Monday, August 13, 2007

Weekend Recap #17

IN THE NEWS: According to World Magazine, Englishman John Richards has been living with a misdiagnosed break in his neck for almost 58 years. This summer Richards went to his doctor for a routine visit and complained about a neck pain that had bothered him since he was 16--the time when he fell out of an apple tree. Doctors at that time treated him for a broken wrist but never checked his neck. In his life time, Richards worked on a farm and even spent 15 years as an amateur boxer--not knowing that one wrong punch could have killed him! When the doctors discovered the break, Richards was rushed into surgery to insert an inch-long bolt in his neck.

Well, all went well with my little family get together on Saturday. Civility and a nice time was what I shooting for--and luckily, that's what I got. Yay. I was very pleased with the whole situation. (Oh, and the food turned out yummy, too)

One funny thing that came up during our dinner was how people talk. I lived up in Massachusetts for a few years, so I shared a funny story of my experience with "accents".
I may have told this story before on this blog, so if I did, just smile and nod and pretend it's new information. Okay? Good.

Anyway... Here's the set-up: I'm working up in New England and my boss at the time (who had a very thick Boston accent) called to tell me about a meeting he'd like me to attend. Keep in mind, I'm not too familiar with town names or hotel names yet, since I'm still a newbie to the area.

ME: "Okay. I can make it. Where's the meeting going to be held?"

BOSS: "An inn called the Laud Wakefield."

ME: "Laud Wakefield?"

BOSS: "Yeah. The Laud Wakefield."

ME: (Puzzled, trying to figure out what exactly a laud is and what exactly kind of inn this is) "You mean, The Lodge Wakefield."

BOSS: "No. The Laud Wakefield."

ME: (Grasping at straws as to what he's saying) "The Large Wakefield?"

BOSS: (Getting agitated with my obsession with laud when all he wants to do is give me driving directions) "No, Jennafa, laud."

ME: "Laud?"

BOSS: "Yes! Laud! Laud! Laud!"

ME: "Um, I'm sorry, but I don't think I'm hearing you right. How do you spell it?"

BOSS: (Sighing) "L. O. R. D."

ME: "Oh!!! Lord."

BOSS. "Yes. Laud."

At that point I couldn't care less about the directions. I just wanted those 5 minutes of my life back.

Then my mom was quick to point out that we (in New Jersey) have accents, too.

What? Impossible. So she gave a few examples to me and my equally confused siblings.

EX. The food store "Acme". Normally pronounced with two syllables. Ack-me.
However, my mom pronounces it Ac-a-me. 3 syllables. I don't think that's a New Jersey accent though since none of the other NJ residents at the table said it like that.

EX. Water. Most New Jersians will pronounce it wooter. (Except me. I pronounce it correctly.)

I have to say, I think I generally buck the norm as far as NJ accents go. Although I used to be teased by my NORTH Jersey friends about my pronounciation of the word home. I still don't hear what I say that sounds so different.

Go figure.

Do you have an accent?

4 comments:

Chicki Brown said...

When we moved here to Atlanta I got so sick of people talking about my "Jersey accent." What I couldn't get over was the way folks down here slaughter the English language. When I first came here, I couldn't understand a word anybody said because there are white Georgia accents and then there are black Georgia accents -- both equally horrible!

For instance, you'll hear white people say, "Ma wof went May-retta today." Translation: "My wife went to Marietta today" They have a kind of hillbilly twang.

But some of the blacks can be heard saying, "Sho ya right. It wod'n nutin' nos." Translation:
"You're right. It wasn't anything nice."

It's enough to make my head explode!!!! But I guess I'm just a Yankee snob. :)

Chelle Sandell said...

LOL. Girl...I'm from Oklahoma and have lived in the mountains of North Carolina and near Birmingham Alabama. It goes without saying I have a crazy mixed up accent. I get made fun of wherever I am!!! Then I've got a hick cowboy hubby from New Mexico.

Chelle Sandell said...

Hah...just imagine what my children sound like!!!

Elle Fredrix said...

LOL. I'll have to give some thougth to my Torontion accent. Well, most people that have lived here for ever say Trawna instead of TOE-RON-TOE, but I believe that's just sheer laziness.

And Americans like to say that we Canadians say ABOOT instead of ABOUT. I'd say the only Canadians that say that live on the east coast, and well, NO ONE can understand what some of them are saying. Seriously, there was a news segment a few weeks ago about east coast fisherman. They were interviewing this guy and they had to subtitle it. The guy was speaking English, but who knew?