Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
In the grocery store today I was in a long line and struck up a conversation with a local. She was happy that I was happy with North Carolina. She asked what has been my favorite place to visit.
I replied "Asheville, it's so beautiful there".
She looked annoyed. "It's Ashe-'VUL' not 'VILLE'" The went on about how people are coming here and ruining the proper way to speak. I was floored. She seemed so nice. She turned witch-like very fast.
I calmly said, "I am sure the ville is short for "Village" and you don't walk around saying "VULLAGE" do you? Also, I was having a nice conversation with you and you are going to get nasty over how I pronounce something".
I went to the next line.
This happened on a lower scale once when I said "Greenville" and the lady was all passive aggressive and very puzzled as to what I meant. Why, she had never heard of "GreenVILLE", did I mean "GreenVUL?"
I know how it's spelled and correctly pronounced. But when it comes out of my mouth it does sound like GreenVUL. Some people might make a big deal out of it but just blow it off. It's just how a lot of people pronounce it around here.
Go to Cherryville and talk like you do and you will be laughed at
By adults? Wow. That sounds lovely. And if it is the children that laugh at different accents, they should be taught some manners.
I can't imagine laughing or correcting or being rude to anybody that talks with a different accent.
I have European friends that have a different accent than me. They pronounce many, many words in a manner that I am not used to. I can't imagine laughing at them, let alone getting huffy with them.
BTW--Do you say "Vull-age" instead of "Vill-age"? Just curious.
I am FROM NC and many, if not most, people I know, including a number FROM Asheville say "ville" and not "vul."Saying "ville" is not some "tell" that you are not from the state or even the city.
No need to correct someone on their proper pronunciation of "ville" unless your real problem is that so many "different" people have discovered Asheville and decided to move there.
On the other hand, it is a tell if you don't use the "secret trap for sniffing out Yankees" pronunciations of Mebane, Cashiers, Concord, Topsail, Cabarrus, Bahama, etc.
Though I was raised in a small NC town, I have more than once been asked if I was a Yankee due to my lack of a Southern dialect. I actually have a pretty non-regional dialect and probably only a linguist could figure out where I am from. Of course, it is quite useful when I visit the north as my lack of an accent keeps them from treating me like a rube.
By adults? Wow. That sounds lovely. And if it is the children that laugh at different accents, they should be taught some manners.
I can't imagine laughing or correcting or being rude to anybody that talks with a different accent.
You are correct about that. But I bet she has been made fun of hundreds of times by Northerners for her Southern accent, even in her own state. Doesn't make it right for her to be rude, but it perhaps explains the phenomenon.
Quote:
BTW--Do you say "Vull-age" instead of "Vill-age"? Just curious.
The "Vill" in "village" is the accented syllable. "-ville" in Asheville, Greenville, Fayetteville, etc. are unaccented. Many, many unaccented syllables in words and names are pronounced with the schwa sound, in every region. Do you say "MAR-EE-LAND" or "MAR-uh-lund" for the state just north of Virginia?
If you think you are going to start some "crusade" about how people talk in their own hometowns or home states, I think you are wasting your breath. Yes, it was rude of someone to "correct" you if she was snotty about that. She should have at least smiled and joked about the different pronunciations in a friendly way.
If you think you are going to start some "crusade" about how people talk in their own hometowns or home states, I think you are wasting your breath.
Um, no. Are you reading my posts? No crusade whatsoever. Not even close. But there goes that NC Chip on the Shoulder Act again MY STATE! I WAS HERE FIRST
I am pretty sure it was that woman in the store that was on a "crusade".
But if they do, no biggie. I wouldn't get into a snit or yell at someone for saying it their way. We all say things differently. There are people from outside of NC that don't deserved to be "laughed" at because they don't talk like you.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
" The went on about how people are coming here and ruining the proper way to speak. I was floored. She seemed so nice. She turned witch-like very fast.
". 
