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A question about accents


jsharr

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The discussion about Airwick's accent got me to thinking.  How many forum members have you talked to and of those, how many have a distinct accent?  I have spoken with a few, including Airwick, who did have a southern drawl, but cannot recall any outrageous accents.

For those unlucky enough to have called me, did I sound like you expected?  Do I have a Texas accent?

 

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Should we start recording our voices by reading a paragraph?  I've heard myself and am not totally thrilled. I've been recorded for group presentations, etc. since I do training.  I didn't detect anything different with petite.  Anyone from NYC for a long time, has some accent to my ear.

I don't sense any regional differences across Canada...except for a long time  Newfoundlander. 

I'm saying this, since I have lived for a number of years in each of the 3 different regions in CAnada.

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7 minutes ago, shootingstar said:

Should we start recording our voices by reading a paragraph?  I've heard myself and am not totally thrilled. I've been recorded for group presentations, etc. since I do training.  I didn't detect anything different with petite.  Anyone from NYC for a long time, has some accent to my ear.

I don't sense any regional differences across Canada...except for a long time  Newfoundlander. 

I'm saying this, since I have lived for a number of years in each of the 3 different regions in CAnada.

Do you say ah bout or ah boot?  Any regional words or phrases?

I know I use the word y'all alot, but not sure of other Texas specific phrases.

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I have a southern inflection that uses y’all’s, howdys, and pardon me’s. I have a habit of reflection where I mimic the accent of the person I am talking with. I don’t always do it and I don’t make a conscious effort at it. My parents and relatives are mostly from Boston and I can adopt that accent pretty easily. I also drive like a Masshole up there too. The best defense is a good offense. 

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I figure many posters know what I sound like.  This is my buddy Sandra and I.  Both growing up in similar places and time frame. She's about 4 years older. But similar to my generation of cousins.  Grew up speaking English,  a few Spanish words but nowhere near fluent.  No accent,  just California talking which should be the standard across the US. 😆😄😆

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I was surprised by the change in accents just in my daily drives when I drove truck. I delivered all over West Virginia and would return home each day. It’s not that far away. I could deliver to Charleston the Capitol of WVa and not notice an accent and my next stop in Danville a bit further south they sounded completely different. The one guy made me laugh. He asked me where I was from, he said I know you are not from around here. You talk funny. I thought television would have blended out accents but I guess it hasn’t.

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3 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

Uh, Charleston is in SOUTH CAROLINA and Danville is down on the border of NC in VIRGINIA!!!!

No wonder you ain't driving trucks anymore :frantics:

WVa also has a Charlestown. Some days I delivered to both. They are about as far away from each other as you can get in that state. One time I was delivering there and another truck came in with a load for Charleston. He almost cried when they told him he was in the wrong city. I think every state has a Danville.

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10 minutes ago, sheep_herder said:

I thought you all would have noticed some accents during the zoom calls. Every once in a while, a native Montanan, will smile and indicate I am not originally from eastern Montana. It is more noticeable if my wife or I have recently returned from a trip to Texas.

I forgot about the zoom calls!  My CRS is getting worse.

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I do have an accent, though it's pronounced more like suburban/rural Maryland than Baltimore's Balamorese which sounds like: "Ahm goan downy awshun, hon," (I'm going down to the ocean, hon.).

When I was a graduate student at IIT in the 70's , on occasion I'd call home collect.  When I'd tell the operator in Chicago my name, I'd often have to repeat my last name "Cashen," until I remembered to use the more-more rounded, Midwestern short-a instead of the harder, East Coast short-a.  People from Chicago would tell me I sound like I come from New Jersey.  Our Maryland accent is a little more southern-influenced.

When I returned to Maryland, my friends would tease me about certain changes in accent and pronunciation, which have now faded - like substituting a "d" for "th:" "Dat's right1"

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51 minutes ago, MickinMD said:

I do have an accent, though it's pronounced more like suburban/rural Maryland than Baltimore's Balamorese which sounds like: "Ahm goan downy awshun, hon," (I'm going down to the ocean, hon.).

