Have you ever changed your voice to fit in?
Elocution lessons to sound less posh appear to be on the rise. When have you wished your voice sounded different?
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... ssons-posh
I do adapt my accent when I'm in work.
It's because I have a strong Manchester accent, and because I work on the phones I just adapt it a little.
I don't try and make myself sound more posher, I just pronounce my words a bit better.
There's no way I'd pay anyone to make me sound different though.
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There were times while I was in a prison called high school that I tried to hide my accent in order to fit in. I even stopped listening to The British Invasion when I was in the beginning two months of Grade 10. My dad said something pretty stupid about how able and disabled he thought I was over that summer I was going into that grade. I figured that if being a hippie was the only future I could hope for, I shouldn't have a Cockney accent which sounds posh to Canadians and Americans. I also didn't want any of my female peers saying, "Oh yeah....okay....whatever." every time I'd join into one of their every day conversations, staying on topic....b*****s. Looking back now, it doesn't make sense that I wanted to sound like the b*****s and douche bags who were in my regular classes.
I'm listening to The British Invasion as I type this. Life is good.
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Definitely. I used to have a slight Spanish accent. I don't like it because I'm Canadian and I don't associate myself with Latin culture. I usually sound Canadian, but sometimes my accent comes back when I'm nervous or tired. I also try to make my voice more mature and less monotone. It's hard work, but I get super happy when my voice sounds like I want it to.
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I am proud of my regional accent and would feel deeply insulted if i was asked to change it to fit in or better myself. (there is no accent better than a Yorkshire accent) .I do how ever respect the fact that people who don't have English as a first language and in some cases Americans will have difficulties in understanding me, i will then talk slower and try and use proper pronunciation of words in such cases.
jrjones9933
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My voice never really broke, and I deliberately started speaking from my lower register. I tend to mimic the people with whom I am speaking, but only a little. I can do some accents for comic effect. I tried to adopt a Midwestern accent on a trip to Minnesota, but they still recognized my Southern origins.
IsWas
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Joined: 18 Nov 2013
Age: 49
Gender: Female
Posts: 52
Location: Here, In My Head
Yes. Vocal control is a key component with the animals I work with, in human interactions whether it is interpersonally, as a teacher, or in "writer's voice". I learned much from acting, phone work, sales, and a host of other experiences in which voice is important. I am alto by nature, can imitate and have always been intrigued by sound/rhythm...and while I love to seek pattern in the written word and language, I still find voice a-ma-zing.
Volume timbre cadence resonance qualities that change guttural nasal breathy raspy
Accents energy emphasis...and after all of this still can be monotone and a "low-talker"
I grew up in a small village with a strong accent. After leaving for several years, university, mixing with people from all over the world and living elsewhere my accent evolved and became much less strong. However, I found that when mixing with old school friends in the village I had to switch back to my old accent or I was somewhat "excluded", particularly in social settings. At work or business meetings my accent switched back to my evolved, flatter, less regional accent. There is a curious phenomenon that one isn't taken so seriously by management if one has a strong local accent. Perhaps an evolved accent is more indicative of being less parochial and more travelled / better educated. I don't know. But there is definitely some snobbishness in the workplace regarding accents. There is also reverse snobbery from old school friends if you speak with a different accent to those you grew up with.
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I've left WP indefinitely.
When I was younger I used to always roll my R's but when I first started working on the chat lines I had to stop it because for some reason a rolled R doesn't sound like an R down the phone.
I've also had to adapt the way I pronounce my Y's too.
And I've kind of learned how to pronounce my vowels properly.
I still say things like fink instead of think.
I don't fink that'll ever change.
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Yes. When I was in high school my family moved from a small Southern USA town to a larger one. I was ridiculed for my strong regional accent, so at that age I subconsciously began lessening it. Fortunately I have a decent ear for such things and the change came easily. But still when I am now around others with a southern accent I fall back into it, which is a good thing because I find it improves those interpersonal relationships.
More recently I have developed an interest in doing audio book narration, which is requiring further speech refinement. It is requiring a lot of dedicated daily time and effort to develop a more purely midwestern American accent, which is generally considered the industry standard.
On a side note, I once had to hire a voice actor to record a voicemail greeting for a rather posh business. I deliberately sought out and choose a voice actor who was formerly an announcer with BBC television and spoke in excellent BBC-style Oxford English. I was very pleased with the result. So yeah, in my book accents are important.
More recently I have developed an interest in doing audio book narration, which is requiring further speech refinement. It is requiring a lot of dedicated daily time and effort to develop a more purely midwestern American accent, which is generally considered the industry standard.
On a side note, I once had to hire a voice actor to record a voicemail greeting for a rather posh business. I deliberately sought out and choose a voice actor who was formerly an announcer with BBC television and spoke in excellent BBC-style Oxford English. I was very pleased with the result. So yeah, in my book accents are important.
Last year when my family drove to Florida from Illinois and then back I talked with a southern accent a couple of times. It was just for the fun of it, I didn't really care about fitting in and I wasn't trying to act like I was from around there.
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ValentineWiggin
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I am the exact same! I absorb that of those around me. Even when I was in Australia and New Zealand, it happened.
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