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November 10, 2005
Differences in Dialects
(1)I grew up in Suffield. It is a small suburban farming town located near the notch of Connecticut, almost on the Massachusetts border. Both of my parents grew up in Massachusetts. My mother was raised in Palmer, just a town over from my father, who was raised in Three Rivers. Though my parents are both 100% Polish, my mother’s immediate family was Polish-speaking, while my father’s immediate family was a little more modern, not as much Polish speaking. At the time that my parents grew up, being Polish was not an accepted thing. Polish kids were made fun of and tormented, so both my mother and father’s parents did not teach their children much Polish because they did not want others to know about their heritage. I was raised in a Roman Catholic household because my entire family is Roman Catholic, although my religion really has had no bearing on my language or dialect. I have neither the Boston nor the New York dialect. Bostonians pronounce their “r”s differently and New Yorkians have this twang and a distinct vowel sound, it seems. The only word that I can think of that defines me as a Northeasterner is the word “wicked” which is only common around this area. Other than that, usually, people cannot tell where I am from. I don’t really hold an accent or use any particular phrases or words. My family all comes from around the same area; we are all within the same borders on the dialect chart, so maybe that is why I have no real distinct drone or accent. I am not really sure. In general, I speak pretty clearly and enunciate all letters in a word and sometimes, I can speak very fast, when I am not thinking about it. I was brought up in a middle class household, so I neither talk very proper, nor in slang.
(2)I do think that “social group” is an operable factor in different dialects. Personally, I do not really speak differently from my parents to my friends, but I know many people who do. You can almost see a complete turn around from when someone is talking to an adult and when someone is talking to his or her friend. Actually, I notice this a lot in my father. When he is talking with a client, he speaks very firmly and to the point. He is understanding, yet strong. The tone of his voice becomes a little lower and more distinct. He enunciates every letter and syllable of every word in order to get his ideas across. When he is talking to his great aunt, almost 90, on the other hand, his voice is softer and gentler. He is not as strict in enunciating every syllable of every word. He speaks in short sentences and asks short, very simple, questions. There is this dialect difference. I notice it every time he speaks, and he can’t seem to change it.
It is so intriguing how there can be many different dialects because of the immigrants that moved into the United States. There are just some words and phrases I do not understand from the South and the West, just because of my location. It is almost like I need to have a history lesson before I go to different parts of my own country! Specifically, I am still amazed with the disconnect between East coast and West coast speaking. Many of the things that Yasmin says, I have no idea what she is talking about! I just have to write them down sometimes because they are just so random. It is amazing to me that just a difference in location can create this gap between lingoes.
-Christina
Posted by lcisgancarz at November 10, 2005 12:16 PM