Mate, I don’t think he’s even moved.
So this is like if you started talking in a British accent in your midwestern location.
How truly fucking bizarre OP is.
Fecundpossum@lemmy.world 11 months ago
My sibling in Christ, just relax and be yourself. You’ll pick up the accent more and more over time, that’s how it works. Forcing it is disingenuous. Imagine if my goofy midwestern ass moved to the UK and started to try to speak with Brits forcing their accent.
Deceptichum@kbin.social 11 months ago
idiomaddict@feddit.de 11 months ago
OP sounds young. Kids are weird, but this is harmless and they’re clearly embarrassed about it.
Fecundpossum@lemmy.world 11 months ago
I think they just wanna fit in, which is a totally relatable feeling. But I promise, this is not the way you want to fit in.
idiomaddict@feddit.de 11 months ago
No, it’s not. I don’t think calling them bizarre is going to help the situation though.
I think it’s probably more to stand out in a cool way, but it’s still not going to happen like this. The problem with “cool” is that it’s nebulous and there’s no formula for it. I would not be able to be cool while obviously faking an accent, but someone who’s really cool might still be able to pull it off. Hell, I have a genuine American accent in another country (a pretty light one) and I can’t embrace it enough for it to be cool.
What’s really hard to learn is that OP’s not going to be cool until OP is cool with themselves, and that’s difficult to do when surrounded by people who don’t think you’re cool. That’s why most people get cooler when they leave high school, and that’s also why people tend to get nicer.
EditsHisComments@lemmy.world 11 months ago
I had some friends in Munich who were brothers, just two or three years apart. They both grew up learning British English, but one eventually participated in an exchange program in Canada while the other participated in one in Australia. When they came back, their English accents were completely different from each other - no matter how hard they tried to sound similar to each other. In the end, everyone though it was unique and kind of fun since one brother would sometimes use slang the other didn’t understand.
Point being, OP, is to do what feels natural. Ultimately, it’s your voice, but you’ll pick up certain things here and there that naturally change your way of speaking over time.
guy_threepwood@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Not forcing things is generally pretty good life advice. It’s like a fart: if you have to force it it’s probably shit.
LemmyIsFantastic@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Actors do this shit all the time. It’s absolutely doable with practice.
TheWoozy@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Actors usually pay for professional dialect coaching. Before the practice became common place it was amusing to watch British actors play Americans using terrible accents. I know it applies the other way around, but I’d have a harder time noticing it.
canihasaccount@lemmy.world 11 months ago
There are still people who have terrible American accents in media. Lucifer’s twin, for example, was so ridiculously bad. The only person without an American accent who I’ve ever seen pull one off in media was Hugh Laurie in later seasons of House. I still find most attempts amusing, even with coaching.
Jakdracula@lemmy.world 11 months ago
You would notice if you watched Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins
yenahmik@lemmy.world 11 months ago
This reminded me of my first year at uni when a guy decided to speak in a fake British accent, I guess to sound cooler. Unfortunately for him, we could all tell it was fake and that made him decidedly uncool (and the butt of a lot of jokes). I think he gave it up after a couple of weeks.
The fact is, the coolest thing you can do is be confident in yourself (including how you sound when speaking naturally).