American accent test
Wilson Gray
hwgray at GMAIL.COM
Tue Mar 25 03:48:26 UTC 2008
You no doubt remember the competing comic strip, _The Captain and The
Kids_. I'd always considered The Kj Kids to be the original, but, I
read somewhere, The C and TK is the original. Then there was _Bringing
Up Father_ and _Jiggs and Maggie_. A comic-book-collector colleague
told me that _Captain Marvel_ was put out of business by _Superman_ on
copyright issues. What copyright issues? Well, you never know.
-Wilson
On Mon, Mar 24, 2008 at 11:02 PM, Dennis Preston <preston at msu.edu> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster: Dennis Preston <preston at MSU.EDU>
> Subject: Re: American accent test
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Wilson,
>
> Good to hear from one of the Katzenjammer Kids. By the way,
> Katzenjammer was shortened to just "Katz" where it came to mean (not
> surprisingly) "hangover" in western Polish.
>
> dInIs (Aj! Mam katz!)
>
>
>
> >---------------------- Information from the mail header
> >-----------------------
> >Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >Poster: Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> >Subject: Re: American accent test
> >-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >Well, I hope that it was a while ago, dInIs. Back in 1972, Halle had
> >already declared in classroom lectures at the 'Tute that SPE was
> >wrong, to the extent that the old standard, /aU/, had evolved to a new
> >standard, /aeU/. Of course, he could have been unduly - and wrongly?
> >- influenced by Chomsky's dialect. :-)
> >
> >Well, not, I guess. The pronunciation [laeUd] is now so common even
> >among younger black speakers that I tend to stutter when saying
> >[laUd]. And they also eat cheeseburgers. As many here no doubt recall,
> >when I was in the Army in the 'Fifties, the eating of cheeseburgers -
> >in fact, any combination of meat with cheese - by blacks was so alien
> >that "cheeseburger" was the "standard," non-derogatory slang term for
> >"white GI." We referred to ourselves as "hamburgers," of course.
> >
> >BTW, speaking of the military, there was a version of "stop-loss" in
> >those days, too. [The Army sucks!] It was called "extension." Any
> >soldier on active duty could be retained by being "extended" and, as
> >today, members of the Reserves on active duty could be retained and
> >reservists not on active duty could be called up, individually, if
> >necessary. It was weird, because a GI could be a "slicksleeve" on
> >active duty, but, e.g., a captain in the Reserves. So, if he or his
> >Reserve unit was "activated," he would go overnight from buck private
> >to commissioned officer.
> >
> >-Wilson
> >
> >So, what are these Iraq pussies whining about? We had it tough in the
> >"Outpost of Freedom," too. For those who no longer remember, the
> >"Outpost of Freedom" was West Berlin.
> >
> >But, seriously, folks, nobody was getting killed, in those days. No
> >Americans, anyway. We mainly just got drunk at the EM club and in the
> >GI bars. If we were working the "mid," or graveyard, shift, we'd often
> >go on duty drunk. The one German word that everyone knew was
> >"Katzenjammer," or "hangover."
> >
> >-Wilson
> >
> >-Wilson
> >
> >On 3/24/08, Dennis Preston <preston at msu.edu> wrote:
> >> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> >>-----------------------
> >> Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >> Poster: Dennis Preston <preston at MSU.EDU>
> >> Subject: Re: American accent test
> >>
> >>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >>
> >> Wilson,
> >>
> >> Labov is particularly impressed by the fronting
> >> of the onset of the /aU/ diphthong in
> >> Philadelphia, a feature he notes as distinctly
> >> Southern.
> >>
> >> You will also be interested in knowing (if you
> >> don't already) that Labov took a Black speaker's
> >> sentence with the word "house" in it and
> >> resynthesized it so that the onset was not at /a/
> >> but at /ae/. When he played both versions for
> >> Philadelphians (black and white), they
> >> overwhelmingly said that the /ae/ version was
> >> spoken by a white speaker (although the rest of
> >> the sentence had characteristically AAVE
> >> features).
