I love this one. I have read it three times and still giggle when I read ‘I am Cynthia and Cynthia is me’. It is my new mantra. I spent a good part of my childhood trying to perfect a Brooklyn accent - specifically, Barbra Streisand’s in Funny Girl ;) XO
When people are transitioning or contemplating changing their names one frequently given tip is try on the new name by using it at coffee shops. If the barista calls it out and it resonates for you, maybe it’s a good pick! All of which is to say I’m glad you’re using your beautiful name.
Holly, 10,000 years later and I'm just now seeing your comment! Doh! I didn't know about the coffee shop name test, makes absolute sense. I wonder now if anyone gives their actual name lol. And thank you for the compliment ❤️. You're right, I was never a Cynthia :-)
Oooohhhh I love this piece so much and am now so curious about your accent! I know that we all have an accent of some kind and that even standard American English is an accent in its own right, but I am sad that (at least in English) I sound rootless in my standardness. Happily, in Japanese I have a very strong Kansai accent that gets stronger around people with the same accent.
Thank you Chihiro! I’m glad you liked it! I think accents and what they can tell us are fascinating. I suspect we all subconsciously or unconsciously (or very consciously with code switching) alter our speech to some degree reactively or circumstantially. And I’m certain strong emotional experiences affect our verbal expression.
I wish I was a multilingual person. I hope when I continue Japanese language classes I’ll eventually one day be able to hear subtle differences like an accent from Kansai as compared to an accent from Hokkaido. But I think that requires a level of mastery I’ll not achieve lol.
I know exactly what you mean - I am studying French right now and hard a hard time placing accents! I do think that a Kansai accent has more tones to it, but that could just be my bias. And completely agree re altering our speech.
I love the idea of giving a false name in Starbucks. The chance to be someone else! I'm British so my accent always stands out when I am in the US. Not so much in NYC as it's very international there, but my last trip was to Tennessee where there aren't many Brits!
I'm curious about the music scene in Tennessee and MoonPie too. I hope you had a great visit! After reading and watching all things Harry Potter, my daughter is in the habit of slipping into her best attempt at a British accent on a fairly regular basis. To my untrained ear it doesn't sound half-bad but I doubt she'd fool any true Brits 🙂!
I was born and raised in Brooklyn, and I spent 3 decades teaching there. I am sure that my Brooklyn accent is noticeable, but an interesting thing happened yesterday. I was walking with my wife and dog, Rosie, around a campground up near Lake Ontario. Three boys asked to pet Rosie, and we spent a few minutes chatting. I was enjoying our conversation because the boys were the age of the students I taught. One of them asked me, “Are you from Australia? You definitely have an Australian accent.” I told him I was from the Australian part of Brooklyn.
the Australian part of Brooklyn 😂 ! I imagine that over the years of living and teaching in Brooklyn, you've heard it all! I remember loving Welcome Back Kotter with Vinnie Barbarino and Freddie Washington but that show premiered in the 70s and I don't know if anyone sounds like that now. I am seriously trying hard to hear how an Australian accent might sound like a Brooklyn accent!
New Zealander here - very painfully aware of my accent, I struggle to watch local tv/film content. Or even worse, when a non-NZ actor attempts a NZ accent... oh dear. We have the problem of being confused as Australian - but to our ears the accents are miles apart, and while we may both use English there is definitely a different vocab.
I absolutely love New York, the people and the accents! On our second trip in 2016 we got stuck in Houston for a few days (superstorm Jonas) so got the pleasure of hearing y’all - made me feel all warm inside.
I remember as a HS student visiting colleges in the Southern part of the US and during the trip we befriended some kids who where Southerners. One night we were flipping through TV stations and they told me how annoying it was that everyone on the evening news had Northern and/or Midwestern accents. It had honestly never occurred to me. I just thought everyone on the news spoke AnchorPerson - like it was it's own regional accent. That was an eye opener for me.
I admittedly don't have a finely tuned ear for a majority of accents but thankfully I am old enough to know how very much I don't know! I think similar to what "We Will Tell Her For You" wrote in their comment about folks thinking they have a "Manila Accent" when they are in their hometown and when they're in Manila, the locals think they are from somewhere else, the closer you are to the source the better you can hear the differences - especially the subtle ones.
On a completely separate note, New Zealand does look like such a beautiful country. Thanks Momo so much for reading and commenting!
I loved this essay so much. All the links and your wonderful writing. Your neighbor — the accent guy — such a fascinating way to present all of those accents. I’ve watched All of those Wired videos and more. He real knows how to explain accents!!
I’ve always felt I have a very boring accent / no accent, but watching those videos makes me realize I have a few interesting words. Main one — I say pellow for the word Pillow. I’m sure there are others.
