【英语趣味课堂】当地口音-Local Accents

 Curtis: Hey Spencer, so I was just thinking, it's kind of interesting. Sometimes your accent, it's hard to pinpoint¹ where it's from, sometimes I think it's from a country outside of the US, but you're from North Carolina, right?

 

Spencer: I am from North Carolina, although the other day I was at Starbucks and ran into some friends, one of whom, I never met before and she said, "Oh, where are you from?" And I said, "North Carolina." And she's like, "Are you sure?" Yeah. No, I've lived with a ton of different people from just all over the world and I've found that I've come to mimic² their accents. My best friend, she's Welsh and then probably after her my two best friends are, one's Aussie and one's Kiwi. And so everybody who I meet tells me that I tend to sound either Australian or New Zealand ish or Kiwi or even British. So yeah. No. And it's funny too because of American accents, people tend to think that the south has a very strong dialect³, they speak really slow, sound...

 

Curtis: Right, right. Extra vowels⁴.

 

Spencer: Extra vowels,yeah, from Wilmington, North Carolina. But no, like I've lived out of the country now for a couple of years and nobody has really been able to pinpoint me, "Oh, North Carolinian, yeah, southern accent." So yeah, no way. I have a mixed blend⁵ of accents.

 

Curtis: So what accents are your favorites?

 

Spencer: I really love the South African dialect of English, it's, you know, a mix of British English, Australian and it's just really cool sounding to me. I also really like the Kiwi, the New Zealand accent, some Australian but not quite, I feel like they don't quite hang on to their words as long. Australians tend to kind of draw out words whereas⁶ I feel like Kiwis are a bit more short. I think just a lot of the words are a lot more euphoric, for example in America, we say, you know, "Trash", and it just doesn't sound very good to the ears. But you know, British and Australians, they say, 'Oh, rubbish'. And it just sounds a lot better to me, instead of saying like, "What, I did't hear you, what." They say like, "Oh, pardon." It just sounds more polite I think and more like better sounding to the ears.

 

Curtis: And the stiff⁷- upper-lip culture.

 

Spencer: Yeah, stiff upper lip culture. I'm not a big fan of the Canadian accent. I feel like a lot of times they say, "Hey", kind of after everything. And it sounds very much like American accents. I don't ... being from the south I don't have a big ... I don't really like the northern accents, they tend to ... we say speak as if you are holding their nose, so like this, right, that was southern, but they seem to talk through their nose.

 

Curtis: Oh, like western for example.

 

Spencer: Yes, exactly.

 

Curtis: Like maybe from Boston, where you park the car.

 

Spencer: Exactly, yeah, jazzy, jazzy shower, yeah. It's interesting too like when I lived in Sweden, the Swedes from Stockholm, thought the same of the swedes the south that they spoke⁸ as if they were eating soup at the same time that they were speaking.

 

Curtis: Oh, okay, okay.

 

Spencer: And the people from southern Sweden thought that the stockholmers were speaking as if they're also like holding their nose at the same time that they were speaking.

 

Curtis: Okay, so really nasal sound.

 

Spencer: Exactly.

 

重点词汇：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

pinpoint

 

It's hard to pinpoint where it's from.

 

Pinpoint means to locate or indentify something. Notice the following:

 

People use Google Maps to pinpoint locations.

I can't pinpoint what is wrong, but something does not seem right.

run into

 

I was at Starbucks and ran into some friends

 

When you run into someone, you meet them by chance. Notice the following:

 

I ran into my friend at the store.

You won't believe who I ran into today!

mimic

 

I've come to mimic their accents.

 

When you mimic someone, you try to speak as they do, sometimes in an joking manner. Notice the following:

 

My father always mimics⁹ me when I complain.

Star Wars fans like to mimic the voice of Darth Vader.

draw out / drawl

 

Australians tend to kind of draw out words.

 

When you draw out your words, you say them longer and clear then normal. A slow accent is called a drawl. Notice the following:

 

She has a nice Southern drawl.

In movies, often directors draw out the words of actors for some movie scenes for dramatic¹⁰ affect.

stiff-upper lip

 

And the stiff- upper-lip culture.

 

People with a stiff-upper lift rarely show emotion, even in times of anger or excitement. Notice the following:

 

She is known for having a stiff-upper lip.

Dignified¹¹ professions, like butlers, are sometimes shown to have a stiff-upper lip in movies.

1 pinpoint   

vt.准确地确定；用针标出…的精确位置

参考例句：

• It is difficult to pinpoint when water problems of the modern age began.很难准确地指出，现代用水的问题是什么时候出现的。
• I could pinpoint his precise location on a map.我能在地图上指明他的准确位置。

2 mimic   

v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人

参考例句：

• A parrot can mimic a person's voice.鹦鹉能学人的声音。
• He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another.他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。

3 dialect   

n.方言，土语，地方话

参考例句：

• He wrote a play in a local dialect.他用当地方言写了一个剧本。
• They began to speak rapidly in dialect.他们开始叽里呱啦地说起地方话来。

4 vowels   

n.元音，元音字母( vowel的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Vowels possess greater sonority than consonants. 元音比辅音响亮。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Note the various sounds of vowels followed by r. 注意r跟随的各种元音的发音。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

5 blend   

v.(使)混和，(使)混杂；n.混合物；混和

参考例句：

• Do you think these two colours will blend together?你认为这两种颜色和谐吗？
• These houses seem to blend into the surrounding scenery.这些房屋似乎与周围的景色融为一体了。

6 whereas   

conj.而，却，反之

参考例句：

• They want a house,whereas we would rather live in a flat.他们想要一座房子，而我们宁愿住在一套房间里。
• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。

7 stiff   

adj.严厉的，激烈的，硬的，僵直的，不灵活的

参考例句：

• There is a sheet of stiff cardboard in the drawer.在那个抽屉里有块硬纸板。
• You have to push on the handle to turn it,becanse it's very stiff.手柄很不灵活，你必须用力推才能转动它。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 mimics   

n.模仿名人言行的娱乐演员，滑稽剧演员( mimic的名词复数 )；善于模仿的人或物v.（尤指为了逗乐而）模仿( mimic的第三人称单数 )；酷似

参考例句：

• Methods:Models were generate by CT scan,Mimics software and Abaqus software. 方法：采用CT扫描，Mimics软件和Abaqus软件的CAD进行三维有限元模型的创建。 来自互联网
• Relaxing the mind and body mimics the effect that some blood-pressure pills would have. 放松身心会产生某些降压药才能产生的效果。 来自辞典例句

10 dramatic   

adj.引人注目的；戏剧的；演戏的

参考例句：

• She plays a very dramatic woman with flashing eyes.她饰演一位双眼闪光的引人注目的妇人。
• His speech was dramatic.他的演说激动人心。

11 dignified   

a.可敬的，高贵的

参考例句：

• Throughout his trial he maintained a dignified silence. 在整个审讯过程中，他始终沉默以保持尊严。
• He always strikes such a dignified pose before his girlfriend. 他总是在女友面前摆出这种庄严的姿态。