mashce said:
I've lived so many places that I have bits and pieces of Wisconsin, California, and Arkansas tucked away in my speech... I don't think I have an accent, but when I go up north they comment on my Southern accent, but when I interview down here, they comment on my Yankee accent. Whatever my accent is, I'm not conscious enough of it to hide it from the adcoms...
I have a similar problem. Most people here in Birmingham can tell from my accent that I spent time up north. However, people elsewhere can tell that I am from the South.
Actually, there are several different accents in Alabama. People from Mobile sound different from the rest of the state, & people from rural areas in the north eastern part of the state sound different from other rural folks. Also, you can often tell what part of Birmingham & what social class someone is from by listening carefully.
I tend to use different degrees of my accent, depending on the audience. One of my interviewers was from a small town in rural Alabama. I upped the drawl a bit in my speech. Another of my interviewers was midwestern. Of course I toned down the accent a bit for him. Some of this switching is unconscious, but sometimes I do it intentionally. Some words I can't de-southern, however, even if I try. "Fries," for instance; if I try to say it any other way than 'fraahs' I just sound like an idiot.
Is anyone else irritated by the frequently bad southern accents used in TV & movies? Especially when they use words completely incorrectly. Y'all is a plural expression, (or takes multiple objects), but in books & on TV people use it when speaking to (or about) just one person. As long as an actor doesn't sound like they are from Boston or Brooklyn, they can play a Southern character without trying a fake accent.
I like the midwestern accent also, as long as the speaker isn't too nasal with their voice.