On accents.

This entry will be about accents because that topic nicely ropes in a bunch of random tidbits that I've been wanting to blog about.

1. I can't tell you how many times people told me to start working on my British accent before I left and how many times people have asked since then if I've acquired a British accent (which is a pretty dumb question and not funny after the second time). Needless to say, I was very aware that British people speak differently than Americans. The British accent is a novelty among Americans. However, no one told me how conscious I would become of my own accent. I've even had out of body instances where I've heard other American accents with an open ear - I can understand why the American voice may sound rather brash in comparison to Brit accents.

2. While here in London, other English speakers have asked me to repeat myself because they really couldn't understand what I was saying. Usually for small things, like asking for a glass of water, but the point is that I now know what it is to be misunderstood by fluent speakers when speaking that same language. It's an odd feeling.

3. I knew that there are different British accents, just like there are different American accents. However, I didn't know that these different Brit accents can be vastly different. People who speak the Queen's English are generally the easiest to understand for me. Colloquial accents are easy to understand too, but when a person talking with that accent starts to talk quieter and/or quicker, it gets harder to understand. Also, I've learned that people from northern England sound almost Scottish (at least to my American ears they do). One of my bosses is from north England and I often find myself concentrating carefully to make sure I understand what she says. One time we went to lunch and the girl at the cashier, who was also British, actually asked her where she was from because of her accent. The cashier said nothing to me about my own accent, which I thought was funny.

4. I've seen a lot of people on the tube glance over/outright stare at friends and I once we start talking. I'm not particularly self-conscious usually, but I've gotten enough attention that I will now make an effort to be quieter. On the other hand, I've also pretended not to understand English when street vendors are more aggressive. I always figure that with my Asian face, it's perfectly plausible that I wouldn't understand English.

5. An example of a conversation gone wrong with a British acquaintance once went like this:
British dude: So you have keg parties in America?
Me: Cake parties?...
British dude: Yea, keg parties. In college?
Me: Ohhh, keg parties.
British dude: [sarcastically] I said that word wrong, didn't I. Keg. Keg parties.
Me: Wait, so are you asking me about keg parties or cake parties?
British dude: Keg parties.
Me: [laughing]
British dude: Beer! Barrels!

6. This past Wednesday I saw the play Three Days of Rain (which I really enjoyed and recommend) starring James McAvoy. He acted with an American accent which I thought was very good. Seeing as after the play, when we went to the stage door for his autograph signing, he spoke with a lovely Scottish accent. The lead actress, who was just as good an actor, unfortunately did not have such a convincing Southern accent.

7. In Austria last weekend, I met and hung out with a group of 9 business grad students staying in the same hostel, which was a pleasant surprise since I thought I would be alone all weekend. This was the introductory scene: I drive up to the hostel in my taxi at 12:30 AM. A big group of people seem to be approaching the same hostel. As I pay the driver, the group walks into the hostel. I follow them in, say thanks to the guy holding open the door. A table in the hallway immediately grabs my attention with a note - "Lara, welcome. Please take room 2 to your left. Breakfast is served from 8 to 10 am. See you tomorrow!" As I'm reading the note, in my near delirious state after having traveled 6 plus hours, I hear, of all things, American voices saying, "Hey! Are you just getting in? Where are you coming from?" Turns out the people coming in were all American and it was so nice talking with their American accents (though even more so because they were very friendly). I never thought American accents could elicit such relief!

8. I still get a kick out of it every time I hear a kid on the street saying, "Mum!" or "Mummy!"

9. The other week I was talking to a student at the local college. I thought she was American, but then found out she was from Finland. She sounded almost exactly like an American, but it was funny because she couldn't understand some of the things I said and had to ask me to repeat myself

10. One time, at one of my work events, a British woman asked if we had a plaster. I thought she meant glue but that didn't seem right, so I referred her to my British coworker - "Let's ask Ian..." She was asking for a band-aid.

Okay, that last one isn't really about accents, more about vocabulary, but I thought it was funny.

I hope this accentuation of accents has accentuated my wonder at some of the cultural exchanges I have found most surprising.