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Thursday, June 13, 2013

Accenting the Obvious

Accents…

Admit it, you either like them or you hate them.

Most people begin to immediately make assumptions about a person as soon as they hear a voice that doesn’t sound like their own.

Whether the assumptions carry any weight or not, that’s just how our minds seem to work.

You know that when you hear a southern, a New York, a Boston, a British, an Indian accent you already think that you know something about the person.  A little slow perhaps? Snooty? Sophisticated?

I’ll admit I’ve been a little swayed by a lovely accent before; I’ve dated Irish, British and Italian men.  But underneath the soliloquy, they’re just dudes.  We all know that there are assholes in every nationality.

These makes me think of a guy I once met on a dating site.  We started out texting, which is how I prefer things to go, then, late one night, he called me.

“Wow, you have an accent!”  Was his initial comment.

“Yea, I know, I’m not a Cincinnati native.”  I reply, thinking it will be the end of the discussion about my accent.  Which, by the way, isn’t a bad accent at all.  And the longer I live here, the slighter it becomes.

But… it went on and on…

“From looking at you, I’d never guess you had a country accent!”

Sheesh…

I may not look like a country girl, but, underneath all this ink… I am one.

I’ve always thought that I sounded like a hick and even as my accent becomes slighter, there are words that I know I’ll never be able to say “right”.  But that’s ok, that’s part of my charm.

Anyway, he kept going on and on about my accent, even trying to mimic it (or mock, I’m not sure).  I began to feel a little offended.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have a chip on my shoulder, and I can accept some good natured teasing, but for fuck’s sake, he wouldn’t let it go.

I was sooooooo relieved when he got another call that he had to take.

Now, he could have been a perfectly nice guy who was a little nervous, not a good conversationalist or just a total dunce, I don’t know.

I have to put him in the same category as the guy who said I looked like a really cute cartoon character. 

Oh yea, before I forget to mention it, TrippyBeth is smitten.

I know, look out and batten down the hatches!!

I don’t know if it will go anywhere, not sure if he’s smitten or not, all I know, right now, is that I like spending time with him…

Oh, don't forget to check out my photo blog if you get the chance!!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are from Kentucky, correct? What did this guy expect/ Kentuckians have a southern accent, even ones from just across the river. It is interesting that the differences are so defined between someone from OTR and someone from Newport or Covington.

As an aside, I'm from Alabama but originally from Baltimore. It took me two decades to learn to say "y'all" and when I pronounce the work "kilometer" I say 'kill-ah-met-er" not Kill-O-Mee-ter' like Alabamians do.

But I lived in NW Alabama, so the accents aren't Paula Deen accentuated.

Personally I like the Pacific Northwest, their accents are crystal clear without many crazy nuances. I think the best speakers come from there in my opinion.

TrippyBeth said...

Haha I think he was socially awkward and didn't know how to hold a conversation.
But mostly his surprise was that I LOOK a certain way, yet SOUND a completely unexpected way.
I love accents but don't want to make anyone feel like a freak because they have one.

Anonymous said...

I can hold a conversation. I'm just not comfy in crowds. Plus it doesn't hurt for women to have initiative.

Some guys are just afraid. I don't blame them. If we're too assertive, it can be viewed as aggressive or 'jerk" behavior, or worse. The fear of being labeled a potential predator or at least an A-hole scares many "nice guys," leaving the alpha males.

That's just my assumption as a sociology dabbler.

Anonymous said...

I will share this story since it is relevant.

I am mostly white but of Mediterranean and Native heritage. I get confused for Hispanic at times.

A few months ago I was in New Mexico on a bus, and it was stopped by the border patrol. They came on board and this agent is going down the aisles asking if people were "American citizens." Try as they might, they look more intently at those of brown complexion unconsciously. Well, they came to me and they were eyeballing me.

The border agent asked, "Are you an American citizen?"

I replied, "Why, yes sir, officer, I'm from Alabama" (in an accentuated accent).

The look on his face was priceless :)

I made everyone's day with tht one.