Society Debate: Is it possible for one’s accent to change after a mere trip abroad?

Not even close!I’m glad I have been given the opportunity to speak about this because had it been bottled up in me for one more day, I would have been incarcerated for doing something really bad!

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Not even close!
I’m glad I have been given the opportunity to speak about this because had it been bottled up in me for one more day, I would have been incarcerated for doing something really bad!

Never in my life have I been so disturbed by one’s accent like in this instance. It is not even remotely humorous to acquire accents you have never had in the period of something as ridiculous as a week!

I’m sure some people watch movies and listen to black Americans speak and feel it is the sweetest thing to happen to their ears. When they finally get the opportunity to travel to that wonderful country, they coe back after a couple of weeks claiming they’re accents have changed.

It’s not only unbelievable but utterly ridiculous! The worst part is when they claim they’ve forgotten their vernacular! Yes, they do. You’ll greet them in the local language and they will look at you like you are fresh from some village!

It is more than annoying because if at least they could get the accent right then maybe you’ll forgive them. But putting r’s where they have no business being has never been cool. Or exaggerating some letters like your lip is about to pop off!

"We went to ‘sorme’ night ‘clurb’,” doesn’t exist. The words are ‘some’ and ‘club’ and there’s no letter r in there anywhere. The worst part is they are completely unaware of how pathetic they sound. Or maybe they know but are just out to torture people with it. Who knows?

I heard of the one dude who went to India for further studies and when he got back a year later, he had acquired a supposedly British accent. Hilarious! Why guys assumed it was British is beyond me. Perhaps he kept leaving the‘t’ out of water!

If you are going to fake an accent, please oh please, try and fake it well. Even though we know for a fact that you are just wishing you spoke like that, try to be convincing. Its one thing faking an accent and a whole other faking the wrong one.

Seriously people, why would you want to embarrass yourself that way?  What is wrong with speaking the way you do always? Where is it written that when you go  to America, for example, you have to speak like the Americans?

Accents are picked up with time. If you went as a kid and have been there for a fairly long time, you are bound to come back with a change in your accent. It could be strong or light but it will be there.

Chances that you still remember the vernacular you left blowing heavily will be slim. Unless you had people there who spoke it and kept you in touch with it.

It is more than annoying and extremely insulting for people to go off on holidays then come back with strange accents I’m sure don’t sound too good to them either! They just think speaking that way confirms that they’ve indeed come from London or wherever.

Show us your airline ticket or passport if you must, we shall believe you but for crying out loud, drop the accent.

cjanzi83@yahoo.co.uk