Incidentally, I was just touring colleges with Ava in New York, Boston, parts of Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire. So many different accents! I loved it! Thanks for Sharing your skoshi discovery! So amazing!
Thank you Christina! I agree, Erik's videos are fascinating and I like how he pulls in collaborators who are also experts. Would you ever consider submitting your non-accent, accent to the database? Now of course I'm going to be waiting to hear "pellow" next time we talk! Do you think it's a regionality or a speech pattern from a relative maybe?
I hope you and Ava had a good tour! New England accents are definitely a thing. The coldest winters I ever experienced were New England winters! 🥶
My wife and I grew up in northern Indiana, and had little experience with regional accents. Arriving in Dallas in 1974, we often found ourselves struggling to understand the locals, who frequently responded to us with "Saaaaay whuuut?". After almost 50 years here, we can communicate well, but still get the occasional "Y'all ain't from around here are you?"
Sometimes wording can change depending on one's origins. I came to Dallas for an IT job. We were preparing for a new product introduction, which was euphemistically, and somewhat sardonically, referred by us as a "dog and pony show". One of the presenters was visiting from another office, and she happened to be a native of the UK. She broke up the team when she referred to the presentation as a "horse and hound show".
Horse and hound show :-D! It really can be fun to parse all the different regional accents and sayings to be had across the country - and across the pond! And you're right, I can "hear" the words you typed on the page as clearly as if one of your neighbors in Dallas had said them aloud. It's also interesting how sayings and words evolve/change. While I was proofreading today's essay, I learned that I'd been using the term "bald-face lie" incorrectly for as long as I can remember, saying bold-face instead, which apparently is just plain wrong.
I know almost no Japanese. In early 2000 a Japanese company whose products we were selling in our retail store had a convention to introduce a new product. It was a pretty big deal, so the president of the company came in from Tokyo. One of the American sales managers was selected to present a welcoming speech. I know maybe 2 Japanese words, one of them being arigato. The presenter made a rambling speech, then attempted to score points by saying one Japanese word, which he pronounced "uh-rig-uh-toe" with the emphasis on the "rig" syllable. This speaker had been an employee for many years, and had an office full of people who could have told him the correct pronunciation. He was later fired, not for this stupidity, but for leaving his wife to run away with a colleague who left her husband.
That was not the end of the story I expected to hear! So far folks have been very forgiving of my attempts at the Japanese language and pronunciation. Which is good because sometimes my attempts are quite bad 😬
In 2000 I was working with the same Japanese company. A meeting was held at the US headquarters, with a number of Japanese engineers and several American staff members. There was one Japanese engineer who was relatively fluent in English, having lived here for a few years. He translated back and forth. Every English statement would result in a flurry of back and forth in Japanese. At one point the Japanese conversation included a number of acronyms like USB, which are the same in both languages. I guessed what was being discussed and offered up a comment. The translator got a horrified look on his face and asked if I spoke Japanese. I suspect he was afraid I knew what was being said about us and the quality of our input. He was quite relieved when I said I just guessed what it was about.
Here in my hometown, people remark how I have a "Manila Accent." It's funny because when I lived in Manila, Manileños can always tell that I wasn't raised there because of peculiarities with how I form my sentences, or with how I use words that are unusual for them. 4 local languages are mainly used here. Then there's English and Arabic too. So 6 languages affect and influence my language and manner of speaking.
In college, I was taught that to speak English, I needed to think English. But too many garbled words from different languages swirl in my mind before they're filtered and uttered in a single language. And that affects my writing as well.
But it's all good. We are all different sorts of unique!
There are so many borrowed words in the English language that what you describe as the swirl of multiple languages seems like part of the definition of the English language itself. For example, I only recently learned that the English word "skosh" meaning "just a little" - is a derivative of the Japanese word sukoshi - same definition. I absolutely believe having multiple influences can only enhance your writing - your ear is fine-tuned!
Hey, I didn't get notified about this and only saw it because it came up on my screen when i came to write my substack...whaaaawt happened to my subscription? LOL
I am from kansas and colorado and, to my own ear, don't think i hear an accent. I have a lot of family from the south and while i use some of those phrases, I don't have a southren acccent either. Kind of sad actually. Zakia, you'll have to tell me next time you hear me talk if i have an accent!
Ona, you reminded me that the post may be too link heavy. I have to remember to include an "Add occasionallyimpervious@substack.com to your contacts so you it doesn't end up in the spam folder" reminder! Please let me know if you haven't been receiving it!
I think I can sometimes hear faint traces of the south. When you publish your next book, I hope you'll narrate the audiobook. You've got a great speaking voice Ona.
