Home April 7, 1996
Here is the first article in my series of 13 essays. The series is supposed to show scenes of American culture; my basic theme is "big city life" especially in comparison to the small town lifestyle.
Hope you enjoy it -
Speaking Southern
Each region of the U.S. has its own particular manner of speech. One of
the most easily recognizable is the general Southern accent. Known as a
"drawl" Southern speech is characterized by the melting of one
word into the next and a relatively slow delivery.
I grew up in Oklahoma (the state just above Texas).Though not in the historical South we still speak with a variation of the Southern accent. For example, we say "Ahm tarred" while a Northerner would say "I am tired." Instead of "How are you today?" you will hear "How y'all doin'?"
During my first year in Chicago I was constantly reminded of my accent. A few days after I arrived there was a school orientation meeting. All 180 new students were gathered in the hall. During our "practice class" I had to answer a question. As I spoke the other students all turned and stared at me in amazement. For many it may have been the first time they had heard a Southern accent in person.
About a year later I was back in Oklahoma for a visit. A department store clerk asked me where I was from. In my hometown! Before I could answer he said "You sound just like a friend of mine from Chicago." That was doubly surprising: to my ears I sounded the same as always.