Activity Six

I did the quiz that tests on how you interpret vowel sounds first. I did awful on this one and the only word that I had correct was desk. Even with the phrases it was really hard to understand what was being said. I know I'm not the best at understanding different accents but I did a lot worse than I thought would. I think it was much harder because it was taken out of context. It's easier to understand something when it's a part of a whole conversation versus just hearing a single word. Along with that I also think it would be easier to do if you were listening to the person directly instead of through audio.

For the other quiz on regional dialects I actually did better than I thought I would. I still had quite a few wrong but even when I did they were in the area next to the correct one. The easiest ones for me to pick out were the ones from the south. I haven't really spent much time in the south but I do listen to a lot of country music which maybe gives me an upper hand. I think the hardest ones to differentiate between were the north, midland, and the west. They all were quite similar and to me they have a "lack" of accent so they all seem the same. I feel like there could have been much more variety in these regions.

I thought these activities were pretty fun actually. When I attended school at the University of Minnesota my freshmen year I realized that the Minnesota accent really does exist and I remember being pretty shocked by how strong it was. I thought accents were from the south and the east and there was some invisible line you had to cross to encounter them. Not true! I find it amazing how much variety there is just in what we say and how we say it. The big fight at U of M was whether it was a bubbler or a water fountain. I still think it's a water fountain by the way. I also remember going to Florida one year and stopping at a McDonald's and asking for a pop and the cashier immediately knew I was from Wisconsin or Minnesota. I also love when I go down south and eat out and the waitress calls me sweetie or honey. It's something that never happens up here and I think it's kind of fun. I think it's pretty cool that even just the way we talk can define who we are in a way. Some people may see this as a bad thing but I'm proud of being where I'm from and I think it's good that people can somewhat tell where you're from just by the differences in your voice.

I have a lot of memories where differences in dialects were noticeable and started some funny conversations or had some sort of impact on me. My question is do you have any experiences of speaking with someone with a different dialect or accent that really had an impact on you?