Do accents really fade?

[bcordova]

I was born in Texas and lived there until I was 6. Apparently I had a bit of an accent. I don't really have any accent now but I do get made fun of by the girlfriend because the draw comes back when I drink.

 

[Captain Davis]

Yes. Being Southern, you notice it often when people move away and return years later.

 

[Ah Man]

My own accent changes with company, and even topic of conversation. My Canadian accent is far more pronounced when I'm engaging in deep intellectual discussion, while my American accent is far more obvious in small talk. I can even change mid conversation if somebody says or asks something that prompts me to go into a lengthy monologue.

The world is almost completely culturaly co-opted from the speed and exposure of ideas language, customs, and expression.

Not only do accents fade, they will go away completely one day when all verbal proximity disappears into one giant string of unified youtube videos that establish the one boring ass standard.

I'm not so sure. Accents, much like dialects, are most commonly associated with locations, but they very often exist across other divisions that impede communication like class and social status. While I wouldn't be surprised to see location-based accents fade, I suspect the others should remain prominent for a good long time.

[QUOTE=cintur

 

[Noob]

Joe Rogans accent faded

If you listen to his accent in NewsRadio he has a strong new york accent

now when you listen to his podcasts, you can still tell that hes from the east coast but his accent isnt nearly as strong

 

[Katsumi Yamada]

My own accent changes with company, and even topic of conversation. My Canadian accent is far more pronounced when I'm engaging in deep intellectual discussion, while my American accent is far more obvious in small talk. I can even change mid conversation if somebody says or asks something that prompts me to go into a lengthy monologue.



I'm not so sure. Accents, much like dialects, are most commonly associated with locations, but they very often exist across other divisions that impede communication like class and social status. While I wouldn't be surprised to see location-based accents fade, I suspect the others should remain prominent for a good long time.

I don't really understand what you are talking about, what accents are not based on location?
I'm aware of the generic toff accent, I know it can be picked up easily enough if you spend any extended period of time in the company of toffs.

My accent and use of vocabulary/slang changes quite dramatically depending on the company too...it's quite embarrassing when one group of people heard me talking to another, on the phone or something.

 

[Thrawn33]

I picked up an accent stationed in North Carolina, then when I moved back north if faded, only to come out when speaking to coworker with a thick NC accent.

 

[Sanshou Kid]

Used to have a really thick Devon accent, which is a horrible one to have, but mercifully that faded away by the time I was 13.

The London/Northern English hybrid accent I picked up from my parents comes back something awful when I drink or get pissed off at someone, otherwise I have kind of a well-spoken, neutral accent.

Coincidentally, this is an example of the Devon accent

 

[Cool Hand Luke]

No, you just haven't moved yet...

You know not of what you speak.

 

[Ah Man]

I don't really understand what you are talking about, what accents are not based on location?

Well, for example, in many cities there's a substantial distinction between the accent of the rich and the poor. Anywhere that who people mostly interact with is more a product of their financial/social status than their physical location, and the two groups and sufficiently divided that each accent progresses somewhat independently of the other. It often goes hand-in-hand with different dialects, and often incorporates racial lines (at least in US cities). I also find that the Southern US accent is distinct to my ear between the wealthy and the poor.

In the US, a lot of regional accents seem to be influenced by waves of immigration and where they ended up settling. In many cases, if immigrants are predominantly poor, the local poor will end up incorporating a lot of traits from that batch of immigrants' accents, but the wealthier class won't.