Don McKenna writes...
>Last month, up in B.C., a waitress asked where we were from, when we
told
>her she said she'd already guessed California. When we asked how, she
said
>it was our accents!
I got a lot of comments about my Californian accent when I was in
Vancouver, although no one really came out and said, "Why do you talk so
funny?" which they could have. Back when I was studying at the
prestigious Bakersfield Academy of Performing Arts (Cal State
Bakersfield, don't ask me why), I was marked down for my "bubbly" Bay
Area accent. But at least my advisor said it was bubbly.
I find accents really fascinating, and all of them possess their own
charm. I wish people would stop moving so much, so there could be some
consistency. I listen to everyone talk, and I try to guess where they're
from. One time, in Berlin, I accurately guessed (it was, indeed,
guessing) that this girl in a hostel I met was from Los Gatos, because
she said, "Yes, definitelay" just like these girls I knew on my college
swim team, also from Los Gatos.
Did you know that there was once a San Francisco accent? My grandmother,
an immigrant from Spain to San Francisco, had an accent, but she arrived
when she was two. She had different speech inflections than say someone
from the Central Valley. It was almost like she was from New York. She
also waved her arms around when she talked, like she was exasperated
with us. Because I think she was.
Barry, I chide you only in friendly jest. You have a very pleasant
accent, a blend of English and American, totally unique and nice on the
ear.
Katie
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