Alaskan

[Jim]

Robert Lawless writes:

" I'm wondering whether I have actually lost that childhood ability to hear 
"foreignness" or whether speech locally has generally become more 
homogenized. Robert."


I would guess homogenization is the key here. I have had a similar
experience with Southern accents... I was born in Southern Louisiana, then
grew up most of my younger life in San Antonio, TX, where the accent of my
fellow schoolmates was very much a linguistic hodge-podge--due to all the
military bases to which at least 1/3 of my schoolmates were connected in
some fashion. They had moved all around the country (and world) with their
families, and seemed to bring bits and pieces of their linguistic journey
with them.

This raises another important question about Palin's accent, I think. Is
there a linguistic category for the DEGREE of intermingling of a region's
speakers? Having lived in Arizona for the past nine years, I notice so many
transplants from other regions that I don't think I've ever been able to
discern a distinct category for an "Arizonan Accent."

To put this in the form of questions: Has my experience in a military town
(San Antonio) and in Arizona been an experience of a linguistic melting pot?
Does Palin's accent--Idahoan turned Alaskan--represent a similar Alaskan
linguistic melting pot?

Another side note--when I moved back to Louisiana at age sixteen, all of the
people in my hometown (from 0 - about 3 years of age) spoke a very different
English than me. And to this day, everyone who hears me say I'm from the
South eyes me with a moment's suspicion before I explain--per my melting pot
perception--that my years in San Antonio seem to have all but completely
erased my Southern accent. 

Hal or anyone...your thoughts on the "linguistic melting pot" as a regional
characteristic would be much appreciated.

(I'm looking forward to hearing your presentation in Chicago, Hal...)

Jim Webb



http://www.uwosh.edu/filmandhistory/index.php 
http://www.uwosh.edu/filmandhistory/events/documents/CinematicExtraterrestri
als.doc
 
 

-----Original Message-----
From: Linguistic Anthropology Discussion Group
[mailto:LINGANTH at listserv.linguistlist.org] On Behalf Of Robert Lawless
Sent: Monday, September 08, 2008 7:25 AM
To: LINGANTH at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG
Subject: Alaskan

When I was a young school boy in a small Southern town, I, along with my 
classmates, could easily identify as "foreign" the speech of anyone from 
more than 40 miles away. When we went on football trips to towns in 
other counties, we often talked among ourselves about the funny sounds 
these "foreigners" made and tried to mimic their speech. I have since 
lived in Chicago and Florida, New York City and San Francisco and points 
in between as well as 12 years overseas and lost whatever regional 
linguistic identification that I once had. I know for sure because 
several years ago when I attended the wedding of one of my nephews in my 
old hometown, his bride asked me, "You're not from around here, are 
you?" I replied, "Why, yes. I grew up here." She shook her head and 
said, "But you don't sound like you're from around here." I think I also 
lost my ability to hear the regional differences. I don't mean the 
differences between Brooklyn and Texas but the differences between 
counties. I don't have a linguistically trained ear but I do have the 
linguistic sophistication of a trained four-field anthropologist. I'm 
wondering whether I have actually lost that childhood ability to hear 
"foreignness" or whether speech locally has generally become more 
homogenized. Robert.