How Do You Say That?
I was catching up on the videos over at Lynsey Jones’ blog and she posted a video about how people’s accents reflect the regions in which they have lived (or at least where they learned to talk). I loved watching her video and thought it would be fun to post my own.
I seem to have suffered from “you ain’t from around here, are ya?” syndrome for most of my life. Southerners don’t think that I necessarily sound Southern enough and my family in the Midwest and New England think I am the most Southern thing that ever came down the turnpike (ha!). Little do they know! But, I do know that my speech (given enough time) tends to mimic the strength of the accent that I am around. After vacation in New England, my friends would tell me that I sounded distinctly Yankee. When I talk to my friend Misty on the phone, my kids tell me I sound more Southern. Go figure. I’d like to think it comes from an overgrown sense of empathy, but it’s probably just that I am weird.
I was able to get hubby to participate with me (he is not into the video thing at all). I think it is interesting how we both have lived our entire lives in Georgia (and we both started out within an hours drive of the other at birth), yet we speak differently. His mother immigrated from Mexico and that is why some of his speech is a little formal sometimes. She was notorious for serving “noodles and red sauce” instead of spaghetti and mixing her idioms, “Don’t count your chickens all in one basket!” I always got such a kick out of her. I miss her.
I learned to talk on a Navy base with people who were from all over the United States. Oddly, I never picked up the pronounced ‘r’ that my Mom adds to words (waRsh) and I know the difference between having a crick in your neck and going down to the creek (Mom says ‘crick’ for both). And while a Southern drawl means drawing some words out to ridiculous lengths (I can’t tell you how many times that my name has been pronounced ‘Jay-yah-nuh’ instead of just Jan. And don’t get me started about dog being pronounced DAWG!), I never picked up my Dad’s pronunciation of sure to be ‘shu-uh” or data (I say ‘day-ta) to Dad’s ‘dah-ta.’
I would be absolutely tickled to see what other vloggers are doing with this list of words! If you choose to participate, just pronounce the following list of words on video and answer the questions, but be sure to tell us where you are from.
Words to Pronounce: Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught.
Questions to Answer:
What is it called when you throw toilet paper at a house?
What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?
What is the bubbly, carbonated drink called?
What do you call gym shoes?
What do you say to address a group of people?
What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
What do you call your grandparents?
What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
What is the thing you change the TV channels with?
This is part of the March Madness Vlogging Challenge hosted by Simple Vlogging Tips and Penny Pinching Diva. See what the other vloggers have been up to and check back all month long for more vloggy goodness!
Special thanks to my talented son, EMagnusTV for the camera work.
Till next time,