When I was a graduate student at IIT in the 70's , on occasion I'd call home collect.  When I'd tell the operator in Chicago my name, I'd often have to repeat my last name "Cashen," until I remembered to use the more-more rounded, Midwestern short-a instead of the harder, East Coast short-a.  People from Chicago would tell me I sound like I come from New Jersey.  Our Maryland accent is a little more southern-influenced.

When I returned to Maryland, my friends would tease me about certain changes in accent and pronunciation, which have now faded - like substituting a "d" for "th:" "Dat's right1"

When I first attended CSU in the early 60s my accent was thick enough to cause me some problems with a professor or two, and I would have fellow students stop me when walking to say certain words for some of their friends. They all had a good laugh and would then move along. It has mellowed a lot since then.

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48 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

After two enlistments, I had a true southern accent according to my wife.  It's gone now.  I miss it.  There's a certain musical lilt to a proper southern drawl.

The military has its own really bizarre mishmash of accents but there is a lot of south mixed in it. 

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31 minutes ago, Zephyr said:

Sean Penn Wow GIF

The thing about that movie & that character in particular is they nailed the look & speak of the SoCal surf culture in the late 70’s & 80’s.  I was & grew up with a bunch of dudes just like him before the movie came out.   Some where stoners too but it’s not necessarily a stoner look but the surfer look.  

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3 minutes ago, ChrisL said:

The thing about that movie & that character in particular is they nailed the look & speak of the SoCal surf culture in the late 70’s & 80’s.  I was & grew up with a bunch of dudes just like him before the movie came out.   Some where stoners too but it’s not necessarily a stoner look but the surfer look.  

Yep.  Went to school with quite a few Spicolis and Lindas and Pat Benatars in the surf mecca of Plano Texas.

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4 hours ago, shootingstar said:

I don't recall any distinct accent, Mosey when I met you awhile ago.

No. Pretty ordinary mid-US. Born and raised in So Colorado with a Hispanic family influence that shows up time to time. I also overcame childhood rhoticism (though not until late teens) and a sliding-s. They peek out when I’m really tired, also, but they’re not accents. 

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5 hours ago, shootingstar said:

Should we start recording our voices by reading a paragraph?  I've heard myself and am not totally thrilled. I've been recorded for group presentations, etc. since I do training.  I didn't detect anything different with petite.  Anyone from NYC for a long time, has some accent to my ear.

I don't sense any regional differences across Canada...except for a long time  Newfoundlander. 

I'm saying this, since I have lived for a number of years in each of the 3 different regions in CAnada.

Buffalo accent is very different from Fort Erie Ont. 3 miles apart. 

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2 hours ago, MoseySusan said:

No. Pretty ordinary mid-US. Born and raised in So Colorado with a Hispanic family influence that shows up time to time. I also overcame childhood rhoticism (though not until late teens) and a sliding-s. They peek out when I’m really tired, also, but they’re not accents. 

I had to look up rhoticism.

When I had to learn English as a kid, I did have to practice my "r" and consonant blends ie.  fr,  tr gr, fl, etc.  Certain consonant blends in English take time for a Chinese speaker to perfect.

Yes, when people make fun of Asians speaking English, honest it's very tiring: now YOU speak Chinese, etc.

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Within my immediate family, I've noticed the women in my family, tend to speak English "lower". Meaning if we  sang, it would be alto. They/we don't have  a lovely soft, feminine voice.  Probably because naturally lowering the voice a tad in English, to an even inflection away from Chinese innotations. Also probably influence of mother, because her voice is on low side.  Whereas other Chinese speaking families aren't the same.

I honestly do think a same gender parent occasionally influences a child in tone, intonation and pitch of voice and children can be master mimics without realizing it over the years.

I was a little surprised my 14-yr. niece sounded so much like her mother/my sister  --already over the phone.

 

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24 minutes ago, shootingstar said:

 

Yes, when people make fun of Asians speaking English, honest it's very tiring: now YOU speak Chinese, etc.

This reminds me of a comedian I saw on TV. He said he was in LA, saw a couple women speaking Chinese to each other. He told them, Hey,  you're in America  now................speak Spanish. 😆😁😆

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