When I'm in Canada I Start Saying "Eh?"

Mark Daniels has a cool post about why. He quotes a comment by Ruth Anne, who calls it "chameleonitis."  (Among other things, it's evidence for neuroplasticity and social adaptability and the permeability of the "self" and its identity.)  And he wonders whether Hillary's extreme, convenient case is inadvertent or calculated.

Comments

[Ruth Anne]

Amba: I'm being bloggishly self-referential when I say that I called it "chameleonitis." Mark Daniels linked to me on that one.

[amba]

Erps, fast, sloppy reading. (I'm supposed to be working.) I'll change it. Thanks.

[Ruth Anne]

Wow... that was fast. You're awesome.

[Mark Daniels]

Thanks for linking!

Mark

[amba]

Nah, Ruth Anne, I'm just procrastinating.

[Ruth Anne]

"Creative avoidance." Sometimes cleaning out a closet really is more important than filing your taxes.

[Ruth Anne]

Oh, speaking of Canada. You know that name was randomly selected, don't you? The powers that be gathered with multiple letters of the alphabet. The guy in charge drew them out to select their country's name. It went like this...

[draws the letter 'C']: C eh?
[draws the letter 'N']: N eh?
[draws the letter 'D']: D eh?

[maria]

Growing up in an International school, I learned to do this quickly as a survival mechanism of sorts (or at least drop my Southern American accent, as being American was never popular.) A few years older, I was speaking to a friend's British father, mimicking his accent. He asked me if one of my parents was British (he'd met my Very American mother.) When I said no, he expressed he utter disgust at my 'poor behavior' and I've been very careful about it ever since. I find that people *do* tend to get annoyed or offended when they find out you are mimicking them. However, it is easier to get away with between US regions and Canada, or where nobody knows who you are.

On another note, a school-friend of mine who picked up the same survival technique now works in sales in the US, and uses his "British" accent to sell clothes. He swears women buy more from him when he does.

Ruth Anne - That's great! I love it.

[karen]

I speak nicely and (try 2)sound high-end ~normal~ when speaking w/certain people around town(or w/you here)- but, when at home amongst my own... i'm downright native.

I'd say it has something to do w/manners.

Eh? :0) LOL 2 Ruthanne.

[Alison]

amba,
How long before you start saying y'all? I picked it up after living in NC for five years & can fall back into a NC drawl pretty easily.

Two of my years there were spent bartending & cocktail waitressing, so I can relate to maria's story about the British-sounding salesman. I never thought about it before, but the tips were probably better after I started picking up the southern accent.

[amba]

Alison, alas, Chapel Hill is so full of displaced Northerners, Westerners, Midwesterners etc. that the southern accents are few and far between. :(

[Alison]

Oh, that's right. I lived in rural Johnston County and commuted to Cary the last few years we were in the state. The differences are extreme between those two areas.

A friend of mine who currently lives in Clayton says the latest acronym for that town is Cary-Like Area Yankees Taking Over Next. He's from Michigan. I just think that's funny.

[wj]

I think Karen's right largely. It's at least partly a matter of manners: you've noticed how the people you are speaking with talk, noticed the differences, AND understood what they are saying. By picking up at least a few words or phrases, if not a bit of the accent, you let them know. (Mimicking, however, can be a whole different deal.)

Personally, whenever I'm in Australia, I soon find myself saying "no worries" (rather than "No problem"). Sometimes during the first couple of hours! It helps to connect with the people I'm talking to. But if I started calling everybody "mate," the reaction would be rather different. One is just communicating smoothly, the other is stereotyping.

[Tom Strong]

I certainly picked up an ounce or two of drawl after living in Atlanta for six years. It's rather enjoyable, really, to let your accent evolve with your surroundings. So I can't fault Hillary for that - nor G.W. Bush.

[amba]

A dram of drawl?