Don't visit Boston, then! Or at least, bring earplugs.
I wonder: do you think the value is more on the catch-phrases and the way of framing a sentence than on any actual accent?
What I remember as a child was that accent mattered more (since lack of phrasing was indication the person had gone to school outside the South, or some other lengthy-duration elsewhere -- at least, I recall my grandmothers noting when someone was too abrupt in the way they phrased their statement-questions, despite having a local accent).
Maybe I should add another question, then: if someone (not you) has left the South for a long time and then returned, do you notice (and what do you notice) that tells you it's a returning Southerner, as opposed to a fresh-faced newcomer?
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Date: 13 Jan 2011 02:51 am (UTC)I wonder: do you think the value is more on the catch-phrases and the way of framing a sentence than on any actual accent?
What I remember as a child was that accent mattered more (since lack of phrasing was indication the person had gone to school outside the South, or some other lengthy-duration elsewhere -- at least, I recall my grandmothers noting when someone was too abrupt in the way they phrased their statement-questions, despite having a local accent).
Maybe I should add another question, then: if someone (not you) has left the South for a long time and then returned, do you notice (and what do you notice) that tells you it's a returning Southerner, as opposed to a fresh-faced newcomer?