Our accent... (Louisville, Cadiz, California: Filipino, population, classes)

[tom.makled]

i live up in dearborn in michigan (around the thumb), but i come down to louisville all the time to visit my cousins, and i wish i could pick up an accent like your guys. in michigan its just so boring, i dont think there even is an accent haha. but yeah my uncles a state trooper down here and he says warsher instead of wash and things like that. its just so much more colorful then how i talk.

[FreeMarketSlave]

I got a good laugh out of that test. I got a more southern score than the wife did, and she really talks southern(so others say). I think she cheated? You know you're in trouble when you don't even hear it anymore. When oil becomes ole, and ville's become vul's, it's over.

[HiandBonjour]

Went up to Maine too do some work for a couple weeks. They sure talk funny but real nice people. First day went to get some gas and cigarettes, went to pay for them and the lady said, Honey where you from ? and dont tell me southern Maine. I just said, y'all sure talk funny but real nice people and she said, You got to be nice to survive the winters up here. Nexy day met a woman from eastern Ky and had to ask her how she ended up in Maine she said she had come for a funeral 17 years before and just stayed.

[Martysguy]

I think Kentucky (esp. Lex and Lou) is a hodgepodge of accents. My dad has a Southern "twang"..but I'm told I talk like I'm from from the Midwest. No discernable/regional drawl whatsoever. I don't know if it comes from exposure to certain accents or if it's unconscious.

[gb lady]

I think Kentucky has an accent all its own. It's now quite southern drawl but it's also not midwest either, it's probably a combination of both. Whenever I've traveled south, I've noticed that the true southern drawl doesn't appear until I'm in Tennessee. Just my opinion.

[missymomof3]

Originally Posted by Martysguy

I think Kentucky (esp. Lex and Lou) is a hodgepodge of accents. My dad has a Southern "twang"..but I'm told I talk like I'm from from the Midwest. No discernable/regional drawl whatsoever. I don't know if it comes from exposure to certain accents or if it's unconscious.

I have noticed quite a few Illinios and Ohio plates so I imagine you are right.

[gr8tobemom]

Being a recent transplant to Chicago I can tell there is an accent here. It's very subtle though. The problem is my husband's ex-wife is from Michigan and the women here sound like her!LOL! That's taking some getting used to!

Of course the first question everyone ask me is "Where are you from?" I don't mind. I like my accent.

[missymomof3]

Originally Posted by gr8tobemom

Being a recent transplant to Chicago I can tell there is an accent here. It's very subtle though. The problem is my husband's ex-wife is from Michigan and the women here sound like her!LOL! That's taking some getting used to!

Of course the first question everyone ask me is "Where are you from?" I don't mind. I like my accent.

It also depends quite a bit on where in Louisville you are from too.

[PrettyToez08]

Kimmie who?

[Kentuckyguy]

Originally Posted by kimmieyky

A question to those of you who have lived here all your life or at least for a long while...

How often are you teased or made fun of because of your accent?

I think about this because when I get back to my home county (Henry Co.), or when I am with my friends who live south of Louisville - it is not very long before my true self comes out and I throw the "ya'll's" and "reckon's" like wild fire. I have learned to flip it back and forth as the need arises - but sometimes I forget.

Why do I even feel the need to control it? Because working in Louisville for doctors, and interviewing for new careers has put me in a position to speak differently - and I hate it! I just want to be me - But my accent only highlights my blond hair, and I am automatically 'categorized' - if you know what I mean.

So - just curious if you guys feel the same need to tone it down on occassion - or if you even worry about it at all! I guess Louisville is so different because it is 'north' and has become a melting pot of immigrants from other states and countries - I truly feel the pressure to speak differently there.

My kids tease me about my 'phone voice' when they have called me at work - I turn the accent on and off like a switch!

What about ya'll?

KimmieyKY

Hey KimmieyKY!

Ya might find this funny! My wife and I just moved to Kentucky not to long ago. My wife is from the Philippines and now has been developing an Philipino- southern accent! I had no idea that she could pick up accents. In fact, she didn't mean to, but she did pick the southern accent quite a bit. I am actually developing the accent myself. I always kinda had it list'in to country music and bluegrass for so long. Just though I would share that with ya' bout my wife. I thought it was pretti funny. Take care and thanks for this fun conversation ya' started. It sure beats all the argu'in that goes on in the other chats.