[HPFGU-OTChatter] dialects and accents (was: Texan!)

[Mary Jennings]

Katze said:

>Now I'm in Houston, and I've added "reckon" and "ya'll" to my vocabulary, 
>but I
>still have yet to add the double modal. I'm not sure I'll ever pick up on 
>the
>Texan accent. I've been here 6 years and I still don't have it down.

Chances are you'll never speak like a true Houstonian (Houstonite?) as 
you're presumably over the age of 11 :)  While kids soak up languages and 
dialects like sponges it's rarer for adults to do so.  My parents are from 
the Netherlands, and while my mom's English grammer and vocabulary were 
outstanding (she moved to Canada when she was 37) she always kept her 
accent.  My dad's accent is even more pronounced.  I grew up in Canada, but 
have lived in a mid-sized town southwest England for 7 years.  According to 
the locals, I have a "darling" accent (cue retching noises).  I never have 
to give my name or address to the pizza delivery place as they know my 
accent, and I get called an American more times than I care to remember ;)  
Though I've picked up a lot of local intonations and vocab, and can sing a 
mean version of "I've Got a Combine Harvester", I still have, and always 
will have, an underlying Torontonian accent.

Not that I haven't picked up some West Country drawl, mind.  Whenever I have 
a chance to speak to my youngest brother on the phone, which is once every 
few months, he spends the entire time correcting my pronounciation of my 
vowels.  He's only teasing, of course, but only then do I realise that I 
have indeed gained some of the local drawl.

As an aside, a few years back West Country was voted by Brits as the second 
worst accent in the land, better only than London Cockney, which is what is 
spoken on "Eastenders".  The local drawl isn't that bad, really.  It's far 
more country bumkin than posh, and there's a habit of inserting "r"s 
wherever they like in any word.  Not quite Hagrid-ish, but close.

By the way, does anyone have any sunshine and heat they want to trade for 
torrential rain and cold?  I don't care what the calendar says...IT'S NOT 
JULY HERE!!

Mary Ann
(who's come to the conclusion that summer's not coming this year)

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