From the Sound of Your Voice
I
was reminded today of the myriad of pronouncements that we make when we
speak. Not the least of them declares
from where we hale from. Whether it be
from the backwaters of an isolated peninsula or the broad reaches of the plains
or of the mountainous regions that only the hardy dare explore, each of us
speaks in a certain and deliberate manner of our home region.
The
moment we open our mouths we have declared more than our words. We have set down and put forth our background,
breeding, and lineage. From the most
northern of heights into Maine to the Mid-Atlantic arena to the warmth of
Georgia our words and backgrounds spew forth.
From the upper mid-west to tornado alley our accent says more than our
words. And from the most northern
reaches into Washington state traveling down and scooping up Californians down
to the Mexican border we all have something to say—and we all say it well.
Anything
from your home area sounds different.
It's suddenly an 'accent' and not something met with warmth but with
curiosity or a guarded suspicious. If
they are not like you, well, then they are something else. "They" being the operative word
here.
To
most others "we" become "they" and we wonder over it. When we watch TV we don't wonder, we simply
accept. Those in front of the cameras
have been well schooled and tutored to lose whatever home accent they may have
once had. If the voice falls hard upon
the public's ear, it won't be heard often before being banished forever.
Your
own voice is a gift. How we use it
often we don't consider. We open our
mouths and we speak. What comes out we
hope is communication but along with that communication we transmit more than
we realize.
To
a fine ear, it bespeaks your background, locale, heritage, and social
standing. And if your speech is garbled
and filled with slang, you will be identified and socially shunned from the
more elite of society. It only takes
one word or perhaps three and then the heavy accent won't help you either. You may be admired and have some standing in
your local community but once you open your mouth outside that hometown place,
you mark yourself as dunce, a 'good-old-boy' without the brains a good sneeze
would rid you of, or someone so far removed from simple graces that others will
shy away from you.
I
grew up and knew only "The Shore" in my life. "The Shore" meaning the Eastern
Shore of Maryland, something a previous governor of this state once dubbed the
"outhouse of Maryland" and once said not one of us ever forgot nor
forgave.
Many
people here know only how to work the land or the water. It is there livelihood and succor. It is all they know. They work hard and strive to provide to
their families—but they still 'talk funny.'
So like areas in 'Charm City' that also talk funny yet are offered much
in the way of self-improvement and light and hope. So it is across all of America.
It
is not just a vocabulary you must know and learn. It is your speech, your cadence of words, and not that joyous
lilting of voice. Your identity is not
solely in your speech though others will mark you for it.
I
have to admit I'm not just "from the 'Shore" for I could have moved
here when I was a kid, but my family on both sides go way back; my father's
family from the 1640's. You can't get
much older than that in America. And
still we don't "Shore-speak."
Over the last fifteen years I've come to realize that I don't speak as
others do. It was the stalwart and
continual reminders from my mother that taught us differently. We were to speak and comport as she deemed
fit—and nothing less.
So,
you will met and greet others and wonder.
Some of us you will wonder about for we aren't exactly what you'd think
us. We are not all backwards, some are
well read, and some of us don't sound like you'd expect. But likely you'd welcome us more if we did.
How
is it that you sound? Have you
given any thought to your own vernacular and speech patterns? Does what and how you say the words define
you? It shouldn't but it will.
This
is your thought for today. We are a
funny lot of folks we. Consider
tomorrow and new adventures in strangers not yet met. It could be another wonder.
At least that's what I've found.