Hafta, Gonna, Wanna...Youbetcha.

I was watching the vice-presidential debate last night--before you stop reading, I want to clarify that this post is NOT political--and was distracted by something. I'm sure you caught it if you have heard Sarah Palin speak much. She has more of a "Fargo" accent than many Minnesotans I know! I couldn't get past it! I tried to listen to her policies and ideas, but kept getting blocked by her down-home speak.

I shouldn't be the one to talk about this, though. Since I have returned from Korea, I have noticed some strange things in my own speech patterns. My friends have been nice to point out that I am a little slow lately and that my words are extra-enunciated. A little slow? I hope it was only my speaking they were talking about! Yes, I have learned to be extremely careful about how I speak--when working with non-native speaking individuals, this is necessary. When speaking to American, English-speaking peers and teenage sisters, it is not.

To remedy my speech problem, I have intentionally started to add some of the rushed words that make it difficult for non-English speakers to understand, like, gonna, hafta, wanna, and shoulda. I don't like using these words, but I decided to add them into my vocabulary for a few months to jump start my normal, non-English-teacher language.

One problem, though: while my speech has sped up, I have started to hear something coming out of my mouth that I thought was gone for good: an up-north, Minnesota accent. No way! I worked hard in college to remove any traces of an accent that would mark me as a midwesterner--not because I dislike midwesterners, but because I teach English and don't want my students to sound like they stepped off the set of Fargo.

So, in light of last night's debate, and Sarah Palin's blaring accent, I have to admit that the reason it bothered me so much is that I have heard some of the same things in my own speech. I have decided to work on this in the dark recesses of my home (or, in the back room of my spunky, 94-year-old roommate, Edna) and not to speak in California until it is fixed! :)