You know, I've wrestled with this question ever since I moved here. I have conflicting reactions to the idea. Even though I've been here for quite a while, I've still spent the majority of my life in the USA. Giving up my accent, along with all the other adjustments I've made in the spirit of integration, feels like a step too far. It's changed quite a bit naturally, from daily exposure to British accents alone, but I can't bring myself to force it. When I encounter expat Americans who've been here a lot less time than I have but are "faking" a British accent, it makes me cringe. I know this is unfair - it's their choice, and it may be helping them to adapt to the culture - but part of me feels it's inappropriate when you haven't yet, as it were, earned your stripes through duration of stay.
OTOH, I can cosplay an RP accent with a reasonable degree of authenticity now, so I suppose if I practised, it would become second nature and I could always choose whether or not I wanted people to know my origins.
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You know, I've wrestled with this question ever since I moved here. I have conflicting reactions to the idea. Even though I've been here for quite a while, I've still spent the majority of my life in the USA. Giving up my accent, along with all the other adjustments I've made in the spirit of integration, feels like a step too far. It's changed quite a bit naturally, from daily exposure to British accents alone, but I can't bring myself to force it. When I encounter expat Americans who've been here a lot less time than I have but are "faking" a British accent, it makes me cringe. I know this is unfair - it's their choice, and it may be helping them to adapt to the culture - but part of me feels it's inappropriate when you haven't yet, as it were, earned your stripes through duration of stay.
OTOH, I can cosplay an RP accent with a reasonable degree of authenticity now, so I suppose if I practised, it would become second nature and I could always choose whether or not I wanted people to know my origins.