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28 November 2006
I Have Long Thought That The Boston Accent Is The Ugliest Of The American Accents
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11 comments:
My accent is allegedly Inland North.
Despite having lived from 4 yrs old to 23 in Southern California, but PA before that. Interesting.
When we first moved to SoCal, I got teased for saying "worsh" instead of "wash". Other than that, to my ear there is no difference between the way I speak, and the accent of native Californians.
Boston is the one that goes 'Bawston', right?
In general, Americans struggle to differentiate accents to a degree that surprises Britons.
They think there is such a thing as a 'British accent'.
Americans often can't tell Received Pronunciation from Geordie from Cockney, which like chalk, cheese and um...chickens.
They can't tell Britons from Australians by their voices. They think Daphne from Fraser sounds 'posh'. (Heh heh - she's actually got a strange, idiosyncratic take on a working-class Manchester accent. (Although maybe the joke is on us, since we're obsessed with accent as an indicator of class identity)
I was reading an interview with a dialect coach who trains movie stars to speak in different accents, and she noted that Americans frequently don't even realise that they themselves have an accent.
Yep, that's the Boston accent -- which I still deny that I have.
I can't have a Boston accent because I pronounce my Rs.
She Who Must Be Obeyed and I are both pegged, accurately, as Philadelphia.
Brit: the Boston accent does go 'Bawston', but its main feature is the way it leans into the long vowels, and drops off trailing 'r's. That's why it was cosmic destiny that Nomar Garciaparra would eventually play for the Red Sox. Hey Nohmah! My grandfahthah swings hahdah than that! Sweet, sweet music.
The Aussies don’t have anywhere near as much variation as the UK or the US but there are different accents based on social/economic class: it’s really a continuum, but they split it into Broad (the strongest accent - Steve Irwin, Crocodile Dundee, “G’doia, Moiate” - hints of Brummie), General (Lleyton Hewitt, Russel Crowe – “G’dai, Maite) and Cultivated (which is a sort of slightly cocknified British RP, and is considered ‘posh’ - Nicole Kidman).
The basic Australian accent is like a sort of uber-cockney vowel-munching, with a bit of Irish and other rubbish in there. Thus the old English joke about the British Officer meeting the Anzac on the Front Line (“Did you come here to die?” “No I came here yesterdie.”)
And in Melbourne they swap their e’s and a’s (“Hack” becomes “heck” and “tell” becomes “tall”).
NZ is interesting: it’s like a gay version of Australian – you have to say everything with an “e” (the cet set on the met) and speak with a slight lisp.
The other striking thing about the Aussie accent (can you tell dialect is one of my pet topics? In real life I'm an compulsive mimicker) is the prevalence of the 'high-rising terminal' or 'uptalk'.
You know - where every sentence ends in a question? Like this? Californian Valleys girls also do it?
Uptalk became very popular among UK teenage girls a while ago, which was blamed on them watching too many Aussie soaps (though Bristolian has always been a slightly uptalk accent).
But in fact, uptalk is a mostly female phenomenon wherever it is - and the theory is that it is a way of encouraging the listener to get into the conversation - as if you're asking questions and seeking their approval all the time.
Brit:
My daughter, 13, does uptalk, as do all her friends.
None of the boys do.
I don't think they want you to join the conversation, so much as continue to pay attention to them talking, as one must do if every sentence carries the tonal threat of a question.
That means I keep having to reload my (male) seven word recall register.
That seems an equally plausible, if more cynical, explanation.
Brit:
As far as the driving forces of the universe go, I figure cynicism fills the few gaps left by irony.
I grew up in RI, and used to speak like a Bostoner, but I've lived in Minnesota for 21 years. My test result is:
The Inland North
"You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop".
To tell you the truth, I don't know what I call it. I grew up calling it "soda", but now I am comfortable with either soda or pop. I probably call it pop. I don't listen to myself talk very often.
My relatives have told me I sound like a character from "Fargo" now.
I can't have a Boston accent because I pronounce my Rs.
Yes, you pronounce them "aah".
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