Accentricity Sadie Ryan

What’s it like to navigate the rocky terrain of school in a brand new language? In this episode, we hear from Leon and Julia, two young people who moved from Poland to Scotland and had to do just that.

Veronica Juliana Schmalz moved from Argentina to Sicily when she was eight. She didn’t know anyone and didn’t speak the language. Now she is fluent in six languages. But what was that journey like?

Maria Dokovova has been living in Scotland for ten years, but she doesn’t have a Scottish accent. How would her life be different if she did?

Charles’ aunt, Alejandra, was born in Chile but has been in America for almost 30 years – more than half her life. When you’ve been away from a place for so long, it can be hard to maintain a connection to that place. Alejandra talks about how it feels to fight for that connection, why it matters to her, and the role played by language.

Claire is learning to speak Doric, a variety of Scots that comes from the North East of Scotland. But when she speaks it, it makes her husband, who grew up with Doric, feel uncomfortable. In this episode, she tries to understand why this might be.

Helen’s friend Sam never quite felt at home in the country he was born in, America. He left in search of a place to belong, and found Berlin. But after nine years spent there, is Berlin home to him? What does ‘home’ even mean? In this episode, Helen and Sam ask this question.