I love this one. I have read it three times and still giggle when I read ‘I am Cynthia and Cynthia is me’. It is my new mantra. I spent a good part of my childhood trying to perfect a Brooklyn accent - specifically, Barbra Streisand’s in Funny Girl ;) XO
This makes me smile so big Jonathan. Thank you 😄
When people are transitioning or contemplating changing their names one frequently given tip is try on the new name by using it at coffee shops. If the barista calls it out and it resonates for you, maybe it’s a good pick! All of which is to say I’m glad you’re using your beautiful name.
Holly, 10,000 years later and I'm just now seeing your comment! Doh! I didn't know about the coffee shop name test, makes absolute sense. I wonder now if anyone gives their actual name lol. And thank you for the compliment ❤️. You're right, I was never a Cynthia :-)
Oooohhhh I love this piece so much and am now so curious about your accent! I know that we all have an accent of some kind and that even standard American English is an accent in its own right, but I am sad that (at least in English) I sound rootless in my standardness. Happily, in Japanese I have a very strong Kansai accent that gets stronger around people with the same accent.
Thank you Chihiro! I’m glad you liked it! I think accents and what they can tell us are fascinating. I suspect we all subconsciously or unconsciously (or very consciously with code switching) alter our speech to some degree reactively or circumstantially. And I’m certain strong emotional experiences affect our verbal expression.
I wish I was a multilingual person. I hope when I continue Japanese language classes I’ll eventually one day be able to hear subtle differences like an accent from Kansai as compared to an accent from Hokkaido. But I think that requires a level of mastery I’ll not achieve lol.
I know exactly what you mean - I am studying French right now and hard a hard time placing accents! I do think that a Kansai accent has more tones to it, but that could just be my bias. And completely agree re altering our speech.
I love the idea of giving a false name in Starbucks. The chance to be someone else! I'm British so my accent always stands out when I am in the US. Not so much in NYC as it's very international there, but my last trip was to Tennessee where there aren't many Brits!
I'm curious about the music scene in Tennessee and MoonPie too. I hope you had a great visit! After reading and watching all things Harry Potter, my daughter is in the habit of slipping into her best attempt at a British accent on a fairly regular basis. To my untrained ear it doesn't sound half-bad but I doubt she'd fool any true Brits 🙂!
I was born and raised in Brooklyn, and I spent 3 decades teaching there. I am sure that my Brooklyn accent is noticeable, but an interesting thing happened yesterday. I was walking with my wife and dog, Rosie, around a campground up near Lake Ontario. Three boys asked to pet Rosie, and we spent a few minutes chatting. I was enjoying our conversation because the boys were the age of the students I taught. One of them asked me, “Are you from Australia? You definitely have an Australian accent.” I told him I was from the Australian part of Brooklyn.
the Australian part of Brooklyn 😂 ! I imagine that over the years of living and teaching in Brooklyn, you've heard it all! I remember loving Welcome Back Kotter with Vinnie Barbarino and Freddie Washington but that show premiered in the 70s and I don't know if anyone sounds like that now. I am seriously trying hard to hear how an Australian accent might sound like a Brooklyn accent!
New Zealander here - very painfully aware of my accent, I struggle to watch local tv/film content. Or even worse, when a non-NZ actor attempts a NZ accent... oh dear. We have the problem of being confused as Australian - but to our ears the accents are miles apart, and while we may both use English there is definitely a different vocab.
I absolutely love New York, the people and the accents! On our second trip in 2016 we got stuck in Houston for a few days (superstorm Jonas) so got the pleasure of hearing y’all - made me feel all warm inside.
I remember as a HS student visiting colleges in the Southern part of the US and during the trip we befriended some kids who where Southerners. One night we were flipping through TV stations and they told me how annoying it was that everyone on the evening news had Northern and/or Midwestern accents. It had honestly never occurred to me. I just thought everyone on the news spoke AnchorPerson - like it was it's own regional accent. That was an eye opener for me.
I admittedly don't have a finely tuned ear for a majority of accents but thankfully I am old enough to know how very much I don't know! I think similar to what "We Will Tell Her For You" wrote in their comment about folks thinking they have a "Manila Accent" when they are in their hometown and when they're in Manila, the locals think they are from somewhere else, the closer you are to the source the better you can hear the differences - especially the subtle ones.
On a completely separate note, New Zealand does look like such a beautiful country. Thanks Momo so much for reading and commenting!
I loved this essay so much. All the links and your wonderful writing. Your neighbor — the accent guy — such a fascinating way to present all of those accents. I’ve watched All of those Wired videos and more. He real knows how to explain accents!!
I’ve always felt I have a very boring accent / no accent, but watching those videos makes me realize I have a few interesting words. Main one — I say pellow for the word Pillow. I’m sure there are others.
Incidentally, I was just touring colleges with Ava in New York, Boston, parts of Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire. So many different accents! I loved it! Thanks for Sharing your skoshi discovery! So amazing!
