Our accent... (swimming, rating, accents)

[Cearbhaill]

Originally Posted by Coyote_Blond

But as interesting as it is, we are making an effort to keep our child from picking up any aspect of it. I'm afraid when we move away from the area (soon) that his walking into a potential job and asking "Wus you lookin ta har?" might not go over too well. lol

Don't worry about it.
Give the kid a decent education and he will know when to "speak proper" and when to not care. I can turn it off on a dime.

[j33]

Originally Posted by Cearbhaill

Don't worry about it.
Give the kid a decent education and he will know when to "speak proper" and when to not care. I can turn it off on a dime.

Sure, in linguistics it is called code switching when people switch from either local regional dialect/accent/slang to standard speech. It is very common around the world if you research it, and I see it all the time where I work as I work with a fair amount of African Americans and people who speak Spanish as a first language who constantly switch between slang or Spanish to standard speech on a dime. In my own family, I've watched my cousin completely switch her Boston accent on and off depending on who she is talking to or what she is trying to accomplish.

[Coyote_Blond]

I understand completely. We aren't from this area at all but he attends school here currently until our move. Knowing the teasing the accent recieves outside of the area, we're just going to work to avoid the possibility. The teasing is not of the kind variety. We are definitely not going to accept any grammer slang though. He will use his verbs correctly lol. Poor child has a New England bred father and mother raised out west. Maybe we should take him to Australia for a new accent in the family. Ha~

[missymomof3]

I grew up in and still live in the SW part of the county and work in the more Eastern part. I even get made fun of THERE lol My bosses teased me about my "so Kentucky" accent when I worked there (Louisville zoo). One time a former employee came in to visit after serving in Iraq. My bosses made sure to have me talk for him and he got a big ol kick outta it! My daughter is now a volunteer and they teased her about having a "country" accent. I hope it never changes! As a matter of fact, my hubby and I are lookin to move outta the city and to a smaller town and I hope it gets worse!

[Cprompt]

I don't get it...made fun of? Cause of a southern/twangy/etc etc accent?

Everyone is made fun of if you're different from the rest no matter what. Out of curiosity, how many persons here have made fun of a person of foreign background make fun of how they speak? Say for instance someone from asian ancestry?? So many times do I hear people mock how their spoken English pronounced. And whenever they do it, it's supposed to be viewed as funny ::insert pseudo Indian accent:: or ::insert pseudo chinese accent:: Is that so very different from how you feel that you're being made fun of cause of your accent?

Sure everyone isn't perfect...but I can't see the true difference.

[gemkeeper]

Originally Posted by suncoastman

To find out how much Southern blood your speech shows, go to this link:

Are You a Yankee or a Rebel? - alphaDictionary * Southern Accent Test

Copy & paste into your browser....

Enjoy.....


JOE

I was reading back through some old posts trying to catch up with this thread and came upon suncoastman's "yankeetest" link.

I thought that I had lived in the South long enough (8 yrs.) to at least hit 50%. But, I didn't even make a 30% Dixie! It identified me as a Yankee, thru and thru.

I sure was a lot of fun, though. Thanks suncoastman.

[AlisonL]

I'm 45% southern. LOL Not bad for a Yankee.

[j33]

Cprompt - There is a difference between friends good-naturedly poking fun at each other and derisive mocking. I've been down south and have had people poke fun at my accent, I can tell the difference between an innocent good-humored comment by a friend or acquaintance and a mean-spirited jab by someone who is ignorant and xenophobic and feels ones accent in some way is an indicator of intelligence and/or character, which of course is patently untrue.

[gemkeeper]

j33, I have never had a problem with being made fun of in any part of the country because of my mid-western/NE/Mass. accent. I am sorry that you have experienced this in the past in the South.

You are correct: one's accent is never an indicator of one's intelligence or character. Actions have no accent and that is how we should all size up one another. And, even then, a one-time poor action can be chalked up to a bad day. Hope yours is a good one today.

[heatwave13]

kimmey,

I grew up in Ky and have also lived in north Florida and now Tennessee and everyone tells me that I have a twang.....but I don't care. I work in a professional setting where folks could look at me differently due to my speech, but, they don't for the most part. But, I have decided to just be myself, not trying to change the way I talk and let my quality of work and the way I treat people gain respect for me.

Plus, some folks who may look down on me (due to my country speech) change their tune when they need me to help translate when they encounter one of the many hispanic families we deal with.