Can you get an accent from living somewhere for a long time?
Again from personal experience, adults who move to a different location will gradually adapt to the local accent to some extent, pick up local phrases and words, some new pronunciations, but they speak with an unmistakable accent that they had when they originally moved.
Does living in another country change your accent?
Probably. If you speak a lot with non-native speakers, you’ll find yourself enunciating more clearly and using different word choices. If its an English-speaking country, you’ll pick up on some of the local lingo and pronunciation.
How long before you pick up an accent?
In a summary, your accent will sound different in 6 months, if you: Engage in direct/indirect ( online) speech therapy focusing on your speech. Practice, practice, practice. Find opportunities to speak with those who speak in a native English accent.
Can you pick up a foreign accent?
Turns out it’s totally bollocks! According to a video by AsapSCIENCE as reported by Mashable, it’s virtually impossible to pick up an accent after you turn 12. That means that if an American moved to Spain as a teenager or older, he or she will always be speaking Spanish with an American accent.
Can your accent change in your 20s?
Though it’s likely your accent won’t change drastically once you’ve hit your 20s, it can be influenced by the changing environment around you. Your accent is also prone to picking up external influences, though these changes are typically more subconscious and subtle.
Can a person’s accent change?
The analysis showed that accent change over the medium term is ubiquitous: large daily fluctuations in each sound variable are the norm, while longer-term change over weeks to months occurs in a minority of cases.
Can adults change their accent?
The capacity for accent change among adults has been well-documented by linguistic researchers, over both the short-term (temporarily in the context of a single conversation) and the long-term (slowly evolving based on exposure to other accents over a period of years).
Can you pick up a Southern accent?
To get a true Southern accent you have to be born here, as is the case with any other regional accent. People who come here from other parts of the country or the world can, after some years, vaguely approximate a southern accent, but most don’t bother.
Can adults pick up accents?
Adults can most definitely pick up accents. More or less depending on how much they want to “fit in” or how closely they guard their previous speech patterns.
Can adults lose their accent?
In summary, it’s possible but very challenging to completely lose an accent as an adult. It requires a very high level of skills and commitment. The great news is that reducing an accent and improving pronunciation skills for clear English is easily achievable.
Can adults develop new accents?
Yes, some adults can acquire a new accent, although it’s not likely to be as strong as the native speakers.
Why do I accidentally mimic accents?
According to a 2010 study by a research group at the University of California, Riverside, people subconsciously mimic other accents due to a phenomenon called “the chameleon effect”. The chameleon effect describes our human instinct to “empathise and affiliate” with other people.