Sunday, November 6, 2011

Badisch

This past week, I have made a suprising, somewhat startling discovery about myself.  Something that I feel must be made known on my blog. 

I have an accent....a BADISCH accent. 

For those of you who don't live in Germany,  a badisch accent is the local dialect here in Baden-Wuerttemberg. 

This is rather frightening to me and rather unexpected.  I have always prided myself in not having an accent.  I come from the south and most people would never know it from speaking to me.  So this whole having an accent this is a whole new experience

I found this out from some of my work colleagues,  who were having a good laugh at my expense.  I admit, it is pretty funny.  Some might find it embarrassing, but I am going to go with funny.  Yes, funny.

What is most peculiar about this, is that my husband doesn't really have a badisch accent.  Maybe a sight one, but mine is stronger. I would love to know where i picked this up.  I am sure I picked it up from someone I talk to.  I tend to pick up ways of speaking from people I talk with frequently.  My voice is rather impressionable...it's a little strange.

I am not the first foreigner to pick up an accent.  When my husband moved back to Germany from the USA, he was told that he spoke German with an American accent.  Something that I find quite funny.  Sadly (probably not so to him)  his German accent is back full force.  I can hardly understand him sometimes.  I that is more of a mumbling problem than an accent problem.  :)   I also know several people here who speak English with some kind of accent.  This is usually the result of living for an extended time abroad.  The funniest sounding accents are probably German/Australian accents  and German/Scottish. 

Do any other fellow expats out there find themselves picking up accents? 








2 comments:

  1. Jana brought some German tea over last night. I was trying to read the label and STILL pronounced everything with a French accent. Old habits die hard, I suppose.

    I know that doesn't answer the question you asked at the end of your post, but it's all I've got.

    The tea was good.

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  2. Luis and I have both been told that we speak German more with a French accent than an American one...not sure where we picked that one up ?!?!

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