It being understood that my accent is Italian, my ideal speech still swings between the American and the British one, which tells you that, notwithstanding my stance on my linguistic flaws, I am still trying too hard.
I’ve always preferred the American accent, loud and fun, but recently I’ve started to appreciate the smooth musicality of the British tongue. This historical preference was also due to habit, as I’ve been exposed to more American TV series, movies, music etc. That is also one of the reasons why the first few months in the island have been linguistically hard: in case you haven’t noticed, Americans open their mouth when they speak, which makes them much easier to understand. Well behaved Brits, on the other hand, don’t really seem to grasp this concept! The downside of this partiality is that nothing could appeal to me more than speaking like a Texas rancher chewing tobacco.
Now, after two years of UK, I do understand why people daydream about the posh British accent, though I’d like you innocent souls to notice that the Queen’s speech is one thing, Geordie Shore’s is another and when you say British, you’re referring to both! Unfortunately there is no reason whatsoever to aspire to the second one.
It’s been almost a year since a friend of Italy said that my accent was turning British. When I reported this story to my English colleague, she just laughed her lungs out while my blossoming hopes shattered in front of her very eyes and lungs. Today, I consider my accent Italian, with an improvising note of American or British, depending on the situation and the company. Because I’m well known for being incapable of making decisions, and I see no reason to start now!
Bilinguismi 