And her voice is all that matters

[joflasher]

I was asked three times this past weekend where I was from. Each time was because of my accent. None of the askers had me pegged for even the correct continent, let alone state.

I gotten a lot of questions about it over the years. Few people believe that its just a variation on the Appalachian Hill accent, even after I repeatedly tell them so. The only examples of that one that most people are familar with come from movies like Deliverance. That Virginia/Tennesse mixture is nothing like the central PA accent unless you study it closely. Most people peg me for European something (Britian being the most common guess) with a little New Zealand/Australian thrown in for good measure.

I tell people I'm from Pennsylvania and the next question is "where were your parents from?". Um...Pennsylvania. Yeah, my Mom sounds like she grew up in the deep south by way of London but she's never been to either place.

starherd, do you get these questions out where you are at?

Comments

[starherd.livejournal.com]

I've not been asked that at all here in CO. o_O
Not talking to people a lot probably has something to do with it, though.

People in California kept thinking I was from Canada, though.

[talldean.livejournal.com]

I get the same, after dropping the Pittsburgh dialect but not the most underlying accent.

[flasher.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I thought about asking you, Kathy and Ben but I remember you guys has having the definite 'burgh accent so I didn't think it would be relevant ... so your's has changed since you left?

[talldean.livejournal.com]

mine mellowed year by year while *in* pittsburgh, mainly since I hung out with non-pittsburghers. Removing the dialect entirely is a huge start.

Now, in DC, I occasionally get the 'where the hell *are* you from?', because they can't place it.

[flasher.livejournal.com]

yeah, that would probably put a krimp in the questions ...

[coldtortuga.livejournal.com]

... a variation on the Appalachian Hill accent...
Neat! (I admit I was curious :)

[freeptop.livejournal.com]

Hm. I didn't realize I definitely had a 'burgh accent. Kathy certainly tells me I don't ;)

I can't say I've ever gotten questions based on my accent, but nobody's ever guessed I was from Pittsburgh, either. Of course, having grown up in Squirrel Hill, from parents who weren't from Pittsburgh, did mean my accent was never pure Pittsburgh to begin with anyway...

[prusik.livejournal.com]

Interesting, it never occurred to me that your accent was that unusual. If you notice me paying special attention when you speak, you'll know why.

I usually get quizzed due to the lack of an unusual accent. From strangers, I get the sequence of "Where are you from?"/"No, where are you really from?" Occasionally, I also get something along the lines of "You sound just like an American!" I could get more worked up about the last but I think people mean it as a compliment.

Just so I'm not ragging only on Americans, when I'm speaking Chinese, I occasionally get contempt because my accent is insufficently fashionable, or occasionally, if they've also heard me speak English, I get "I'd never know you were an American!" (Again, I think this is supposed to be a compliment.)

I just don't talk to people very much. It's easier that way...

[flasher.livejournal.com]

I'm sure from Kathy's point of view, you don't. My mom insists that I don't have any sort of accent, that it all left after a year or two at college.

[flasher.livejournal.com]

You have kind of a roll to your speech that doesn't really say anything but "different" to me. Of course, I don't speak Chinese so I have no idea what carries over ...

[prusik.livejournal.com]

I like to think that I have a pleasantly cultivated "international" accent when I speak English. (i.e., unidentifiable and yet sufficiently neutral that I have no problems being understood) However, in reality, I probably tend towards a light Canadian.