Rachel,

Often I am asked where I am from, since I do not usually express an Okie accent that is noticeable to other Okies. People assume that I am from a midwest state with a more neutral accent.

It's a different story when I go to visit relatives in California. Then I am ribbed about my accent without mercy.

Cain't stand to hear us tawk, huh? Jes' to let yew know, Ah'm reading ya'lls blawg with my Deep Texas trashy drawl in my haid. Raht now! Whatcha'll think of that? And from now til' always, too! That'll teach ya'll!

I always thought Obama was pretentious. Let me count the ways ...

The Oprah-isms (Oprah is the single most pretentious woman on the face of the earth -- I dare anyone to prove me otherwise). The titles of his books ("Dreams of My Father" -- that would be the same Father who walked out on you and your Mother practically at birth, right? ... "The Audacity of Hope" -- the ultimate example of corporate/consultant non-speech. WTF does that title mean? Really.). The pandering to race when his own experiences are so different than those with whom he tries to "Keep It Real".

As a Chicagoan, I have been embarrassed by my city's piolitical antics more than I care to admit, but this week's been a real doozy. First the Kos Konvention with the pandering debate, and then the Union extravaganza .... erm, "debate" ... at Soldier Field last night. The local news 'political analysts' were having a c**cle j**k over the Democrats last night. Thank heavens for "Sex & The City" re-runs at 10 PM on WGN!

BTW: I am a native Chicagoan, and I have virtually no trace of the stereotypical Chicago accent (mostly a Southwest Side thing). My Mother (Cleveland born & bred) made sure of that!

Now rkcoker, if you were REALLY southern, you'd know that you don't TEACH people, ya LARN 'em!

(As is, "That'll larn ya!") Hee.

On another note, why is it about animals that inspires random accents? I've used accents for each animal I've ever owned - none of them have been the same, and most have even been made up.

Odd. Quite embarassing actually.

Somewhere there's a Canadian that's ABOOT to start bitching.

Funny about accents; my husband and I are from Ohio, and when we lived in New Jersey, people thought we were from the South. When we lived in Oklahoma, people thought we were from the East Coast. Everywhere we've lived we've heard interesting colloquialisms and accents.

It's Hillary's voice I can't stand. It's grating and atonal.

I'm kind of partial to calling him "O-bama-lama-ding-dong".

Speaking of accents, I've gotten in trouble before with people because I started picking up their accent - they thought I was mocking them, but it just happens, although if I get to lecturing, my old hillbilly accent starts to come out.

Take off eh! You hoser!

Like MN is so far from CN, eh?

Well, I guess I'm getting it from both ends since I'm a Canadian who now lives in Georgia, eh y'all?

I have the same pet peeve about mispronounciations!

I always cringe when I hear a story about Las Vegas on a national news channel, because there's a 99% chance they're going to call the state "Nev-Odd-Uh". Hey, anchors, this just in: It's pronounced "Nev-Add-Uh".

Whenever I hear someone mention "Nev-Odd-Uh", I always ask where that is located.

Those who hear "Or-uh-Gone" or "Call-er-Odd-o" can probably imagine.

gmsc: We lived in NeVAda as well, and picked up the distinction quickly. We still pronounce it correctly, but get funny looks from people.

After a few weeks at a local public school in Hawaii, my girls informed me it's pronounced HaVAii, not HaWYii.

We just moved to Missouri, and I've heard that the locals pronounce it Missoura, but I haven't heard it yet.

Just stick with "B. Hussein"

I grew up in St. Louis, and the only people that pronounce the name of the state 'Missoura' are hicks from Nebraska or Kansas.

And Grandpa Simpson.

But you're right, Rachel, these morons on TV with their irritating pronunciations are a huge pet peeve of mine.

I, for one, will never utter the word Harris-ment.

Remember Ashley Banfield a few years back when she kept talking about Chee-lay?

And Quatar is somehow now pronounced 'Cutter'?

But the mother of all asshat pronunciations has to be that dilda testifying before Congress saying 'Jenjis Khan'.... Good lord what a tool.

No, no, remember he is IRISH!

Call him Barry O'Bama!

ROFL! He's Irish!

Don't let him in on that or the next thing we will see is Lucky in his posse.

I know, you think I'm gonna rip ya for what you said about unions.

Well, Surprise! I've had some dealings with Union myself, and no they weren't good either.I personally think that the unions started out with good intentions. But, there was one little fatal flaw... Greed.

Classic case of get 'em an inch, they'll take a mile.

Plus Nafta sold them up the river anyhow... thanks to clinton. the azzhat.

Thought I was gonna flame ya, didn't ya? ;-P

-HL

Also Rachel and all...

I am a history buff... and I thought you all might enjoy this interactive history of the UAW.

enjoy.

Oh, don't worry... Barry already knows he's Irish!

the real question is, how long before he claims he's related to the Kennedys?

