Having been relocated to the south when I was a teen I discovered a strange thing - people in this state of transplants believed I had an accent! How can that be? Everyone I heard on TV sounded like me - unless they were from the Northeast or California - yet jokes were made over my calling fizzy beverages "pop" - versus "soda," and the way I said certain vowels. It was fine, as I knew who was right - me of course.
Life being what it is, my husband - also from the Chicagoland area - and I raised our daughter in the sunny state from the time she was a few months old. She had picked-up not a midwestern or southern accent, but a New York accent! From the time she could talk, she put the emphasis on the wrong vowels and just plain sounded like a New Yorker. We were living in the Chicago area when she was 4 and nonnna called to chat. While I was chatting with my friend, my daughter was in the room - listening of course. Nonna was curious to know if living in the midwest had effected her accent and asked as much. I gave my daughter a glance and reported "No, B-- still has an accent, you can hear it when she says ..."
I was interrupted by an indignant outcry, "NO! I do NOT"
Looking curiously at B-- she reported for my information, with all the self-righteousness of the wrongly accused, "I do NOT have accidents, I haven't since I was a baby!"
That was it - I was lauging so hard, I almost had an accident!
I think I remember this day. That girl was always a piece of work.
ReplyDeletei, of course, had completely forgotten this incident. thanks for reminding me :) also makes me think of when i still had my truck and i was driving down a road that had those speed humps on it. i'm pretty sure it was r- but could've been b- with me and i taught him/her to say yeeeehaw as we went over them and your geographically prejudiced hubby was just mortified that i taught him/her to sound like a "hick" lol
ReplyDeletei do so enjoy torturing your hubby :)