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Losing Scottish accent and Scottish identity

I was on another thread and it went a bit off topic due to me mentioning this issue, so will create a new thread to talk about it.

I personally want to lose my Scottish accent. I don't like the country and don't want an attachment to it. I personally just want to erase it from me. People on that thread seemed to disagree with me, but here's exactly why:
1) Some of the areas around me are among the lowest in terms of life expectancy in the UK.
2) Glasgow itself. A dull city and devoid of character. Especially Sauchiehall Street.
3) Too many Glaswegians are intimidating, and some are even downright aggressive.
4) Many of the areas (especially the suburbs) are very run down.
5) Lack of gay community in Glasgow. I can't be gay and Glaswegian.
6) The suburbs are full of overly religious people, especially my town.
7) Accent - sounds tacky and low-class.
8) Nothing interesting to do in the area.

You can see that I don't honour my heritage, but ultimately, I feel that it would be a good thing to get rid of it in order to be the person who I want to be and to achieve what I want in life. I don't want the fact that I am from Glasgow being a barrier.
(edited 6 years ago)

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Reply 1
Aw, it's a great accent.
Original post by Bio 7
Aw, it's a great accent.


I disagree. It makes me sound as if I come from an impoverished area.
No offence, but your reasons for wanting to lose the accent seem a bit strange. Like your accent and life expectancy?? How is there a correlation between the two? I don't hear another persons accent and suddenly think oh they have a short life expectancy
Anyway to lose it you just need to practice speaking in a difference accent and it'll become a habit, although if you still live in scotland personally id keep it
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by AzureCeleste
No offence, but your reasons for wanting to lose the accent seem a bit strange. Like your accent and life expectancy????
Anyway to lose it you just need to practice speaking in a difference accent and it'll become a habit, although if you still live in scotland personally id keep it


I want to move to London for uni, so will try and pick up an English accent then.

By life expectancy, what I meant was that those are reasons why I don't want to identify as Glaswegian, hence why I don't want a Glaswegian accent.
Reply 5
Original post by Joe2001
I disagree. It makes me sound as if I come from an impoverished area.


And?

I can sorta relate to you, however in the opposite way. As a guy from Edinburgh I'm sorta aware how posh my english accent sounds, and I'm trying to pronounce my words to sound more Scottish.

Your accent does not define you. You will only sound like you come from an impoverished area if that is how you interpret it. Scotland is not a shithole, it's not something you should be ashamed of.

You seem to have a slightly biased view of Scottish opinion, believe me when I say no decent person gives two shits who you are based on your accent, it is who you are as a person which people will judge you on. And there are plenty of decent people in Scotland

<3 ya
Original post by Joe2001
I want to move to London for uni, so will try and pick up an English accent then.

By life expectancy, what I meant was that those are reasons why I don't want to identify as Glaswegian, hence why I don't want a Glaswegian accent.


I don't understand though why you wouldn't want to identify as a Glaswegian due to life expectancy. Like I don't hear a glaswegian accent and think oh they have a shorter life expectancy.
Also as a side note, I love the glaswegian accent so don't know why you'd want to lose it but your choice
Original post by Joe2001
I was on another thread and it went a bit off topic due to me mentioning this issue, so will create a new thread to talk about it.

I personally want to lose my Scottish accent. I don't like the country and don't want an attachment to it. I personally just want to erase it from me. People on that thread seemed to disagree with me, but here's exactly why:
1) Some of the areas around me are among the lowest in terms of life expectancy in the UK.
2) Glasgow itself. A dull city and devoid of character. Especially Sauchiehall Street.
3) Too many Glaswegians are intimidating, and some are even downright aggressive.
4) Many of the areas (especially the suburbs) are very run down.
5) Lack of gay community in Glasgow. I can't be gay and Glaswegian.
6) The suburbs are full of overly religious people, especially my town.
7) Accent - we've covered that in enough detail.
8) Nothing interesting to do in the area.

You can see that I don't honour my heritage, but ultimately, I feel that it would be a good thing to get rid of it in order to be the person who I want to be and to achieve what I want in life. I don't want the fact that I am from Glasgow being a barrier.

I can sort of see what you are saying about a potential association between your accent and a more deprived area, but I can't help feeling that you are using your background as a barrier where others wouldn't. For example I know several medical colleagues who still speak in their weegie accent and slang (eg. using weans instead of children) and are definitely not removed from their roots yet this has not stopped them progressing and building a solid career.

Also I know a fair number of gay weegies (male and female) from my time at uni and through work, it maybe doesn't have a big LGBT scene (I don't live there) but being gay and Glaswegian is definitely not incompatible. Its perhaps just that the community you have been brought up in that doesn't have many openly gay people in it.