> >>
> >> dInIs
> >>
> >> >---------------------- Information from the mail
> >> >header -----------------------
> >> >Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >> >Poster: Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> >> >Subject: Re: American accent test
> >>
> >>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >> >
> >> >dInIs writes, "Got to pick and choose your features to make [the claim
> >> >that Philadelphia is the US's northernmost southern city] true." As
> >> >the bruz 'n' cuz would put it, "You sayin' a tas'e!" I first heard
> > > >middle-class Philly BE spoken before, for all practical purposes, I
> > > >had ever been anyplace except Saint Louis. Hence, I was still quite
> >> >sensitive to the "funny" ways of speaking used by outsiders. Philly BE
> >> >struck me as being as different from Saint Louis BE as NYC BE was
> >> >(which is not to say that they showed any particular similarities to
> >> >each other, to the na've ear). I've since had occasion to hear
> >> >middle-class, white Philadelphians, e.g. Chomsky, speak. They don't
> >> >sound in any way Southern to me.
> >> >
> >> >On the other hand, I mistook (white) Bostonians for both New Yorkers
> >> >and Southerners, when I first heard examples of their speech.
> >> >
> >> >-Wilson
> >> >
> >> >On 3/24/08, Dennis Preston <preston at msu.edu> wrote:
> >> >> ---------------------- Information from the
> >> >>mail header -----------------------
> >> >> Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >> >>
> >> >> Poster: Dennis Preston <preston at MSU.EDU>
> >> >>
> >> >> Subject: Re: American accent test
> >> >>
> >>
> >>>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >> >>
> >> >>
> >> >> As Labov says, Philadelphia is the US's northernmost southern city.
> >> >> (Got to pick and choose your features to make that true.)
> >> >>
> >> >> dInIs
> >> >>
> >> >>
> >> >> >---------------------- Information from the mail header
> >> >> >-----------------------
> >> >> >Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >> >>
> >> >> >Poster: Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> >> >>
> >> >> >Subject: Re: American accent test
> >> >>
> >>
> >>>>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >> >> >
> >> >>
> >> >> >For me, it missed by a mile, saying that I'm from Philadelphia.
> >> >> >However, if I interpreted the bar graph on the answer page correctly,
> >> >> >the Philly accent isn't very far removed from the Southern accent.
> >> >> >IMO, though, this is simply unbelievable.
> >> >> >
> >> >> >-Wilson
> >> >> >
> >> >>
> >> >> >On 3/23/08, Tom Zurinskas <truespel at hotmail.com> wrote:
> >> >> >> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> >> >> >>-----------------------
> >> >> >> Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >> >>
> >> >> >> Poster: Tom Zurinskas <truespel at HOTMAIL.COM>
> >> >>
> >> >> >> Subject: American accent test
> >> >> >>
> >> >>
> >>
> >>>>>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> This site tries to locate your American accent. For me it came
> >> >> >>close, but just missed.
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> http://gotoquiz.com/what_american_accent_do_you_have
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> Tom Zurinskas, USA - CT20, TN3, NJ33, FL5+
> >> >>
> >> >> >> See truespel.com - and the 4 truespel books plus "Occasional
> >> >> >>Poems" at authorhouse.com.
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> _________________________________________________________________
> >> >> >> Watch "Cause Effect," a show about real people making a real
> >> >> >>difference. Learn more.
> >> >> >> http://im.live.com/Messenger/IM/MTV/?source=text_watchcause
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >> > >
> >> >> >> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >
> >> >> >
> >> >>
> >> >> >--
> >> >> >All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange
> >>complaint to
> >> >> >come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> >> >> >-----
> >> >> > -Sam'l Clemens
> >> >> >
> >> >> >------------------------------------------------------------
> >> >>
> >> >> >The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >> >>
> >> >>
> >> >>
> >> >> --
> >> >> Dennis R. Preston
> >> >> University Distinguished Professor
> >> >> Department of English
> >> >> Morrill Hall 15-C
> >> >> Michigan State University
> >> >> East Lansing, MI 48864 USA
> >> >>
> >> >>
> >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >> >> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > > >>
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >--
> >> >All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
> > > >come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> >> >-----
> >> > -Sam'l Clemens
> >> >
> >> >------------------------------------------------------------
> >> >The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >>
> >>
> >> --
> >> Dennis R. Preston
> >> University Distinguished Professor
> >> Department of English
> >> Morrill Hall 15-C
> >> Michigan State University
> >> East Lansing, MI 48864 USA
> >>
> >> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >>
> >
> >
> >--
> >All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
> >come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> >-----
> > -Sam'l Clemens
> >
> >------------------------------------------------------------
> >The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
>
> --
> Dennis R. Preston
> University Distinguished Professor
> Department of English
> Morrill Hall 15-C
> Michigan State University
> East Lansing, MI 48864 USA
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
--
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-----
-Sam'l Clemens
------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
More information about the Ads-l
mailing list