Accents

I've discovered over the past week that talking about accents is as common a topic as the weather, and travelling around England has made me very conscious of what I sound like.

 I very often describe myself as someone who speaks with an accent that's both too English and too Northern Irish. At a friend's birthday party last week, that's precisely what it felt like. I was introduced to someone because of our Northern Irish connection and seemingly similar dialect, but yet another person exclaimed that I didn't have an accent at all, and someone else thought I was from Somerset (and I've been told that before).

The accent story, if I can call it that, is something that regularly crops up in conversation; particularly if I meet someone new. It usually goes along the lines of:

Yep, so my mum's English and so are half my family, which means that my accent has never been as strong as my friends. But yes, I have lived in Northern Ireland since I was born and I do pronounce certain words with a very strong accent. Mmmm, yes, it was very strange arriving in Durham for uni, because a lot of people there have ridiculously English accents and I did have to adapt what I sounded like. So basically, my accent changes depending on where I am in the UK and who I'm with. In conclusion, I have no idea what I'll sound like next year when I live in London...

Various things have struck me about this. Firstly, the United Kingdom is full of accents... Scottish, Geordie, Scouse, Southern, London, Welsh, yet I don't think that many, if any, of my friends from the mainland have the same issues as I do. Maybe I'm actually harder to understand, or perhaps I really do just talk too much and thus draw attention to myself. Secondly, I thought that Durham was unique in its obsession with accents, but apparently individuals of all ages like to make fun of the way I say 'now' and 'shower'. Finally, how interesting that we're all pretty defensive of our words, and how interesting that we don't often want to lose that individual dialect.

I'm determined to maintain some form of Northern Irish accent (sorry Mum!).Why? Because my home friends would possibly disown me if I didn't, but also because I feel it's part of who I am. This also links to the Northern Irish culture of talking, something that really struck me when I was at home. I think this explains why I'm so obsessed with the idea of communication. Anyone who remotely knows me also understands my rapid response to text messages, my frustration at lack of email replies and general want to go for coffee with any and all of my friends, regularly. Talking is something that is part of who I am, and is also something that I feel is very much part of the culture that I'm from.

So I'm very fascinated with the unique nature of our voices, which in turn, tell us something about ourselves. And it's very exciting that we're all so different. Next stop, London, where I'm almost certain there will be someone who will not understand me at all...