Is It Just Him, Or Do I Sound Funny To You?

[thegreatsquid]

I was in the Library a few days ago and one of the Librarians, an older gentleman, asked me if I was Russian. Or, if not, he asked if I was Brazilian. He told me that before retirement he had been a linguist, though he couldn’t quite remember which accent was Brazilian and which was Russian. I was forced to inform him that he was wrong on both counts. I suppose I can trace my ancestry back to untamed Eastern Europe. The border changed so often it must have been part of Russia at some point. Still, that was generations ago. The nuances of pronunciation should be long eliminated. If there’s anything foreign in my voice it’s my mother’s English. But the linguist perceived none of it.

Truthfully, this isn’t the first such incident. About a year ago at contra dance this guy asked me where I was from. He said that he couldn’t place my voice, but he was sure that it wasn’t American.

Is it just him, or do I sound funny to you?