Yo! I read in The New Yorker that the pronunciation editor of Webster's Dictionary back in the day was John Kenyon; Kenyon's pronunciation of words became the standard American dialect.
He hailed from northeast Ohio, thereby proving what I have thought all along: I'm not the one with an accent.
Posted by Bill at November 20, 2005 11:55 PMJust tell me you don't say wash with an "r" - as in warsh. Because my mother swears SHE doesn't have an accent either (born and raised HERE in Wisconsin she was) and she speaks much differently than I do. Which makes no sense to me.
Posted by: Keri at November 21, 2005 09:07 AMI think I will go pawk my caw in Chicarger.
Posted by: Joel at November 21, 2005 04:27 PMDat's shi-caw-go.
Posted by: lucy at November 21, 2005 09:09 PMSo we get to my parents' house for a quick visit tonight and Keli says out of the blue (and I had not mentioned my comment or your blog at all) "I heard someone say 'warsh' the other day and it wasn't Grandma." And I thought my mother was going to sit on her (teasingly, of course). And the kid continues... "I REMEMBER! It was that old guy. Remember? I've told you about him mom... that old guy who dresses in loud shirts with big collars and open necks with gold chains. [insert Grandpa chuckling as he catches a look at Grandma here] He always wears these polyester pants with flare bottoms, too. He's pretty creepy actually. Do you remember me telling you about him?"
And I'm nodding very seriously and my mother is saying, "There are many people who say 'warsh'."
By now my dad is laughing but still trying to hide it so he doesn't get in trouble ;) and loud-mouth daughter (me, not the granddaughter) has to throw in, "Yeah. You and Aunt Nancy and the creepy old guy in the disco duds."
We weren't invited for dinner.
Posted by: Keri at November 22, 2005 02:34 AM