LL-L "Documentation" 2004.12.22 (01) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 22.DEC.2004 (01) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: Uilleam Ã’g mhic Sheumais <goidel.glas at gmail.com>
Subject: Accents

Feasgar math, a Lowlanders;

Lowlanders, I've been thinking a lot about accents today and how they are
fast disappearing in the United States. I'm wondering what exactly can be
done to study the accents as long as they remain- I'm thinking especially of
a man who lives in my town with one of the strongest Massachusetts accents
I've ever heard. I want to know what I can do to record this; i.e., whom I
can contact, what organizations can help, what *I* can do. Any help at all
would be appreciated!

Beannachdan,
Uilleam Ã’g mhic Sheumais

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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Documentation

Latha math, a Uilleam!

The first thing that springs to mind is to suggest that you contact and
possibly join the American Dialect Society
(http://www.americandialect.org/), probably *the* organization, founded in
1889(!).  It so happens that we are blessed and honored to have its current
president, Michael B. Montgomery, among our members.  Anyone who is
interested in American English, or indeed in *any* variety of English, ought
to take note of and support this resource.

If you want to go it alone, I suggest you do a bit of background reading
first and then arrange some recording sessions with the person(s) whose
speech you wish to record.  I suggest you prepare a few questions after
first finding out what this person or these persons feel(s) passionate
about.  This will get them talking and hopefully forgetting that they are
being recorded.  What you want to avoid is an awkward situation conducive to
producing unnatural speech modes due to the speaker feeling self-conscious.
In my experience, asking about a person's past does the trick, especially
once you find out which phases of their past they feel excited about.  In
most cases it's their childhoods and their "times of glory" (e.g., military
service, courtship, wedding, childbirth, traveling) and the way things used
to be done as opposed to the way they are done now.  Another thing would be
their hobby or other sort of passion.  Also, you could ask what they think
about the way things are now, which is likely to result in a
"bitch-session," but that's all right as long as you get them talking.  I
suggest to ask questions that elicit long-winded responses so as to get
large chunks of speech.

If you have a good number of speakers whose speech you wish to record and
compare, you might want to consider having a well-thought-out set of
questions that is likely to elicit similar responses.  However, in that case
I'd strongly recommend turning to the experts or at least replicating sets
of questions and answers that are already published.

The trickiest thing, in my experience, is to get elderly speakers to
cooperate without making them feel you think they are on their deathbeds.  I
suggest bringing the topic up to them by letting them know that you are
fascinated by their dialects and wonder if you could record them sometime
soon, perhaps alluding to periodic follow-up sessions in the unforseeable
future.  You could invite them and treat them to create a cozy atmosphere.

Some speakers cannot be fooled, and they are all right with their imminent
mortality.  Some even initiate recordings themselves, such as the father of
my oldest friend (the latter of whom has been lurking here since the
beginning!) who sent me a large package of his recorded speech (mostly
readings of LS literature he cared about) not long before he passed away
suddenly.

So there you have my suggestions.

Tiaraidh an drà sda!
Reinhard/Ron

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