Teaching With a Kentucky Accent

[Beverly Flanigan]

I tell my students that this prejudice will change as power and money move
southward, as they now are.  Four presidents since LBJ have been from the
South, and no one considers them dumb (well, maybe excepting the present
one...), and the two recent midwestern presidents, Truman and Eisenhower,
didn't talk like the Eastern elite by any means.  Congressional, corporate,
and even media leaders are increasingly from the South and Southwest.  So
patience--as Labov concluded a talk he gave a few years ago at SECOL, the
South shall rise again!

I'm curious to know what college your mother attended, Anne?

At 10:54 AM 12/5/2002 -0800, you wrote:
>To all:
>
>I don't know what to say to all of this.  I only know what my mother told me
>once about her college experience, where everyone was expected to take
>"speech" lessons.  The purpose of these "speech lessons" was to get some
>people(specifically people from some parts of the South and from some parts
>of New York)to "lose" their "accents".  Southerners at that time (and
>sometimes still are) considered ill-educated and stupid in the "folklore".
>The other "experience" I've had is reading about people who take "speech"
>therapy so they can "lose" their accents and succeed in business.
>Apparently people with "Eastern Kentucky" and other obvious "Southern"
>accents aren't taken seriously in business or as TV announcers, etc.  So
>prejudiced and ill-informed as this professor may be, he appears to be
>coming from a long tradition. . . .
>Anne G
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Dennis R. Preston" <preston at PILOT.MSU.EDU>
>To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>Sent: Thursday, December 05, 2002 8:49 AM
>Subject: Re: Teaching With a Kentucky Accent
>
>
> > >Since i am from north central Kentucky, I actually subtract
> > >23.567832, give or take a little.
> >
> > dInIs
> >
> >
> >
> > >Unfortunately for those of us with an Eastern Kentucky accent, while
> > >many others are thought of as sophisticated, people hear the Eastern
> > >Kentucky accent and subtract a couple dozen IQ points.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >Travis Scott Hall
> > >
> > >  >From: Margaret Blankenship
> > >  >Reply-To: American Dialect Society
> > >  >To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > >  >Subject: Re: Teaching With a Kentucky Accent
> > >  >Date: Thu, 5 Dec 2002 09:23:22 -0500
> > >  >
> > >  >Stephani,
> > >  >I have to also say that your professor was wrong to expect people to
> > >  >cahnge
> > >  >what is a part of who they are. Where has he/she come from that he
> > >  >thinks
> > >  >his accent is far superior to anyone else's. That is what is wrong
> > >  >with our
> > >  >society today, people are always so quick to judge others by an
> > >  >accent, sex,
> > >  >religion or culture. It is ridiculous to say the least. Stephanie
> > >  >you stick
> > >  >to your guns and tell your professor maybe they should not be
> > >  >teaching
> > >  >because of prejidices.
> > >  >Margaret Blankenship
> > >  >
> > >  >
> > >  >
> > >  >
> > >  >
> > >  >
> > >  >>From: Stephani Hardin
> > >  >>Reply-To: American Dialect Society
> > >  >>To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > >  >>Subject: Teaching With a Kentucky Accent
> > >  >>Date: Wed, 4 Dec 2002 18:25:38 -0500
> > >  >>
> > >  >>In one of the Education classes I took last Fall A Professor made a
> > >  >>remark
> > >  >>in
> > >  >>class that has bothered me to this day. He said, "Some of you in
> > >  >>here
> > >  >>speak
> > >  >>with a heavy Eastern Kentucky accent, and you need to think
> > >  >>seriously about
> > >  >>working on changing it if you want to teach English." I find this
> > >  >>to be
> > >  >>both
> > >  >>offensive and judgmental. An accent has no bearing on accepted
> > >  >>forms of
> > >  >>speech. (I use the word 'accepted' rather than 'correct', because
> > >  >>on whose
> > >  >>standards do we even judge forms of speech) To ask someone to
> > >  >>change an
> > >  >>accent
> > >  >>is ridiculous when you consider the fact that we all, regardless of
> > >  >>where
> > >  >>we
> > >  >>are from, have one. This Professor displays a preference for one
> > >  >>accent
> > >  >>over
> > >  >>another, and he suggests I change something that is a part of who I
> > >  >>am.
> > >  >>Why
> > >  >>should I compromise my heritage to suit the standards of someone
> > >  >>with
> > >  >>linguistic prejudices?
> > >  >>
> > >  >>Stephani Hardin
> > >  >
> > >  >
> > >  >_________________________________________________________________
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> > --
> > Dennis R. Preston
> > Professor of Linguistics
> > Department of Linguistics & Germanic, Slavic,
> >       Asian & African Languages
> > Michigan State University
> > East Lansing, MI 48824-1027
> > e-mail: preston at msu.edu
> > phone: (517) 353-9290
> >