please help - speech patterns changing?

AudibleAdvent

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I'm genuinely freaking out here. I used to sound NORMAL last year, now I have this slight change in my speech patterns from god knows where ever since I changed schools. I'm going back to my old school in 2 days. I need an answer. This problem manifested itself when I was 15 and 6 months old. I'm 16 now. Will my voice, accent, speech patterns, whatever the hell you want to call it, change once I go back to my old school and interact with my old friends?

That was hastily typed so ignore any spelling errors.
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FYI this is what I sound like. I don't have any sound clips of what I used to sound like, but I assure you I used to sound normal haha http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?feature=plcp&v=FHzWm7yJzBU
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?feature=plcp&v=bFAA-vXW-Ew


 

AudibleAdvent

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More details:
My friend, who I haven't spoken to for a year ever since I changed schools last year, came over today, and he commented on how I spoke differently compared to last year. Can your accent/ speech patterns change when you're 16? I spoke to a speech therapist and she said that your (original) accent is set in stone by the time you're 12.

And let's say my speech patterns have changed; once I go back to my old school and hang out with my old friends again, will it revert back?
 

Nathan Drake

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You tend to adapt to the speech patterns of wherever you are. For example, if someone moves from the northern US to the southern US, it isn't uncommon for them to naturally pick up on the local accent and slang if they live there for long enough. It's absolutely nothing to worry about. My brother lived in Kentucky for a few months, and ever now and again, he still talks with a bit of a southern accent.

And maybe on a basic level, speech based parts of you can be set in stone by the age of 12, but lets face it, if your speech patterns are changing, then obviously that little fact that the specialist threw at you isn't set in stone.
 

AudibleAdvent

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The biggest thing I'm worried about is my accent. Will it revert back to normal once I start chilling with my old friends again? Ever since I changed schools, I've had people asking me where I'm from, which really bugs me because I was born in Canada. English is my first language yet I can't help but think my accent has changed drastically. I've had two of my friends at my old school telling me I sound like a completely different person. It's freaking me out to the point where I'm losing sleep sometimes thinking about it.

Are you sure it'll revert back to normal? Thanks for your well thought out response :)
 

Nathan Drake

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Just don't worry about it. I assure you, the way you speak doesn't matter much to absolutely anybody. If it never reverts back, it won't affect anything, ever.
 

AudibleAdvent

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Judging by the sound clips, do I have anything to worry about in the first place?

Sorry, it's just that I'm a perfectionist in generally everything I do. I can't help but obsess over every nook and cranny of...well...me
 

AudibleAdvent

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Ah screw it. It's about time I stop giving a rats ass about what people think. Nevertheless, I hope everything will revert back to normal...
 

FAST6191

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"I spoke to a speech therapist"
Most of the time for medical problems around here we tend to encourage speaking to a medic trained in the relevant field which you appear to have already done.

For what it is worth though mid teens is not too late to have a bit of a change thanks to puberty be you male or female and that can be rather rapid onset.

Also when you say patterns do you mean grammar and word ordering changes to match some of the missteps often made there (he/she in place of the or it being the big one). Likewise being sixteen you have probably just spent the last year training up for exams including a lot of "make your essays demonstrate a superior command of the language even if the extra six words could be omitted and nothing will be lost" which will tend to change how you speak as far as word choice and such. Stab in the dark but have you been watching stand up comedy lately? I ask because you seem to have something of a recursive/reference and punchline style delivery I usually hear there and most people will pick up on that.

Beyond that though why get worked up about things? If your friends are happy to pick up where things left off I doubt they turn around and blow you off because of a minor speech change. I imagine they might take the piss a bit (my friends certainly do when one of us returns from an extended stint in a far flung part of the world or seen as we are in the UK another part of the country) but I doubt there will be any malice behind it and if it is seen to cause you distress then that will probably stop in short order.

As for the videos your mic (the low pass seems set rather low) does not help matters but other than your saying "um" and other bridging sounds a lot which is nothing unusual (indeed some find people that will have silence in place of it disturbing) and maybe a slight lack of enunciation (and I am really not one to talk there) which again is nothing unusual you seem perfectly understandable.
 

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