[Taniwha]

I grew up in NZ, lived in Silicon Valley for 20 years starting in my mid 20s, have been back in NZ for 15 years now - I variously have an American/Australian/English/Kiwi accent depending on where I'm being listened to and the general exposure of the person doing the listening to the rest of the world.

In fact there's no where on the planet where I don't have an accent, and I'm old enough that this will always be true. I am well and truly screwed.

[lb1lf]

I happen to have a slight Scottish accent, despite never having lived there (or in any other country where English is the dominant language, for that matter.)

Reason is simply that when I was a kid, the house next door - the only house next door, this being rural Norway - was purchased by a family from Aberdeen, who'd decided to move to Norway to try something new.

If I wanted to play with their kids, I'd better learn some English fast - and the only speakers around were the Scottish kids next door.

Incidentally, I now go to Aberdeen for work on a regular basis, and the locals never fail to ask how long I've been living there, seeing as I've started to pick up their accent and all...