I Say Cawl. So What?

Sue me. I'm from New York (note, not New Yawk).

I frequently get made fun of for the many accents of Amanda. Why do I not sound like I'm from New York? But why do I say dawg, cawfee, and tawk? Well I don't know! Why do people in the South say y'all (I'm irked by people who use that term when they aren't from the South btw).

I can't explain my English dialect. I'm always abused for saying New York words, but my SI friends can't understand why I pronounce things so properly sometimes. I guess it's because I went to college with people that were not from New York and I suppose that speaking Spanish also has helped me along the way. Maybe it was all that speech training in high school that taught me to pronounce my t's and d's. My parents don't sound too New York-like either.

I was questioned the other day by a new employee as to where I was from. Where am I from? I thought it a funny question. Born and raised in SI, I said. The reply: "You don't sound like you're from here." Well, where do I sound like I'm from? It's kind of like the reaction I get when I tell people that I'm half Puerto Rican. "But you don't LOOK Puerto Rican!" What does that look like exactly?? I find it amusing.

It's also interesting that when I'm around certain people I tend to pick up a little bit of their accent. For example, when I’m around those who have a slightly exaggerated SI accent, I may begin to speak like them. And my mom swears that as she goes South she picks up a Southern twang. (However, I've never actually heard this.)

We may all speak English, but our accents are what truly give us personality. As for me, I'm stuck among a plethora of different languages: English, Spanish, Staten Island, and who knows what else. Does that mean I have separate personalities?