an unqualified opinion.
Posted by P. Bingham on April 22, 1998 at 20:33:42:
In response to Which begs the question....., written by Marie B on April 22, 1998 at 07:22:32
]
] ...........Why, with the advent of radio and television, have we (Americans) maintained any dialects at all. This question has bothered me for some years. I was a speech major and I spent 18 years in radio and TV broadcasting. With all of these announcers with midwestern dialects and the amount of time that we are exposed to them, how have we maintained regional dialects that are so strong? Why don't we all sound like Walter Cronkite?
I would think this is because, as a whole, the family remains the most important influence in a persons life (even as much of our activities beg to differ), not the television. You can lose your accent by transporting to another region, over a period of some time, of course. But not by listening to the media, unless of course you make a conscious effort to do so. I used to have a very heavy Southern accent but since have lost it, not because I wanted to but because I was raised in California. When I go back to florida or Georgia, I revert back to my southern dialect. It's embarassing. My husband laughs at me when I speak to my relatives on the telephone as I do revert then as well. I have new neighbors from Indiana who have a southern dialect amd I'm truly worried.
Patricia
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- Changing accents Linda 13:48:19 4/23/98
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