How to lose a regional southern accent?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Immediately stop saying y'all, for one.

People in the mid-Atlantic say y’all - especially those whose families have lived here for generations.

[Anonymous]

I change accents very easily. My tip is to change your internal monologue to the new accent until it becomes second nature. I can switch back and forth with ease.

[Anonymous]

Interesting question. If you're the kind of person who picks up an accent easily, then I think all you need to do is practice and hang around people who talk the way you want to talk. If you're a person who doesn't adapt their speech easily, then try working with an acting coach or even a speech therapist.

I'm one of those people who can drift into an accent really easily. DH is from the Baltimore suburbs and within 6 months of being together I found myself talking just like him. 10 years later I don't think I could switch back to my native Virginia accent unless I moved back there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Immediately stop saying y'all, for one.

People in the mid-Atlantic say y’all - especially those whose families have lived here for generations.

Southerner here. Anyone who says y’all a ton sounds like a redneck. Usually you or you all is appropriate. Being from the south doesn’t mean you need to talk like Paula Dean.

[Anonymous]

Linguistic aptitude.

[Anonymous]

I managed to stop saying y’all after a lot of practice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have no tips, but I wonder what makes some people shed an accent more easily than others? I had a strong Boston accent when I went to college in the DC area and then remained here after college. I did not actively try to lose my accent (in fact, I liked having a recognizable accent), but by my mid 20s it was pretty much gone. It's been literally decades since anyone asked me if I was from Boston.

But it does pop out occasionally--yes a bit if I've been drinking, but also when I'm around a person with a Boston accent, I start to slip back to one, completely without intention. And there are certain words from childhood that I just don't say much in adulthood so they never got rewired, so to speak. E.g., the candy Starburst. Unless I concentrate, I still say it with almost no R at all, lol.

OP, do you hear your own accent? There was a time in college where my ear had become attuned to the mid- Atlantic and gentle Southern scenes all around me and I could actually *hear* how different I sounded. It was very disorienting, and I think it was the beginning of the end of my accent.

My best friend growing up had a mid Atlantic accent until she spent her 10th grade year in England. When she returned to the states at the end of the school year she called me and I had no idea who I was talking to. Pure British accent. She lost that accent by the time school started in the fall. She has lived in Wilmington NC for about 15 years now and has a southern accent. I’m sure there’s a term for people who change accents easily like this, but I don’t know what it is.

Impressionable?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just repeat what you hear on Tv/radio/videos. I’ve studied languages my whole life and the key is practice and repetition. Should be straightforward for you, as you’re not actually learning new words or meanings, but are just adjusting the pronunciation of what uou already hear around you everyday

+1 You can also get a few sessions with a voice/speech coach to help you become more aware of the areas you need to work.

-former midwesterner with a noted twang which I consciously worked to lose after college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You don’t need to lose it.

Why change who you are?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Immediately stop saying y'all, for one.

And writing it! Y’all piss me off with that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Immediately stop saying y'all, for one.

And writing it! Y’all piss me off with that.

Yep. All y’all suck.


(“all y’all” is plural for “y’all”, btw)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have no tips, but I wonder what makes some people shed an accent more easily than others? I had a strong Boston accent when I went to college in the DC area and then remained here after college. I did not actively try to lose my accent (in fact, I liked having a recognizable accent), but by my mid 20s it was pretty much gone. It's been literally decades since anyone asked me if I was from Boston.

But it does pop out occasionally--yes a bit if I've been drinking, but also when I'm around a person with a Boston accent, I start to slip back to one, completely without intention. And there are certain words from childhood that I just don't say much in adulthood so they never got rewired, so to speak. E.g., the candy Starburst. Unless I concentrate, I still say it with almost no R at all, lol.

OP, do you hear your own accent? There was a time in college where my ear had become attuned to the mid- Atlantic and gentle Southern scenes all around me and I could actually *hear* how different I sounded. It was very disorienting, and I think it was the beginning of the end of my accent.

My best friend growing up had a mid Atlantic accent until she spent her 10th grade year in England. When she returned to the states at the end of the school year she called me and I had no idea who I was talking to. Pure British accent. She lost that accent by the time school started in the fall. She has lived in Wilmington NC for about 15 years now and has a southern accent. I’m sure there’s a term for people who change accents easily like this, but I don’t know what it is.

