Accents in America
Howard, on host 68.155.22.22
Monday, November 13, 2006, at 19:28:54
With our mobile population, you might hear any kind of accent anywhere in America. They are already beginning to blend.
Back about 1950, I was working as a bellhop in a Florida hotel and I heard different accents all the time. I got to where I could spot someone from Virginia in less than a sentence. That one was easier for me, because my father was from Virginia. I also heard so much New York and New Jersey, I could tell the difference about half the time. Michigan was easy, and so was Texas.
I couldn't tell Massachusetts from anywhere else in New England, but I could nail Cape Cod in a minute. Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi were all the same to me, but North and South Carolina accents were a little different. The way they said "Ca'lina" was the main thing that set them apart from the rest of the south.
Being from Kentucky, I could tell Eastern Kentucky from the res of the state. Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana were the hardest for me, but I found out that if I said "Where y'all from?" the ones that laughed the loudest were probably from Ohio.
It would have been a boring job, but I found that listening for accents made it more interesting. It didn't pay too well, either. A normal tip was about a dime a bag, and maybe only a quarter for three. Yeah, I know. But that was 1950. Howard
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