While I lived in Michigan, I had no idea whatsoever that there was in fact a Michigan accent. I did notice that when I would call the admissions offices of the colleges I was considering in the Seattle area, the people there seemed to have this airy lilting way of speaking that was very different from what I was used to. Declarative sentences had a way of ending on a high note as though they were actually questions. I found it charming, and I am sure I adopted it unconsciously.
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| Vernor's is an example of a pahhp found in MI. |
It took awhile for me to drop my Michigan lingo, but before long I was referring to carbonated drinks as soda instead of pop. If by some chance I say "pop", I pronounce it with one non-nasally short "o" instead of "pahhp", as a Michigander might. After referring to my collective co-workers in Seattle as "you guys" and being severely admonished that they were definitely not "guys" and did not at all appreciate being referred to as such, I dropped that colloquialism. I began using words like "spendy" to mean expensive and my accent adapted to the change in my environment.
In 2007, I moved to Texas. I found it surprising that the native Texans that I met do not have a discernible Southern accent unless they are speaking to other Texans. As the conversation flows, the accents get thicker and thicker. And yes, everyone, accent or not, really does use "y'all". I was in a store the other day and was asked, "How're y'all doing today?" I was there without the kids, so I was confused by whether or not the friendly clerk was referring to just lonely ol' me or not. I turned and looked behind me to see if there was a group there, but no, just me. "Y'all" is most often used in the plural sense, but apparently it can be used in the singular sense as well.
2007 also marked my 20th high school reunion, which I attended after a long absence from Michigan. It was then that I realized that Michiganders their very own distinct accent. I had kept in contact with some of my friends via email and Christmas cards over the years, but had not heard the sound of their voices since I left in 1991. My first thought was, what is up with their accents? Do I, or did I used to sound like that?
People from Michigan have a unique way of speaking. We inexplicably mash together multiple words to make one sound or lengthen some short words to have more than the usual syllables. (You can read more about that here: http://hubpages.com/hub/Michigan-Accent.) I am still prone to the word shortening when I speak, which I am afraid may make me seem uneducated to non-Michiganders. If I am not concentrating on my manner of speaking, I will say things like "kinuh" instead of "kind of" and "tuh" instead of "to". I will say "couldah, shouldah, wouldah" instead of "could've, would've, should've". It can be embarrassing at times, especially when a 10 year old student picks up on one of my bastardized pronunciations of a word and asks me earnestly what the word I just said means. The word in question was roof, which I do not pronounce with the "ew" sound in the middle, and to tell the truth, that way just sounds really wrong to my ears. I make more of short "u" sound. I don't know why; I had never thought I pronounced it weird until that child brought it up. When I questioned co-workers, the consensus was that my pronunciation was off. Then again, not one of them is fortunate enough to hail from the Mid-west, so really, what do they know?
There are a few Texas-isms that I have acquired in my time here. I now use the word "ugly" to not only refer to unsightly, or unpleasant to the eye offenses, as in "Vera Bradley bags are just gawd-awful ugly!" (They truly look like something my grandma would have made out of one of her old pantsuits from the 1970's, but I digress.) In the Southern sense, ugly more refers to behavior. As in if someone speaks to you harshly without just cause, you would say, "She got really ugly with me." If you want to relay your displeasure with someone without it seeming like you are all out purposely bad mouthing them, you might preface the insult with, "I don't mean to be ugly, but....." It is a more genteel way of stating your actual low opinion of a person or situation without it reflecting back upon you negatively.
"Bless your heart" is another Southern colloquialism used to soften the blow of a biting remark. You can pretty much get away with saying anything after "bless your heart" and it sounds like you really do wish the person well despite whatever you find appalling about them. As in, "Bless your heart, you have been working so hard that you're all flushed and sweaty". The person who said this is not proud of all your toil and labor. What they really mean is, "You look/smell like hell. You should go take a shower. You are not fit to be seen by decent folks in your current state." I try not to employ "bless your heart" unless I am speaking of or to a child. It seems very disingenuous to use it with an adult, but the way I see it, a child cannot often help whatever the offense is, or just has not been taught better by his or her mama. When I say "bless your/her/his heart" to or about a child, I do mean it in a loving and nurturing way. A child is not deserving of snarky remarks, plain and simple.
Lately, I have been listening rather heavily to audio books from a Southern author. I have heard myself say things in a twang that does not ordinarily come from my lips. I am no longer sure what kind of accent I possess. I suppose it is a bit of Mid-west, Pacific Northwest, and Central Texas with a dash of Southern thrown in. If I watch enough British TV and movies, a pinch of that seeps in as well. It's no wonder Siri tells me that she does not understand me.
