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Here is a sampling of amusing exchanges I've had recently with people who have tried and failed to identify where I'm from based on my accent.
Anecdote 1
I'm in a taxi late in the evening, going home. The driver is Brummie. I've told him that I've been in London for the day for work. He asks me how long I've lived in the Midlands. "Almost six years," I reply. "It doesn't feel like that long since I was living in London."
Him: "Yeah, you still sound like a Londoner."
Me: “I do, don’t I.”
I chuckled over this internally for a good hour after I got home.
Anecdote 2
I'm in a taxi, going home after an evening out with some lady friends.
Taxi driver: “Do you want the good news or the bad news first?”
Me: “Er, the bad news?”
Him: “You lost Eurovision.”
Me: “...Did we?”
Him: “Yes, I’m afraid Australia finished last in the popular vote.”
Me: “What a shame.”
I never did find out what the good news was.
And the one that takes the cake, my friends:
Anecdote 3
I’m speaking to someone to whom I’ve just been introduced.
Him: “Your president is very handsome.”
Me: “WHAT”
Him: “Justin Trudeau! He’s very handsome.”
Me: “OH THANK GOODNESS”
Anecdote 1
I'm in a taxi late in the evening, going home. The driver is Brummie. I've told him that I've been in London for the day for work. He asks me how long I've lived in the Midlands. "Almost six years," I reply. "It doesn't feel like that long since I was living in London."
Him: "Yeah, you still sound like a Londoner."
Me: “I do, don’t I.”
I chuckled over this internally for a good hour after I got home.
Anecdote 2
I'm in a taxi, going home after an evening out with some lady friends.
Taxi driver: “Do you want the good news or the bad news first?”
Me: “Er, the bad news?”
Him: “You lost Eurovision.”
Me: “...Did we?”
Him: “Yes, I’m afraid Australia finished last in the popular vote.”
Me: “What a shame.”
I never did find out what the good news was.
And the one that takes the cake, my friends:
Anecdote 3
I’m speaking to someone to whom I’ve just been introduced.
Him: “Your president is very handsome.”
Me: “WHAT”
Him: “Justin Trudeau! He’s very handsome.”
Me: “OH THANK GOODNESS”
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I've been guessed at being from Wales, Greece (?!), I used to get "a particular bit of southern Ireland" (I was never sure which bit) a lot, as well as Canadian (which seems pretty understandable since adding any amount of English to Minnesotan will make an accent sound Canadian, I think).
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I can see how Minnesotan + English would also give you Welsh.
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Me: “WHAT”
Him: “Justin Trudeau! He’s very handsome.”
Me: “OH THANK GOODNESS”
LOLOLOL
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I get occasionally questioned about Where I'm From based on my accent. (I live a few miles from where I grew up.)
Justin Trudeau! Oh I got a shock for a moment there. XD
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Oh yes, it was a very alarming moment.
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I'm fairly sure the person whose first guess was that I was Canadian wasn't sure, but thought that was politer than guessing that I was American.
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I always say, "I thought I detected a North American accent there. Am I right?" All the Canadians I've met have appreciated that. :)
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I do like that Trudeau is still getting a lot of attention for his charmingly handsome looks that cause hearts to flutter.
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I defend our Eurovision act though - Jess is adorable.
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I thought this about many of the acts this year, and the popular voters seem to agree with me.
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On the other hand, at least they got to North America...
Accent mashups are weird. My f-i-l, who grew up just south of London and emigrated to the US in his early thirties - but has spent most of his life in the lab - has this odd hybrid accent that regularly gets mistaken for Australian. He thinks this is bizarre, but actually I think his vowels have gone quite Aussie, he just doesn't have the same melody/ tendency to uptalk.
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To which I answer: "The criminal classes."
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Usually I can pass as a Londoner, just the other end of London from the one I'm standing in.
US immigration get as far as accent doesn't match passport and headsploding.
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US immigration seems to rely on accent as an identifying marker to a rather frightening degree. It will be...interesting...to see if Keiki and Humuhumu have any issues as they get older, given their Black Country accents.
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I put this down to not sounding like someone off Neighbours.
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