This is me. To the extent that I have to be careful, because I’ll unconsciously pick up accents while I’m talking to someone and I’m afraid they’ll think I’m mocking them. I have a good ear for music, too. Just like some people have perfect pitch, some people have an ear for accents. My DC has it, too — he’s a great mimic. I grew up in the South, but I have a mostly neutral accent now. It comes out when I talk to my family on the phone. My husband says he can tell who I’m talking to by my accent.

I actually do try to retain some of my original accent and I’d think hard about losing my accent on purpose, though. I had some law partners from the South who did M&A work, and they’d clean the clocks of the NYC lawyers who’d never dealt with them before and underestimated them. The further north they went, the thicker their accents got. I think it’s sad that our accents are becoming so homogeneous and losing their regional character.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Immediately stop saying y'all, for one.

And writing it! Y’all piss me off with that.

Yep. All y’all suck.


(“all y’all” is plural for “y’all”, btw)

“All y’all” is silly, as “y’all” is a second-person plural form of address. It’s extremely useful, as English is otherwise lacking a second-person plural, and much more elegant than “youse guys” or whatever alternative is used in the North. It’s also gender neutral.

https://slate.com/human-interest/2013/10/y-all-yous-you-guys-we-seem-to-need-a-second-person-plural-pronoun-that-is-distinct-from-the-singular.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have no tips, but I wonder what makes some people shed an accent more easily than others? I had a strong Boston accent when I went to college in the DC area and then remained here after college. I did not actively try to lose my accent (in fact, I liked having a recognizable accent), but by my mid 20s it was pretty much gone. It's been literally decades since anyone asked me if I was from Boston.

But it does pop out occasionally--yes a bit if I've been drinking, but also when I'm around a person with a Boston accent, I start to slip back to one, completely without intention. And there are certain words from childhood that I just don't say much in adulthood so they never got rewired, so to speak. E.g., the candy Starburst. Unless I concentrate, I still say it with almost no R at all, lol.

OP, do you hear your own accent? There was a time in college where my ear had become attuned to the mid- Atlantic and gentle Southern scenes all around me and I could actually *hear* how different I sounded. It was very disorienting, and I think it was the beginning of the end of my accent.

My best friend growing up had a mid Atlantic accent until she spent her 10th grade year in England. When she returned to the states at the end of the school year she called me and I had no idea who I was talking to. Pure British accent. She lost that accent by the time school started in the fall. She has lived in Wilmington NC for about 15 years now and has a southern accent. I’m sure there’s a term for people who change accents easily like this, but I don’t know what it is.

This is me. To the extent that I have to be careful, because I’ll unconsciously pick up accents while I’m talking to someone and I’m afraid they’ll think I’m mocking them. I have a good ear for music, too. Just like some people have perfect pitch, some people have an ear for accents. My DC has it, too — he’s a great mimic. I grew up in the South, but I have a mostly neutral accent now. It comes out when I talk to my family on the phone. My husband says he can tell who I’m talking to by my accent.

I actually do try to retain some of my original accent and I’d think hard about losing my accent on purpose, though. I had some law partners from the South who did M&A work, and they’d clean the clocks of the NYC lawyers who’d never dealt with them before and underestimated them. The further north they went, the thicker their accents got. I think it’s sad that our accents are becoming so homogeneous and losing their regional character.

PP here — I wanted to add that Henry Kissinger and his brother are a great example. They moved to the US as children, but Henry never lost his German accent and his brother sounds (sounded? I don’t know if he’s still alive) 100% American. There’s a story that the brother, when asked about the disparity, said “Simple. Henry never listens.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You don’t need to lose it.

Why change who you are?

An accent does not define 'who you are' - neither does hair color, makeup or shoe choice. Yet, for good or bad, all of these things make statements. We should be free to choose what statement we want to make.

- Twangy midwesterner with gray hair who rarely chooses to wear make up. I can, however, speak with a clear mid-Atlantic accent and armor my hair and face with products like a pro.