Guess I Should Just Move to Britain Already

[gothrockrulz]

Note: very long, GIF-peppered rant in progress.

Over and over and over, I get asked the same question in various forms as I'm working as a cashier in retail.

"Where'd you get the cute accent?"

"So where are you from?"

"Are you British?"

Over and over and over, my answer is also pretty much the same. I'm an American girl, and I've never been out of the U.S. I've lived all my life in the same Southwest, same state, same county, same town. I've even lived in the same house for over 15 years.

But NOBODY believes me.




[GIF from severaldancingwampas at tumblr]



I probably do have a slight British accent, but to tell the truth, I can't hear it. I think I sound perfectly normal, except for a slight difference here and there. I know what I sound like when I'm speaking in my normal accent, and I know what I sound like when I'm purposely affecting a British accent for fun. There's a marked difference.

Since people can't seem to wrap their minds around my accent, I try to explain that a bit of a British accent may have rubbed off on me. I watch copious amounts of British TV and movies, or American movies stealing British actors, after all. (Stuff like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, and all things Jane Austen.)

People tend to talk and act like those they allow to influence them. That sounds reasonable, right?

Guess what happens after I'm done explaining? 10 times out of 10, the person I'm addressing thinks I'm kidding. (9 times out of 10, said person looks at me funny, as if wondering if this sweet, timorous-looking girl behind the register is secretly making fun of said person.)





Just this evening while closing, one of my managers at work says he's been meaning to ask me something . . . and asks that same never-ending question. And he doesn't believe me, either.

Whaddya want, a freaking birth certificate?


[GIF from thedayireturn at tumblr]

Arg. If people don't like my answer, they shouldn't ask questions.



Oh, well. Maybe I'm overreacting. (Using Anakin Skywalker and Genesis Rhapsodos GIFs is a little bit on the dark side. Oh, crap, I just made a stupid pun, because tumblr GIFs are making me feel better. Stupid tumblr ruins all my bad moods--and sucks up way too much of my free time.)

Maybe I should look at this in a more positive light. Perhaps I'm just too sophisticated and witty to not be British. Or maybe I'm so much like a creature that is not of this world, it's hard for people to believe I've been a desert rat all my life.

Okay. Rant terminated. If you're still reading this, thank you for your patience.

At least one good thing is starting to come out of people's random nosy questions. I'm getting an idea for an interesting story here . . .

Comments

[poem81.livejournal.com]

:)) i like the british accent, i sometimes getting it too, but only after talking for a long time on the phone with our clients which are from UK.

i understand your frustration, when i was little (5-6-7 y.o.) i had a neighbor who would ask me the same question over and over again, do you die your hair? it's too black and it shines too much >_>

i can't help you with any suggestions, i started ignoring her at some point

if you like your accent don't try to change it just because others bug you about it

[gothrockrulz.livejournal.com]

I love British accents, too! I definitely won't change my accent; I'll just have get used to nosy questions. I get them all the time, so I should build up a resistance eventually. It's pretty tough for me, though, since I'm shy and reserved by nature (except among close, understanding friends), I keep forgetting that other people do not have qualms about asking prying questions. LOL.

[gothrockrulz.livejournal.com]

accents are usually sexy :D

I agree 100%! I'll just have to get used to it and laugh instead. :)

I'd love to hear your Frankenstein accent. I'm sure it's awesome!

[csg-dear4life.livejournal.com]

I could see you picking it up from watching a lot of British TV.

People here often still wonder where I'm from. I lived in New York for a little bit, and still have a slight accent.

[gothrockrulz.livejournal.com]

Good thing to know I'm not the only one with an accent that piques the curiosity of others. :)

[rhoda-rants.livejournal.com]

haha--that's awesome, really. I see how that could get frustrating if it's over and over though.

Oddly, I actually spent four months living in London and came back without any accent whatsoever. But I do throw a lot of Britishisms into my verbiage, so sometimes people I talk to online think I'm British. But then I throw in a "y'all" and reveal my true heritage.

I will say that I'm at least 20% more Southern while cashiering. Not on purpose. It just seems....I dunno, friendlier, more benign, something. I definitely have a distinct Cashier Voice that's different from my normal voice.

Also, I concur with murasakiayami's suggestion to make something up--the more outlandish, the better.

[gothrockrulz.livejournal.com]

I tend to use Britishisms sometimes, too. :)

I think your living four months in London and coming away accent-free is something of a miracle. If the same were to happen to me, I'd probably lose all semblance of American pronunciation. LOL!

I sound different as a cahsier, too. My tone is higher and friendlier than usual, because I'm shy, reserved person having to turn my personality inside out in order act friendly and outgoing, in the name of Good Customer Service.

The idea of making something up amuses me, but I'm worried it might backfire and offend somebody. Since I'm the one wearing a lanyard, my being offended doesn't matter, really.

[sindorei-x.livejournal.com]

I actually like british accent too ^_^

[gothrockrulz.livejournal.com]

Aw, thanks! :)

[sindorei-x.livejournal.com]

^_~

[gothrockrulz.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I like my accent--I just get annoyed when people can't take my word at face value.

Wow, your GIF is mesmerizing. :D

[phililen3.livejournal.com]

i am suffering the same thing here
fellow South Africans look at me and think that i am foreign
they hear my English, except i don't think it is unusual, but whenever people meet me for the first time, they think i am foreign. from where, i don't know.
there are some people who say that i have a British accent though...

[gothrockrulz.livejournal.com]

So glad to know I'm not the only one experiencing this. I guess we can both be non-Brits with British, or semi-British, accents, then. LOL.