I gather that people here in the US particularly tend to move their accents toward the prevailing vernacular of a new region. Denver is fairly cosmopolitan and the accent there is best described as TV English. No drawls, no clips, sort of middle of the road English.
When Peggy came to Denver from NC she brought a lovely (though minimal) Southern drawl with her and employed it to her advantage in getting a couple of customer service jobs. The interviewers and the customers all liked her voice and the drawl. But she began to lose it after a while.
And then I noticed something funny. After talking with her mother on the phone the Southern accent would return just enough to be noticeable. I'd come in from wherever I was and Peggy would say about two sentences and I'd be able to ask her how her mother was that day.
Now that we've moved to the South I find that the kids' accents seem to be getting just a little Southern. NOT to the extent of some of the locals, whom I actually have a hard time understanding. What IS disconcerting is the terrible English they pick up (including from their teachers
.) One teacher told me recently in reference to a school supply, "We haven't got none." And another one sent a note home, "This is not exceptable behavier." I repllied to the first one, "If you haven't got ANY, I will donate some." The second one got a note back saying that I didn't consider it acceptable behavior and I'm glad she took exception to it. Don't know if it did any good, but I am certainly keeping a close eye on what the kids learn!
