Update on My "Accent"

One of the guests at Marc and Linda's wedding was a young lady named Bernice, who was in visiting from Martha's Vineyard, but I believe that's a seasonal gig, and she might really live out in Key West. She used to date their roommate, which is how we became friends.

Bernice is from South Africa, and to her, having been in the States for a few years, everybody has an accent. I felt that she might be able to give some kind of explanation about the phenomena of me being asked if I was English while helping at the Green Market. I explained the entire situation to her and asked if it made sense.

A different friend laughed when I told him, telling me "They're mistaking a British accent for courtesy and politeness," which I thought was probably partially true.

Bernice's explanation was that in her time she's met English speakers from all over, and a group of (obviously native) speakers from a certain area of London put emphasis and stresses in similar patterns to the way I do. To her, I don't necessarily sound British, but my stoner/surfer west-coast "drawl" if you will, has enough similarities with a section of Londoners that, if the surrounding area is loud enough--a busy market or a crowded bar, hearing an English accent wouldn't be totally out of the question.

That's the best explanation so far, and actually, the only one that is actually an explanation.