If you are English and are going about your daily life (e.g. at a party, dancing at a disco, buying sausages, at a meeting of international colleages, a sales conference, a wife swapping party, in a hotel lobby or at a rodeo) and you are introduced to a North American, please, upon hearing them speak for the first time, grasp them by the hand, look them in the eye and scream into their confused faces:
"OH. MY. GOD. I LOVE YOUR ACCENT."
This will also work if you are speaking to them on the telephone, but make sure you let them speak for five minutes, demonstrate that you have not been listening to a word they have said, and THEN say: "I'm sorry, I wasn't listening to what you said, I was just listening to your accent."
You may also tell them their accent is 'awesome', 'cute' or 'cool'. Once you are feeling more confident, feel free to ask them to say things for you, e.g. orange squash, Buckingham Palace, marmalade, and discotheque.
** UPDATE **
Prompted by a comment below, may I also suggest that, after shouting "OH. MY. GOD. I LOVE YOUR ACCENT", you then take a deep breath and ask: "And where are you FROM?".
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10 comments:
If anyone ever did that to me I would know they were taking the piss and then I would feel ashamed and not talk anymore. I don't like my accent.
I'm sorry. I wasn't reading what you wrote, I was just listening to your accent.
Just be glad your accent is 'awesome,' or 'cute,' or 'cool.' The local accent is usually referred to as sounding 'stupid.'
I don't have the local accent, BTW. I just sound like a Maritimer, which isn't really much better.
Say, Brecon Beacon. G'wan!
I usually ask anyone sounding vaguely North American if they are Canadian. Canadians love not being confused with Yanks, and Yanks seem to hate it. Ditto with Australian accents - always ask if they are Kiwi first...
LOL, do they still do that? It must be hard-wired into the American brain. Reminds one of those programmable dolls that say "Gissa sweetie" or any one of a variety of sentences, when you pull on a cord somewhere.
Honestly. It makes me want to cry. "Where are you from?", is usually the next question. "Guatemala!", will be my next reply.
I still get this after being here for 12 years, so don't think it goes away any time soon. I've even had people tell me that that my accent isn't home counties, but actually Australian.. yes that's it, you have an Australian accent.. I don't talk to strangers anymore
This happens to me ALL THE TIME, and I'm only from New England.
In exasperation, monkeygrandmama once said: "But I'm English - you're the ones with the funny accent".
I'll have you know that I read your posts aloud in my head and, after an initial bit of confusion between early-era Julia Child and the Queen a la Christmas address circa 1976 I have settled on John Inman.
And I totally love your accent.
I'm Australian, and I'll admit that relatively proudly.
I lived in England for a few years and so many people, ENGLISH people, asked me whereabouts in New Zealand I was from that I must admit I started asking them whereabouts in Wales they came from.
That shut them up.
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