Can an adult really lose their accent?
@CaptAlbertWhisker (32507)
Calgary, Alberta
November 17, 2016 9:30am CST
I know children can lose their accent if they move to a different region or country. I know someone from Texas. He said he use to have a thick Texan accent when he was 10 but he lost the accent after living in Queens New York for a long time.
My Uncle and his wife moved to Canada when they were on their 20's. They had been living in Canada for 30 years and they kept their Hispanic accent. All of their children have Canadian accent.
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I know children can lose their accent but it is not the case with adults. When I was working in a call center's technical support, I learned how to fake an American accent but during casual conversations where I am letting loose so my accent can still comeback.
Australian and British actors loses their accents in Hollywood roles but their original accents comeback whenever they were not scripted.
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Recently in a TV interview, Lindsey Lohan developed a weird accent with the excuse that she developed it after trying to learn multiple language.
Can an adult lose their accent naturally by moving to a different place?
11 people like this
10 responses
@CaptAlbertWhisker (32507)
• Calgary, Alberta
17 Nov 16
yeah when we get to comfortable, we dont care to talk with our real accents. We only neutralize it to get understood by strangers.
2 people like this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
17 Nov 16
was it easier for you to pick up new languages when you were younger?
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
17 Nov 16
@Madshadi can you also read and write in those 4 languages?
@Madshadi (8849)
• Brussels, Belgium
17 Nov 16
@hereandthere yes much easier. But once you are fluent in few, it is also easier to pick up another. Especially if they are similar
1 person likes this
@much2say (53960)
• Los Angeles, California
18 Nov 16
It's possible to lessen the accent just because of the environment in which they communicate in - especially if they are there for a long time. I remember an 80s DJ who was British . . . I saw a recent interview with him and he sounds less British now as he's been living out here all these years (but we can still detect the Brit accent). I have a friend whom I had no idea she was a Texan . . . she came out here as an adult and she didn't want to stick out like a sore thumb with her Texan accent, so she purposely worked on losing it.
@much2say (53960)
• Los Angeles, California
19 Oct 17
@CaptAlbertWhisker I don't see her anymore, but at the time I never detected it. Most of the time I can "hear" accents even if they speak English well . . . certain pronunciations are giveaways. My friend is from Hawaii but has been on the mainland for many years. She thinks we can't hear her Hawaiian accent, but we can all tell. Like the word "cold" . . . she still says "code".
@CaptAlbertWhisker (32507)
• Calgary, Alberta
19 Oct 17
Does her Texan accent still slips by from time to time. Recently my accent had been slipping.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (130066)
• India
31 Dec 16
Quite a number of my extended family have migrated to the US. The first one was my nephew. He sounded so alien to me (lol) Instead of saying Oh God, we heard him say Oh Gaaad (lol)
@CaptAlbertWhisker (32507)
• Calgary, Alberta
19 Oct 17
isnt it weird that Hollywood movies portrays Indians who grow up in American to still have Indian accent.
1 person likes this
@CaptAlbertWhisker (32507)
• Calgary, Alberta
17 Nov 16
You know someone who lost their accent?
Can you recognize the difference of the accents between Portuguese and Brazilians?
1 person likes this
@fufurinha (11930)
• Portugal
17 Nov 16
@CaptAlbertWhisker Portuguese and brazilian is really different.
And yes, my own accent has changed during the last years
1 person likes this
@AkoPinay (11544)
• Philippines
22 Nov 16
Some adults (like me) lose accent 
I am from Bicol but when I was working in Clark, Pampanga they thought I am Ilongga/Bisaya because I worked with Bisayans/Ilonggos When I was in Manila they said I had an australian accent because I worked with australians.
I am from Bicol but when I was working in Clark, Pampanga they thought I am Ilongga/Bisaya because I worked with Bisayans/Ilonggos When I was in Manila they said I had an australian accent because I worked with australians. 1 person likes this
@CaptAlbertWhisker (32507)
• Calgary, Alberta
24 Nov 16
I adapted an American accent when I speak English because the brainwashing call centers have but I think I can still speak English with my natural accent if I want to. I have control so I wont consider it natural.
1 person likes this
@youless (112108)
• Guangzhou, China
18 Nov 16
I don't think an adult can really lose their accent because they move to a different place for a long time. My husband has lived in our city for about twenty years. But he can't speak Cantonese fluently as well as I do. After all, it is not his mother language. When he is back to his hometown, he can speak the local dialect very well.
@CaptAlbertWhisker (32507)
• Calgary, Alberta
18 Nov 16
So people in your town can easily detect his accent even though he had been there for 20 years. I think accent have 90 percent chance to be permanent when it comes to adult.
@CaptAlbertWhisker (32507)
• Calgary, Alberta
17 Nov 16
When celebrities lose their accents, usually its for show. In their house they speak with their real accents.
@CaptAlbertWhisker (32507)
• Calgary, Alberta
24 Nov 16
I wonder if they were just suppressing it and controlling or it really fade away because they were surrounded by people with different accents.
@CaptAlbertWhisker (32507)
• Calgary, Alberta
17 Nov 16
Though I can imitate accents and sound natural doing it, I still prefer speaking with my own accent with people I know. I only use the posh accents with clients to sound articulate.
1 person likes this
