One of the things that constantly runs through the back of my mind is the accents around me. I've always been able to pick up on the even the discreetest of accents, and can often place people in places from their past. Lately I've been pondering the proper British accent. For obvious reasons it seems to be the most accurately pronounced in the English language. So much that its not really a British accent - just proper pronunciation. We Americans are the ones with the accent, becoming quick and sloppy with phonetics and word construction. But I would have to say if proper British is the true English form, sloppy British is even worse than an American accent. Is that what it would be called? Sloppy British? Its hard to term since no one seems to distinguish the exact British dialect they are referring to, but there are obvious differences between that and proper English. Besides the obvious dropping of the H, there is the substituting of "f" for "th." I cannot even imagine where this last piece originated. Anyway, I can't say that I've picked apart the various forms of British diction, as I've only recently begun to contemplate on its form, and am positive there are subtle (or maybe catastrophically obvious) differences between accents of certain regions - Regions of which I have no experience. Perhaps it would be a fun adventure to be like Henry Higgins and explore the country of England to discern the differences in regional dialect. I've had great fun doing so in America, though I haven't had to travel much.
Minnesotans mostly pronounce their words with a very long vowel on the "o." However, very thick native speech uses a long sound on every vowel. One of my best friends in college spoke as such. I could not for the longest time understand what town she was from, even when she tried to say it slowly. She became very frustrated since it was such a simple word - Watertown. Now think of where I was coming from, and say the word with all overly long vowel sounds. It comes out all jumbled up! Minnesota seems to be the dividing line for Northern accents in America. To the East there is a mix of bigger city accents, and shorter vowels.On the West, there is a mix of Native American accent, practically all the way to Alaska. This utilizes a more flat vowel sound. Mix that with Minnesota, and you've got a North Dakota accent. Isn't this fun?
East of Minnesota you have Wisconsin, which mainly mixes Chicago with the Norsk Minnesotan-esque accent. I just recently observed the key to the Chicago accent in the last few years. Its obviously in the "a," I knew that much already. The short "a" usage extends down through St. Louis as well. But in Chicago, they pronounce it in such a way that if you are not accustomed to it, you might be better slipping an "i" in before the "a." Kind of like the car Cialis, with a very short vowel sound. Think about that "a," and you've got the Chicago accent.
Out East you've got a whole slew of varying accents, as jumbled up as the ethnicities that settled the big cities. My first encounter with a thick Boston accent left me wondering if the woman had contracted some disease as a child, or had gotten into an accident that had hindered her speech development. Fortunately, I got to know her very well, and finally picked up that it was her regional diction at fault, not her brain! You can't blame me though, just think of children that are not developing phonetics as they should. They don't pronounce letter such as "r," which is one of the big cases in the Boston accent.
For the rest of the NE, I'd probably have to conduct another study and actually spend time in each Burrow of New York, and each region of the surrounding states, as they all have a complex history of various ethnicities for me to speak in generalities. Southern states as well, though I do have to say the Southern drawl is just delightful! Basically each vowel is drawn out, and after the first syllable of each word, the speaker drops a few notes to finish the remainder. If there is only one syllable, the word just goes down in tone automatically. Of course, that might be traditional deep South specific, as today's evolved version seems to go up in tone. Again though, there are probably regional distinctions that would require me to travel and spend some time researching. Which actually sounds like quite an interesting time. Isn't diction fun? It gives me something to pick apart in my mind, instead of sitting in dead space narrating the things around me like a story, or repeatedly playing tunes in my head.
Oh yes, and if you're curious to know what accent I have.. I have no idea. I even recorded myself speaking this morning, and then listened to it in hopes to discover my roots. Unfortunately I believe my excellent ear for picking apart others accents has caused me to mesh them into my own speech patterns. I can't imagine how people can even understand my speaking. Some vowels have a very flat sound, like Northern/Native American, but I also have some overly long vowels, and a bit of the midwest "a." Now I understand why a traveler once asked me where I was from, as he couldn't pinpoint my accent. Well sir, I also have no idea where I'm from. What a good question!
