I've got an accent. It's one that's very, very uncommon, basically because it's a blend. Most people have the undiluted accent of where they grew up. I spent the first five years of my life in the town of my birth - Banbury in Oxfordshire - acquiring a midlands accent. Then we moved to Edinburgh.
I started off in the primary school there as the one English pupil in a class of Scots speakers. My younger sister adapted to the new speech patterns, but being older, my accent was just about fixed. I say just about, because there was obviously still some flexibility left in my neural structure. Slowly, my accent has evolved. Now, if you could hear it, you could tell I was Scottish, but you wouldn't be able to say from where in Scotland. No-one can. Patients are always asking me where I come from. My accent has been placed in the Highlands and Islands, Buckie, the Borders, even Ireland. They're always surprised when I tell them I'm local.
Of course, I can't hear my accent. To me I sound as if I'm speaking straightforward English. It's everyone else who has an accent.
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3 comments:
Hi there,
As somone who speaks verbally to this strange Man at least once a month, maybe more often than that, I have to say tat I never noticed that he had any accent. My life makes me travel a lot in the UK. Example in the last two weeks I have been in the folowing cities: Manchester, Hawick, Edinburgh, Musselburgh, Dalkieth oh and this morning Dundee and next week probably Glasgow. So while no Dr who speaks to the animals I hear a lot of accents. This man will probably have an accent and it is probably all as strange as he thinks, but it is only in his mind. He speaks with normality and clarity and ythere are no accents in cyberspace.
I also went to the same primary school as him at the same time. So maybe I should write a book about my memories and tell the detailed truth? Then again probably not.
Anyway Merry Christmas and I like the Double 07 idea.
Mark.
www.twotalk.net
Thanks Mark. You don't hear my accent because you know me too well. We'd need to get an opinion from someone who's heard me speak occasionally.
So should I start to call you a sasanoc? You have to get rid of these inferiority complexes. There is nothing wrong with being English and you should not be affraid to let people know where you were born. I know that we all can't be born in Edinburgh and shouting Gardiloo every time we well you know what I mean, but there is only one Athens of the North ...
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