The sound of American speech

[scarlettina]

Among the many random things I consider every now and then is how Americans talk. For example, when did business people adopt the Valley Girl habit of ending sentences as if they were questions? When did any trace of a rolled R leave our pronunciation? Stuff like that. (When did I start saying "stuff" as opposed to "things

Comments

[suricattus]

the "ending as a question" speech pattern (there's a technical name for it but it escapes me at the moment) is an older Southern thing, rather than a Valley Girl trait. I tend to pick it up again every time I'm in Georgia for more than a few days.

[amheriksha]

Well, I think the shift is also because there has been a change in thinking about how well one speaks and how connected that is to their standing in the world. Speech used to be very important for someone to be taken seriously or even have a chance to work their way up in the world.

Now you can sound pretty much however you want without any repercussions. Money speaks instead of your elocution, and being a boor in the classic sense is now accepted if someone has power and money. (Some of the horrible things politicians have been saying about each other is a good example of this. Where the heck did the requirement for public speaking go?)

There is a definite sense of derision for using anything beyond basic vocabulary or common slang in this country, and that, frankly, sucks. I'm hoping we'll have a weird revolution due to the fact internet communication basically requires someone to be able to express themselves through the written word, but sadly, that doesn't seem to be happening any time soon.

[scarlettina]

Now you can sound pretty much however you want without any repercussions.I'm not sure I agree. How one speaks does make an impression. There are still places in this country where if you speak with a thick New York or New Jersey accent people assume you're uneducated or you're a criminal of some kind. (Coming from New York, trust me, I know. And if you speak with a NY accents in some areas, people automatically assume you're Jewish whether you are or not, and that carries a whole other set of baggage. Having been accosted on the free, liberal streets of Seattle for being Jewish, I can speak to that as well.) I think we're just far less willing to say so out loud for fear of being called politically incorrect

[amheriksha]

In my third paragraph, I mean more word choice than accent. More and more public figures are using profanity, slang, etc to get their point across rather than using conventional speech. It just seems like it used to be more...subtle. Not necessarily more elegant, but it seems like the whole point of the political game was to call your opponent an ass without actually saying the exact words.

As for hearing NY accents and assuming the person is Jewish or hearing a New Jersey accent and assuming the person is uneducated, I'm not sure if that's so much a judgement on the accent itself so much as the stereotypes that have been heavily propagated by Hollywood connected to that accent. (And Jersey Shore.) My feeling is that word choice is degrading to simpler stuff, and that was mostly what I was replying about. (Seeing now that you meant accents instead, I apologize for missing the point.) :)

[scarlettina]

Re: your original third paragraph: I completely agree with your points on this. You're right when you say that "the whole point of the political game was to call your opponent an ass without actually saying the exact words." I'm always amused by the strained way in which a polician will refer to a colleague when the debate gets tough: "the gentleman from Missouri." But if you listen closely, what he's really saying is "that a**hole from Bumf*ck."
You also make a good point about how the media colors perception.

And no apologies are necessary for misunderstanding my original point. This is a valid related conversation; no question.

Rambling observations:

[robespierrette]

Businesspeople who use the "ending every sentence as if it is a question" intonation can still be easily rolled over by people who use the old "declarative statement ending on a down note" method. ;) The "questioning" tone is a way of trying to soften the edge of what you're saying, giving you a sort of "out" if others don't agree with you - hence its popularity

Re: Rambling observations:

[scarlettina]

I also learned, in Ireland, to pronounce "merry", "marry" and "Mary" differently. They're very particular about their vowel sounds over thereWe're very particular about it in New York, too. ::grin:: I've never thought those three words should be pronounced the same way; they're distinct in both spelling and pronunciation. It was only when I moved here that I heard their sounds conflated. It still strikes me as odd and I have to listen carefully to be sure I'm understanding people

[wingedelephant]

I can certainly relate to your experiences with the assumptions made about the NY accent, due to my struggles with a Southern accent. There's approximately nobody who doesn't assume a Southern accent means you're uneducated, uncultured, probably racist and/or conservative, maybe crazy, and often downright criminal or perverse

[scarlettina]

Making a statement? ME? What are you talking about? ;-)

[prettyshrub]

It is odd that accents drift over time and space. You would think that since we all started out in more or less the same group of hominids, there wouldn't be any reason for any changes.