I speak with a British English accent and occasionally make a deliberate effort to throw in the odd Old Scots word. I think I know why I do it. It’s in honor of my birthplace. And to keep alive old languages, like the Gaelic. I, unfortunately, lost my Scottish accent having to go to school in England but my children all have the brogue.
I continue to spell using proper British English, too, adding in those extra letters, much to my editor’s chagrin. I did it today. Theater became Theatre and Harbor became Harbour. Behavior became Behaviour. I can’t seem to change donkey’s years of habit on the keyboard.
But, to this day, after nearly 30 years in the US, I have absolutely no trace of an American accent in my speech, at least I don’t think so. Sometimes, though, when I go home to Scotland, the odd person will say differently.
I wonder about my failure in gaining an American accent, especially when it was no problem for me to learn French, Italian and Thai. I did have a tutor to help me with Thai whilst working for 4 years in Bangkok. I also had a tutor when I worked in India and managed to learn a little bit of Hindi. I’m quite proud of my Hindi; I practice it when I go to buy a bottle of the amber nectar in local liquor stores.
My son speaks several languages, too, but having also lived in the US for nearly 30 years, he has not failed to lose his Scottish accent.
In Europe, after leaving high school and again after graduating from university, it was a passage of rite for us to take gap years and go live in France, Italy, Spain or Germany, or wherever takes your fancy, to immerse yourself in a different culture and to learn the language.
When I graduated “The University” – (that’s what it’s called in Glasgow, Scotland), I went to France first and got a job plucking the heads off sunflowers. It was an idyllic time, lolling around in the fields, eating fromage and bread and drinking voluminous amounts of plonk! Then I did another year in Italy and totally fell in love with its utter beauty and history. I spent that time in Filignano, in a village called Cerasuolo. I lived with a local family again and my “job” that time was to catalog nearby archaeological finds.
Living in the UK, we were able to tune into other European radio and TV stations. I used to listen to French and Italian radio stations, not so much for the news broadcasts but for the music. We were crazy about Je t’aime – that song written for Brigitte Bardot and recorded as a duet with Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg. Of course, part of its appeal was that it was naughty and banned in many countries. A decade later, I saved up for almost two years to buy her Hermès Birkin handbag.
I have found that living in the US can disadvantage you into becoming monolingual. There’s not the same everyday exposure to different languages except maybe Spanish. I guess it’s because the US is as large as Europe. I could drive in Europe for just a few hours in any direction and end up in another country with another language. Not here; drive for a couple of days in any direction and you’re still in America!
And the majority of Americans just don’t travel internationally as much as Europeans and Australians do. I know a fair number of Americans who have never owned a passport or even left their county, let alone the country.
So, I’m making a concerted effort to use as many Americanisms as I can. “Sure” is an easy one to include in my vocabulary. “You’re welcome” is another and of course, “Have a great day.”
“Cool” – I’m not sure about this one – it sounds too young for me.
Sue Quigley writes regularly for The Hernando Sun. She can be contacted at [email protected] or 727.247.6308.
