Advice needed please re: accents

[Kaz in a Tizz]

Hi Everyone

I have been researching my grt grt grandmother Mary Moran, she married William Bates in August 1881 (father Thomas) on both 1891 census and 1901 says born birmingham warwickshire!
I have had a look at previous census and have found a possibility also b birmingham warwickshire!

However, the family story past down is that Mary was quite a formidable woman with a very strong Irish accent -

sooo my question is would someone still have an Irish accent growing up in an Irish community in the middle of Brum?

Thanks in advance

[Durham Lady]

I suppose if there were no other people around to influence her learning then yes she would grow up with the accent of her parents and those around her.
My OH and I have northern accents softened by moving around and living away from the NE for the past 40 odd years but our 4 children all grew up with what we call Army accents, more rounded vowels but a bath is a bath not a barth :D

[Raven]

Kaz, my FIL has lived in Scotland for 50 years and still has a very thick Irish Brogue..

[Kaz in a Tizz]

Thanks Daphne. I suppose it is possible but because of this family story I am wondering if I am following the right Mary!
Altho' I suppose family stories are not always right - oh fiddlesticks

[Kaz in a Tizz]

Hi Raven Thanks! I am still confused about this but hey!! nothing new there!!!

[Rachel Scand]

OH's mum had a neighbour, with a 'normal' southern England accent, who went on holiday to Eire and came back with a distinct Irish accent which she never lost !!!

[BigShaz McCreadie]

Kazz my first accent was Scottish, Both my parents are Glasgow born and bred and both have accents. My dad was in the Army and I have been in England for most of my life.
The regiment dad was with didn't move round together in a platoon and soldiers were posted individually to different places.

One of my uncles was also in the army and my two cousins spent most of their childhoods living in England, Germany and Northern Ireland. The eldest of the two was born in Singapore only returning to Scotland when she was 2yrs and the younger one was born in Scotland and left when she was two and my other cousin was 5yrs.

The regiment my uncle was in was a Scottish regiment and everyone in their platoon moved around together.

My sister and I have an English accent but both cousins have pure Scottish accents.

My sister and I actually spent all of our summer holidays in Scotland whilst my cousins were rarely home. My accent would change back an forth slightly and a lot of my words are not said in the way people in England might say them but they are still said with an English accent.

Also, when my uncle came out of the army both him and my aunt and my eldest cousin returned to Scotland. My younger cousin who was 16yrs remained in England (Cambridge) and is still there. She is now 33yrs of age and her accent is no different to that of her sisters. They both still sound like they spent their whole lives in Scotland.

[KiteRunner]

Kaz, a lot of people who were born in Ireland didn't say so on censuses but claimed to be born in England.

[Kaz in a Tizz]

Thanks Rachel an Shaz - so it is definitely a possibility she kept her accent! On the census I have found when she is a girl she is surrounded by other Irish immigrants to B'ham. Her father says b Westmeath Ireland.

Thanks KR, I think she may have been born here - but I won't eliminate that possibility yet as still early stages of my research with her before her marriage.

Top o' the mor...er afternoon to ya

[Rachel Scand]

Kaz, a lot of people who were born in Ireland didn't say so on censuses but claimed to be born in England.

That's useful information KR ....
I've been 're-visiting' a branch of the family where the husband has an Irish surname but changes his place of birth.

He begins with Ireland and later prefers Westminster and Soho
and he takes off 10 years on one census, just to make it more difficult

[Durham Lady]

And just as an aside, when I visited my friends mum in Australia I couldn't get over her very strong Geordie accent, far stronger than most Geordies I know and Belle has lived in Aus for 45 years. She's not picked up a hint of an Aus accent where as Ken has a bit of Aus, Geordie and Irish, his ex is Irish. My OH told him we'd change his name to Heinz :D

[Uncle John]

Many residents of Corby are Glasgow born or descended and noticeable Glaswegian accents are still quite common there. OH's eldest cousin moved to Corby aged about 8 and retained his Glasgow accent but his sister, only a couple of years younger, has a Midlands accent. My father retained a noticeable Scottish accent all his life but had not lived there since the age of 10.

[Christine in Herts]

I pick up bits of accent wherever I go, but my sister has always tended to stick to RP.

A longstanding friend of OH's was born in B'ham, but spent some time living in Scotland. He spoke RP at all times as far as we could tell.

OH comes from the SW. He has a bit of an accent, but it's much stronger if he's speaking to people from there (e.g. on the phone).

Christine