In between
Conversations in the US have been going something like this…
Them: ‘Where ya from?’ (Because we know Americans are a friendly race.)
Me: ‘I live in Dublin, Ireland.’
Them: ‘Welcome to America!’
Me: ‘Thank you. I’m an American, though, just happen to live in Europe.
And at this point, the conversation will take one of two paths.
Path 1
‘Well I could tell you live in Ireland because you certainly have developed an Irish accent.’
or
Path 2
‘Well I could tell you’re an American because you haven’t picked up any accent while living there.’
And such is the case of living in the in-between.
I got a kick out of this. I get a version of it too, being a Northerner living in the South. My northern relatives laugh at my southern accent while Southerners tell me I sound like a Yankee.
12 Jul 2007 at 1:52 pm
haha, that sounds like those comments when one has a new baby: oh, looks just like his (or her) mother. 5 minutes later someone else comes along, this time baby is with daddy: oh, looks just like his (or her) father….
12 Jul 2007 at 1:53 pm
How true is that! Living in Virginia, everyone told me I sounded like I was from the north (having grown up above the Mason-Dixon line), and then living in New England, I often got the “Gee, a southern drawl” comment. Go figger.
12 Jul 2007 at 2:17 pm
I think the only thing that’s really made me stand out as an American up here (and really, as a Cincinnatian) is that I can’t stand all the crap my MIL puts in her chili. Cincinnatians are picky about their chili - we don’t put mushrooms, celery, peppers, sausage, and carrots in it. If you want stew, make some stinkin stew. F’real.
But nobody’s commented on my accent, even though I hear a difference (and not just the French) in everyone around me. *shrug*
That has to be lovely, having the same conversation over and over again. Grrr.
13 Jul 2007 at 7:48 am
Ha! It totally sounds like what people say to me when I’m home. I *know* I haven’t picked up an Irish accent. I’ve never been one of those people who unconsciously mimic accents- I’m always aware of how I’m saying things, and to consciously change my accent would seem pretentious to me.
I do pick up vocabulary, though. Maybe they hear different vocabulary and their brain assumes an accent must come with it?
13 Jul 2007 at 2:59 pm
Sounds familiar.
14 Jul 2007 at 8:05 pm
Funny about the accent, Cheryl. My kids say that I always speak differently depending upon whom I’m talking to. They can tell if I’m talking to my sister every time. I don’t know exactly categorize that as an accent. It’s more like an intonation.
I have to brag to you that we’re on vacation in Nebraska, and I found LaVazza espresso beans at a little Italian coffee shop we’ve been stopping at on our walks every morning. I’m buying some to take home!
16 Jul 2007 at 12:53 am