in the UK, but I've never felt the need to mask my "accent", but it sort of just changed to be more "english". I still definitely sound American but little idioms make their way and ways of saying things. It's a natural thing that happens over time we can't entirely help it. Just speak in a way that feels natural.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
    0
    0
  • Hateful1
    6 years ago

    Then it's not an artificial accent.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
    0
    0
      -
    • Anonymous Post Author
      6 years ago

      But it didn't change naturally, I consciously changed it. And it doesn't feel right. Whenever I notice myself say a word with an 'r' sound in it, it sounds so fake.

      Comment Hidden ( show )
      0
      0
  • Ummitsme
    6 years ago

    Embrace it. An English accent is sexy and powerful in the states. Chicks dig it and people assume you're intelligent with it so it will do you well in business. If you have gone so far as to sound midatlantic, that is great too. Bill Buckly and Johnny Depp didn't shit the bed.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
    0
    0
      -
    • Anonymous Post Author
      6 years ago

      Haha, thanks but it's not a posh sophisticated English accent or anything, it's a cockney accent.

      Comment Hidden ( show )
      0
      0