My experience with language

I was born in the east midlands in the UK. I lived there for seven years with my brothers and parents, I went to public school and did things that were normal for a seven year old to do. I was a product of my environment and the way I spoke reflected that. Then I got swept into the life of being an international student. In the past 9 years I’ve lived in four different countries. This, of course, changed the way I spoke. Growing up in Derby, people spoke a lot differently to the way they do in international schools. They use abbreviated words like ‘ain’t’ or ‘innit’, and it’s not considered the queen’s English. As I’ve moved around my accent somehow got a little bit posher by the year, I never even noticed it until my friend started making fun of me for the way that I said laughing, teasing me saying “I sound too posh” and that “private schools changed your voice”, but that never really bothered me because I know that it was just a bit of fun even though I may not have sounded the same. Then a couple months later, at a wedding I was told how good it was that I don’t have my old Derby accent. I never really understood what they meant, but now I know that sounding a bit more posh will benefit me more than it could ever hinder me. Even though now when I go back to Derby for a long period of time I do find myself sounding a lot more like my younger self, I still find myself sounding more posh meeting someone new.