>but with a slight questioning in my mind as to the propriety of it
I read this comment differently. I think the propriety was in whether one should ask a personal question, some people prefer their privacy.
I often ask the question myself because I find it fascinating how someone can have lived in a different country or region for many years and still have held on to the accent they developed as a child. I have a chameleon accent, having moved around a lot at an early age and although I "could" get by in RP, as previously discussed, having lived in many areas of the country, it would feel completely wrong to say a word like Graaas or baaath in the style of the south of England.
I meet English people in Scotland who have lived here since they were very young and still sound English and others who made the trip in reverse and still sound Scottish. I can usually spot a Lancastrian or someone from Yorkshire to within a short distance of where they grew up.
I am surprised by how "Australian" the people who left the UK in adulthood sound - perhaps to real Australians they still sound very British. I wonder whether it is because the rhythm of Australian accents are quite "catchy". I think there is a similar phoenomenon in New Zealand.
When British pop and media stars try (as they used to) to sound American it always comes out as mid Atlantic and false. This could because their adopted accent is too unsubtle, instead of going for Boston or the deep South they go for "radio presenter from the mid West trying to sound like they come from New England", it is doomed to fail!
(Looks like I took so long to write this that Marty pipped me to the post!)