Just so you know. It's y'all, not ya'll. :P

Even if I lose all traces of my drawl, I'm never giving up "y'all". It's the second-person informal plural that English otherwise tragically lacks.

Nevada, Colorado - how will we pronounce these when the populations there become predominantly Hispanic? Our current preferred versions are anglicized Spanish, and once the Anglos fall to a minority ...

California is 35% Hispanic, Nevada 23.5%, Colorado 19.5%.

I don't much care about "second-person informal plural", it's third-person singular gender-indefinite I'm looking for. "Singular they" may well be grammatically correct (again) but it grates awfully.

Like retrocop, I am from OK. I no longer liver there (I got smart and moved to TX, where people can actually earn a living). I used to get the Midwest guess all the time. But after living here for over a year, one thing is absolutely certain: the "twang" that comes out of East Texas is the armpit of the English language. I work in direct contact w/ a couple of people from East Texas and sometimes I really do have to look at them and say "Did you really graduate high school and get a job speaking like this." It is horrid. Admittedly, I have my own country tweaks in my enunciations, but this shit is unbearable. Not only does it infect they way they speak, but the way they hear. And hear is an example: the Asian food restaurant Pei Wei (pronounced Pay Way) is butchered into Pee Wees. Yes, plural. And the person that says this HAS NEVER READ THE NAME. She picked this up from hearing us say it. Un-fucking-believable.

Rachl Lukis! check your email!

JohnS: Nevada, Colorado - how will we pronounce these when the populations there become predominantly Hispanic? Our current preferred versions are anglicized Spanish, and once the Anglos fall to a minority ...

California is 35% Hispanic, Nevada 23.5%, Colorado 19.5%.

I'll start worrying about that when I hear people calling it Los An-Hell-es.

With apologies to retrocop because I can't resist....

Am I the only one who finds irony in the words "more neutral accent" sitting alongside one-another?

My actual favorite thing is when reporters say Hispanic names with a heavy accent. Why does this annoy me? Because there is no fucking way in hell that reporters in Mexico are pronouncing American names with the proper American accent.

Unions--ARRRRRRRGGGGHHHHHHH! Yes, they had their usefulness when first started, but now have grown to be political money making machines for the Dems (amongst many other bad things). You are expected to vote Dem if you are a union member, regardless of your political beliefs. They donate huge sums of union dues to their causes and candidates, regardless of the members' wishes (dispite it being illegal). Union leadership also uses dues for huge boondoggles to Vegas, etc. for annual 'conventions'. Working harder or smarter will earn contempt from fellow union members. The squeakiest wheel and least productive gets rewarded. And....

THE U.A.W. PUT THE STATE OF MICHIGAN INTO THE TOILET AND FLUSHED IT DOWN THE DRAIN!!!!!!!

Whew. I feel better now. Gotta get that rant out of my system on a regular basis. Thanks for the opportunity!

Signed,

Marge(former union member)inMI

Thees Texas accent is a nice form of speech...for me to poop on!

I was 18 and in college before I realized that I had an accent (Minnesota). Of course all my uneducated friends think we all speak like Wm. H. Macy and Holly Hunter in "Fargo".

After 12 years in Southern California I realize that "accents" are steadily shifting to the LCD (that's Lowest Common Denominator for those of you who were educated in the California public school system). Some kid from New Jersey was on ESPN last week speaking like a black gansgsta rapper as he won some idiotic XBox football game tournament (this is sport?). The kid that he beat, a black kid from Oakland, looked like he wanted to shove the game controller right up Kid Jersey's poop chute--and not for the score in the game--for the "where you at?" and "I told you I was down" drivel oozing from his McNugget hole.

Just so you know. It's y'all, not ya'll. :P

Hey, sarahk, it's all about where you put the emphasis on the syllallabull! ;-)

Should I be embarrassed that I get all of my political information from you? I once had a southern kid (Floridian) tell me that he worked very hard at getting rid of his accent because it seems that northerners think people with southern accents are stupid. And since he had a job selling to northerners that just wouldn't do.

I re-read "Was there a moshpit at this thing?" 18 times. I kept reading "moshpit" as "mopshit" and was wondering wtf a mopshit is? The gross sludge that sometimes accumulates on uncleaned mops and leaves behind slimy yet oddly lumpy smeary tracks on the floor?

It seemed to not make any sense. Is this some sort of commentary on the unions?

I thought you might be drinking while blogging, but still. Then it hit me that I was a dumb ass and it was moshpit, not mopshit. Aha! Mosh. pit.

Now I'm torn. Do I keep reading this post? Can anything you write be as funny as me trying to figure out why a union sponsored democratic debate had mopshit all over the floor?

ROFL gandalf!!! I love how we can switch letters like that while reading. Too funny.

I know I don't have an accent. Nope. Not even a little bit of one. It's all of you out there that have accents. Not me. :)

And if I hear Rush mispronounce a Washington town one more time...arg! It's Puyallup -
Pew-Al-Up. How hard is that?