Living in Northern Ireland has given me a strange sort of sympathy (empathy?) for Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna and their faux British airs and accents. You see I'm not trying to intentionally shed my American accent and pronunciations (or ways of spelling), but it's hard to hang on to them when locals keep correcting your pronunciation of words and you have to learn the local terms in order to be understood. If I ask for chips at a restaurant I'll get fries (not the crisps I might have been expecting), if I talk about my bangs people won't immediately understand I mean my fringe. Words that are the same can be pronounced quite differently; I don't say scone the same way Thomas's family does and don't get me started on how they pronounce aluminum and oregano! Even for this post I had to debate writing "harbor" as an American would or "harbour" as it is in British-English. Since the harbor in question is located in an area that uses British-English it made sense to use the correct, local spelling of harbour. But it does make me wonder if people will start to think I'm putting on British airs and trying to come off as something I'm not, when in reality I'm merely trying to be understood and respect the local dialect. Changing your speech pattern doesn't disappear as soon as you cross a border back home; even when I'm talking to my family on Skype some of these British-isms I'm getting more comfortable using and new ways of pronunciation slip their way into my speech. And I've only lived here for a little less than a year, I can hardly imagine to what extent my language patterns will be changed in five or ten years of living abroad...
P.S. These pictures are a little old, which you can probably tell since my hair color has shifted more in the teal direction.
details: boater hat, Unique Vintage dress, Collectif cardigan, old heels
*pictures by Thomas*
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