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Travelling means you don't have a regional accent, now? Hahahahaha. Good to know. I guess I'll sound like Johnny Applepie after I rack a couple thousand more air miles!
Pretty sad that being from a working-class background is seen as a sign of unintelligence to you.
I agree with you that's so stupid. I lived in Italy for a summer, how would that change my accent? Am I supposed to sound Italian now? I travel to Boston every year, but I've never been accused of having a Boston accent. I'm on my 8th year living in Texas and I still sound like a Midwesterner (where my folks are from) My accent might have softened a little bit and I sometimes say Y'all but thats about it.
Accents can and often do change over time depending where you live, but it isn't an overnight thing that indicates you don't travel.
Also, as a side note, almost nothing makes me more angry than people taking a **** on people for being of a working class background. What is this, the 18th century?
While I think accents are becoming more generalized across the country, in general (sorry for the redundancy), many people ac tlike they have disappeared completely and that is simply not true. I hear NY accents (white, "ethnic" white, AA, Nuyorican, Dominican), Midland accents (Phila. Cincinnati), southern accents (Kentucky, deep South, Texas), the Valley accent here in New Mexico, and Upper Midwest accents all the time in younger people.
Accents do change, shift, and are increasingly normalized by media, but they are far from dead even among the young. I have 7-10 year old relatives in NY whose accents are more "authentic" than their parents who themselves are the children of transplants/immigrants from outside NY. But they don't exactly sound like the stereotypical Jewish or Irish NY cabbie that people think New Yorkers should sound like to be authentic.
I agree with you that's so stupid. I lived in Italy for a summer, how would that change my accent? Am I supposed to sound Italian now? I travel to Boston every year, but I've never been accused of having a Boston accent. I'm on my 8th year living in Texas and I still sound like a Midwesterner (where my folks are from) My accent might have softened a little bit and I sometimes say Y'all but thats about it.
Accents can and often do change over time depending where you live, but it isn't an overnight thing that indicates you don't travel.
Also, as a side note, almost nothing makes me more angry than people taking a **** on people for being of a working class background. What is this, the 18th century?
Right. Its uncommon for people to pick up another accent by travelling/moving around particularly past a certain age. I mean, I pick up some speech mannerisms from friends, (for example one of my roommates always says "or whatever," as filler, and now I do too, subconciously) and maybe living in Texas made me sound a bit twangier than I already did, but overall living in different place hasn't changed my accent, as much as maybe introduce new words to my vocabulary. For example; due to my ex, I tend to call shopping carts "baskets" now without thinking, or among my MN born and raised roommates, I say "come with" often (though I've used that back home because for some reason some of my relatives say it despite not having MN roots) but to change one's accent? Hah. One of my roommates keep teasing me, repeating certain words I say in an exaggerated southern accent that I supposedly have, according to her Its okay, I tell her she sounds like Ellen Page.
And classism, like racism and sexism, need to go. I'm fortunate enough to have friends of all social economic statuses. I can't imagine being so close minded. My dad's blue collar, makes a ton of money and is far from ignorant. He's got more common sense than a lot of "sophisticates."
I feel like many young people in Staten Island still speak with a very strong accent.
That could be, I've literally never been there though besides passing through. But what's left of the Italian-American population in South Brooklyn, you can see at L&B or Roll n Roaster and I don't think they sound much different from white people on Long Island (relatively neutral). I think people actually go to these places from Staten Island and New Jersey as well.
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Its okay, I tell her she sounds like Ellen Page.
