Did you lose your accent when you moved to a new country?

[Dieselfit]

When I moved to Canada from Saudi Arabia, it took me a while to learn English. Though when I learned English, I started to adopt the accent of others around me.

Did you guys notice this if you moved to a new country? I sound completely Canadian and when I go back to my original country, people ask if I'm a foreigner!

[stutin]

Yes I experienced that, but the only difference is I use to fake the accent at times, when I moved from India to UK, I was young and started talking like others, however, sometimes, I use to do it deliberately just for fun, or to look cool. Then I returned back to India and went to the States after four years, there I did not fake the accent, I was myself. I guess the change of accent only happens when one has lived in the country over nine to ten years or more I believe.

[limon]

Yeah, after two decades in California I sound like a local, and I have an English friend who still sounds English to me, but to the ears of her compatriots sounds very American, apparently.

[pftsusan]

This is very interesting.  I haven't moved out of the USA. While I live in NJ, I once lived in AL. I lived in Alabama for eight months in 1979-1980. When I moved back to NJ, my home state, people thought and still think that I speak with a southern withdrawal. Now in the South states, they think I have a southern withdrawal with a northern accent. Yes, you lose some of your original accent while you pick up others.  :love:

[cinderr]

Only a speaker of English and a few German words and phrases; I would be a poor judge except, they say in the USA, we have different accents per our locale.

I live in the Midwestern states and hear no accent but when I've been in other areas esp in the south, I have been told I have a Wisconsin accent.  I have no clue what a  Wisconsin accent would sound like. Out east, they too have a definite accent; you need only listen to a Kennedy to realize that. Hawaii? Yes and different sentence patterns. And the south speaks for itself; literally! No idea how the say it in California--do you?

[Daedalus]

I've only been living in another country for just over a year, but I can already tell my English is improving. I still have an accent, of course, but I've been told it sounds a lot more British already.

[Scottf14]

No, I never lost my accent moving to another country. However, my accent shifts abruptly whenever I move or live in a new state. For some reason it didn't change much out of country, but I can move only a few hundred miles away and start sounding different in only a week or two. Then I head back home to North Carolina and rapidly return to my southern drawal.

[Beverly]

I think it takes a while to completely take over the accent from the country you move into. I've been in U.S for 8 years, never speak my mother tongue here with anyone and though my accent has changed a lot since I came here and everyone at home told me my English is very american now, other people still can tell I am Asian right away when I speak. For people who live in this town that talked to me when I came here first, saw the difference. For people who knew me in Asia before I moved, felt the difference. For new friends that I just encountered,I still have the Asian accent. For example,my husband and I play online games,whenever I meet someone new and we do a skype chat ,all I say most of the times are "Are we ready to pull?"

And I'd get 'woah.love the accent there. Where are you from?' and I know they are not talking about my accent here because they didn't say anything bout my husband's lol

[Trellum]

Uhm, I have been told that I don't even have the accent I should have in my own native language.  You see, I'm a native spanish speaker from the north of mexico, but for some reason I don't have the same accent my peers do.  I've lived a long time in Europe, but I was raised in this part of Mexico. So it's really odd I don't have that accent... my spanish sounds like a really neutral one (the way it should be) no accents no anything

[leahcim132]

Yes and no. I lived in China for 6 months and my English is still fine. My chinese however is ..well... has a "chinese" accent. Whereas before was an "english" accent (like someone trying to speak chinese if you know what I mean).

[kitkat0124]

I'm from philippines, I went to states, I think my accent changed. I adapted how they speak their languages. You will get used to it.

[BWL]

I've been working and traveling in so many places that most people cannot really guess where I come from anymore from my accent alone. I do have a slight British accent when I speak English but people tell me I do not  have any accent at all when I speak French which probably means that I sound like someone from the North of France.

I also have a Southern Chinese / Taiwanese type of accent when I speak Mandarin so yes, I'm all over the map!

[Adobo]

Those I know who lived in other country, mostly from the U.S., for a long time (at least a year) has adapted the manner of speaking there. I guess it’s a natural change since they are more exposed to the American’s tone of voice than their own and in keeping up with their adopted country’s language or in normal conversation there, they taught themselves to speak as well as the natives.

[bonniea]

My experience is that people who move to another country as an adult never lose their accents. I have friends from many countries that came as adults and they still have very thick accents from their native country. Kids who come, even as teenagers tend to lose their accent to a greater degree. They are also more likely to use proper sentence structure. Adults who come over will often arrange sentences like their mother tongue, rather than the new culture. Whereas children will pick up the sentence structure used in the new country.