I learned to speak in a small town in central Vermont in a place where people seldom pronounce the letter ‘T’ and add unnecessary ‘R’s to words. Vocabulary in Vermont is flattened and swallowed. Most sentences are released in a choppy rhythm through the nose. The state itself is pronounced by the people who live there as Verr-mon.
It wasn’t until I was eighteen years old and moved to New York City that I even realized there was a “Vermont accent”, and I had it. People I met started pointing out my “mispronunciation” and “misuse” of certain words and phrases. I would say things like “When I’m done the dishes” when I should have said, “When I’m done with the dishes.” Central Park was Central Parrk and metro card was metro carrd. My friend Mark even once told me that it sounds like I am taking a bite out of his name.
It is amazing how quickly social pressure caused me to lose my accent. I was tired of explaining and defending the way that I spoke so I altered my speech and the way that I had grown up speaking withered away. Societally we rely on speech in order to make swift judgements of others. It seems that we often assume it is a representation of others and of ourselves.
How has your understanding of "accents" changed...?
ReplyDelete