Thank you Christina! I agree, Erik's videos are fascinating and I like how he pulls in collaborators who are also experts. Would you ever consider submitting your non-accent, accent to the database? Now of course I'm going to be waiting to hear "pellow" next time we talk! Do you think it's a regionality or a speech pattern from a relative maybe?
I hope you and Ava had a good tour! New England accents are definitely a thing. The coldest winters I ever experienced were New England winters! 🥶
My wife and I grew up in northern Indiana, and had little experience with regional accents. Arriving in Dallas in 1974, we often found ourselves struggling to understand the locals, who frequently responded to us with "Saaaaay whuuut?". After almost 50 years here, we can communicate well, but still get the occasional "Y'all ain't from around here are you?"
Sometimes wording can change depending on one's origins. I came to Dallas for an IT job. We were preparing for a new product introduction, which was euphemistically, and somewhat sardonically, referred by us as a "dog and pony show". One of the presenters was visiting from another office, and she happened to be a native of the UK. She broke up the team when she referred to the presentation as a "horse and hound show".
Horse and hound show :-D! It really can be fun to parse all the different regional accents and sayings to be had across the country - and across the pond! And you're right, I can "hear" the words you typed on the page as clearly as if one of your neighbors in Dallas had said them aloud. It's also interesting how sayings and words evolve/change. While I was proofreading today's essay, I learned that I'd been using the term "bald-face lie" incorrectly for as long as I can remember, saying bold-face instead, which apparently is just plain wrong.
I know almost no Japanese. In early 2000 a Japanese company whose products we were selling in our retail store had a convention to introduce a new product. It was a pretty big deal, so the president of the company came in from Tokyo. One of the American sales managers was selected to present a welcoming speech. I know maybe 2 Japanese words, one of them being arigato. The presenter made a rambling speech, then attempted to score points by saying one Japanese word, which he pronounced "uh-rig-uh-toe" with the emphasis on the "rig" syllable. This speaker had been an employee for many years, and had an office full of people who could have told him the correct pronunciation. He was later fired, not for this stupidity, but for leaving his wife to run away with a colleague who left her husband.
That was not the end of the story I expected to hear! So far folks have been very forgiving of my attempts at the Japanese language and pronunciation. Which is good because sometimes my attempts are quite bad 😬
In 2000 I was working with the same Japanese company. A meeting was held at the US headquarters, with a number of Japanese engineers and several American staff members. There was one Japanese engineer who was relatively fluent in English, having lived here for a few years. He translated back and forth. Every English statement would result in a flurry of back and forth in Japanese. At one point the Japanese conversation included a number of acronyms like USB, which are the same in both languages. I guessed what was being discussed and offered up a comment. The translator got a horrified look on his face and asked if I spoke Japanese. I suspect he was afraid I knew what was being said about us and the quality of our input. He was quite relieved when I said I just guessed what it was about.
Here in my hometown, people remark how I have a "Manila Accent." It's funny because when I lived in Manila, Manileños can always tell that I wasn't raised there because of peculiarities with how I form my sentences, or with how I use words that are unusual for them. 4 local languages are mainly used here. Then there's English and Arabic too. So 6 languages affect and influence my language and manner of speaking.
In college, I was taught that to speak English, I needed to think English. But too many garbled words from different languages swirl in my mind before they're filtered and uttered in a single language. And that affects my writing as well.
But it's all good. We are all different sorts of unique!
Lovely thoughts as always, Zakia!
There are so many borrowed words in the English language that what you describe as the swirl of multiple languages seems like part of the definition of the English language itself. For example, I only recently learned that the English word "skosh" meaning "just a little" - is a derivative of the Japanese word sukoshi - same definition. I absolutely believe having multiple influences can only enhance your writing - your ear is fine-tuned!
Hey, I didn't get notified about this and only saw it because it came up on my screen when i came to write my substack...whaaaawt happened to my subscription? LOL
I am from kansas and colorado and, to my own ear, don't think i hear an accent. I have a lot of family from the south and while i use some of those phrases, I don't have a southren acccent either. Kind of sad actually. Zakia, you'll have to tell me next time you hear me talk if i have an accent!
Ona, you reminded me that the post may be too link heavy. I have to remember to include an "Add occasionallyimpervious@substack.com to your contacts so you it doesn't end up in the spam folder" reminder! Please let me know if you haven't been receiving it!
oh yes, i get it and i LOVE IT
I think I can sometimes hear faint traces of the south. When you publish your next book, I hope you'll narrate the audiobook. You've got a great speaking voice Ona.
Thanks. The lisp comes out in recording, however, so I'll let you record it.
I love NY accents with all its different strains. I forgot how much I miss hearing it.
Me too Steph! I also love that when in NY you can hear accents and languages from all over the world in the stretch of just a few city blocks.