I can't help but think that you should let your actions speak for you, forget about your accent and others will too.
Original post by TheRabbit

Also I know a fair number of gay weegies (male and female) from my time at uni and through work, it maybe doesn't have a big LGBT scene (I don't live there) but being gay and Glaswegian is definitely not incompatible. Its perhaps just that the community you have been brought up in that doesn't have many openly gay people in it.

I can't help but think that you should let your actions speak for you, forget about your accent and others will too.


I could guarantee you that there are 0 gay people in the town where I live, but even the city itself feels devoid of gayness. A very heteronormative place, and it doesn't seem very welcoming of LGBT people.
(edited 6 years ago)
I don't think that identifying as Glaswegian will help me in any way, not with the life that I want to live. Certainly not going to find a boyfriend in Glasgow!
I am still very keen to erase my Glaswegian heritage, and hopefully in 5 years, people won't be able to tell that I come from that city.
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by Joe2001
x


2) Glasgow itself. A dull city and devoid of character. Especially Sauchiehall Street.

:lolwut:

3) Too many Glaswegians are intimidating


That's a gross generalisation :hand:
There is no way you can say anything like that about people of any city; there will be intimidating people everywhere you go.
Perhaps it's got more to do with the kind of people you're meeting/the places you're meeting people.

4) Many of the areas (especially the suburbs) are very run down.


As there are in every town.
London really is no exception, trust me.

5) Lack of gay community in Glasgow. I can't be gay and Glaswegian.


Are you sure you're looking in the right places?
Who said you can't be gay and Glaswegian?

6) The suburbs are full of overly religious people, especially my town.


Do they try and impose their religion on you?

7) Accent - sounds tacky and low-class.


:lolwut:



Original post by Bio 7
Aw, it's a great accent.


:love:

Original post by Joe2001
I disagree. It makes me sound as if I come from an impoverished area.


How so?
Replies in bold.
Original post by MrsMars
:lolwut:

I'm being honest. The city centre has very little to do and the city lacks character, in my opinion.

That's a gross generalisation :hand:
There is no way you can say anything like that about people of any city; there will be intimidating people everywhere you go.
Perhaps it's got more to do with the kind of people you're meeting/the places you're meeting people.

A lot Glaswegians do intimidate me. Londoners and most English folks don't.

As there are in every town.
London really is no exception, trust me.
Fair enough, but even the nicest areas of Glasgow (e.g. West End) aren't up to the standard of London and many of it's suburbs.

Are you sure you're looking in the right places?
Who said you can't be gay and Glaswegian?

I said it - There is no gay community in the city and it does not feel LGBT friendly.

Do they try and impose their religion on you?

Yes. In fact, as I'm writing this, I am getting ready for church, which I have been forced to do almost every week for 16 years.

:lolwut:
How so?
Ever heard of the term "ned"? That's basically what I feel the Glaswegian dialect is like.

I am back and ready to talk more about this. I am hoping to work on cruise ships when I am older. I would rather not be labelled as the Scottish guy, and would preferably just be known as British. Obviously I would still visit my family for a couple of weeks each year, but that's as far as my association with Scotland will go. Not a place where I think I can really be myself. At least London is large and more diverse.
(edited 6 years ago)
I'd say believe in yourself and go with your instincts! to lose the accent you could start speaking in a different one and maybe moving out to a different place such as London.
But don't try to change yourself for other people or because you think people won't like you for who you are and stuff like that. Be yourself (the person you truly want to be not the person people want you to be)
Original post by Zahra_2001
I'd say believe in yourself and go with your instincts! to lose the accent you could start speaking in a different one and maybe moving out to a different place such as London.
But don't try to change yourself for other people or because you think people won't like you for who you are and stuff like that. Be yourself (the person you truly want to be not the person people want you to be)


I am certainly going to be the person who I want to be, but to do that, I think that leaving Glasgow and my roots behind is the best option. You only live once!
Half of Glasgow is gay, what you on about
Original post by Nessie162
Half of Glasgow is gay, what you on about


Really? I am in the city every day and can count on one hand the number of times I have seen a gay couple.

Where would I find them? Certainly not in my area.
There is was never any Scottish identity in the first place unless you count doing heroin and battering anything that can be edible.
English women find Scottish accents attractive and English people are on the whole jealous of Scotland because it is more progressive than England and has a better quality of life for young people. Many English people are moving to Scotland because it is a nice country overall.
Original post by sueright
English women find Scottish accents attractive and English people are on the whole jealous of Scotland because it is more progressive than England and has a better quality of life for young people. Many English people are moving to Scotland because it is a nice country overall.


I'm gay, so the opinion of English women in terms of accents doesn't matter to me.

Scotland has a better quality of life for youth than England? Said who? I hate living here. Nothing to do, and it isn't a nice country at all. Maybe the countryside is pretty, but if you get a bit deeper into the country, you'll see it's true colours. Better than many, but when compared to most other places in Europe, it doesn't compare.

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