Is it okay to tease someone because of their "accent"? Is it like teasing someone because they can't spell well?
For instance, what if it's a teacher giving a spelling test and leaving out vowels? I mean, how does one say, "geometry" properly anyway? If someone were to say "jom-e-tree", would it be okay to giggle and/or correct them? I say, "gee-ah-me-tree". Am I correct? If the kids can spell it right, does it really matter? I'm just saying, I don't really know.
I had a Spanish teacher in 9th grade who struggled with a speech impediment. She had difficulty breathing when she talked, so her voice sounded kind of shaky. And here she was, teaching us how to "speak" Spanish. It was ironic.
My French teacher was a true Southern Bell and had the strong accent to go with it. She would say things like, "Bon-zhure claaase. Ko-mo tal-e vew?" I had 2 yrs. of French with her. I felt okay with my French. I never tried it out on a real French person though.
My kids say things like "maow-un" for mountain and "faow-un" for fountain. Where did the "t" go? It's a Utah thing. I tease them for talking like Utahans. "We are, Mom." they remind me. Oh yeah. Just because I'M not from Utah, I forget that they are.
For instance, what if it's a teacher giving a spelling test and leaving out vowels? I mean, how does one say, "geometry" properly anyway? If someone were to say "jom-e-tree", would it be okay to giggle and/or correct them? I say, "gee-ah-me-tree". Am I correct? If the kids can spell it right, does it really matter? I'm just saying, I don't really know.
I had a Spanish teacher in 9th grade who struggled with a speech impediment. She had difficulty breathing when she talked, so her voice sounded kind of shaky. And here she was, teaching us how to "speak" Spanish. It was ironic.
My French teacher was a true Southern Bell and had the strong accent to go with it. She would say things like, "Bon-zhure claaase. Ko-mo tal-e vew?" I had 2 yrs. of French with her. I felt okay with my French. I never tried it out on a real French person though.
My kids say things like "maow-un" for mountain and "faow-un" for fountain. Where did the "t" go? It's a Utah thing. I tease them for talking like Utahans. "We are, Mom." they remind me. Oh yeah. Just because I'M not from Utah, I forget that they are.
Wear Iy'm frum, they tawk lye-k the-ss. They eat their food with a "fo-work"- (two syllables) and create new words like "ain't" and "ya'll". So who am I to tease anyway?
10 comments:
Accents are funny things. I remember an American I met in Ecuador. He spoke gramatically flawless Spanish, but with a strong "Gringo" accent. I, on the other hand, spoke gramatically flawed Spanish, but with only with the slightest trace of an accent. The net result--people claimed I was much easier to understand.
Naow that Ah spend a lot of mah tahm in Georgia, Ah fahnd that Ah start talkin' lahk the people around me. It's a funny thing.
It's a good thing that nun of us our perfect ore weed all bee translated bye now, wright?
That's what eye thought, two.
PJ- I'm just glad you DON'T talk like that! :)
TCHN- Lovely English language- can't pronounce it, can't spell it. (BTW- Well done :) )
LOL! Don't forget those other southern favorites "warsh" as in I need a warsh cloth and "yont-to" as in "Yont-to go to tha' store wit me?" Also, you can get away with murder if you say "Bless his/her heart" before/after insulting someone!
P.S. Love those names too...Rebekah is on our short list. :-) Miss you!
B&L- I forgot about some of those! I remember a friend telling me she was fixin' to warsh her har on Sundee. :)
LOL!!!
(I'm back on the blogs... I have a LOT of catching up to do.)
My hubby use to laugh at me. Some of my dad has rubbed off on me over the years. He was an Idaho/Utah farm boy and spoke lazy English.
I never was this bad but he use to say: "I wents the store.." (I went to the store) and "Gaull-lee" (probably from Gomer Pyle). He was always good for a giggle when we asked him to say "helmet" It would come out Helm-let.
When I sign I sign with a combined Iowa/California/Utah accent. When I speak I still occasionally use the Iowa pronunciation for q-pon (Allen says coo-pon), which drives Allen absolutely nuts. I'm getting better. I also still call the store the 'grocery' sometimes.
My sister says woosh for wish. She always has and she is 26 now. And my niece would say waager for water. I say tal for towel.
We love you Annette! Miss your blog posts - I check every day, but still no funny anecdotes from our awesome sister-in-law! Miss you!
You know hon.. it's 2010!
It's MAY 2010!
I know you're busy but I miss reading about "stuff". (I know I talk to you all the time but you do post things that I don't always hear about).
I miss you online!! See, this way I can get my Annette fix at 1:30 in the morning if I want and you can still get enough sleep for work the next day. It's a Win-Win!
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