The Raft

I still have a little bit of New York in me, that is less from the fact that I grew up in Putnam County and more because my parents and extended family are all genuine city-folk.

I have a lot of Connecticut, which my NYer family often makes fun of. Simple differences like, I say ORange, they say AHrange. (The fruit. Stay with me here.) FlORida, FlAHrida.

Sometimes I squash my "a" sound, which drives me crazy when I hear it. You know it - when someone says the name "Carrie" but it might as well be "Kerry" - they don't pronounce them any different. It makes me crazy to hear it but it makes me NUTS when I do it myself.

When I get a cup of coffee I have to concentrate when with my CT brethren, I try very hard to CAH-ffee but it never fails, there is always some funny-guy who has to say "oh, she wants a cup of CAWFEE, get this girl some CAWFEE. Hey, did you hear that? She said "Cawfee"." That never gets old, I laugh and laugh at that funny, funny guy.

My speech is very impressionable. After a week with my sister in Scotland I picked up a few tidbits that have stuck with me. I say "cardi" rather than cardigan sweater - I think that's cute because my niece, Cara, loves her cardies and talked about which one he would wear endlessly.
I also say "cheeky" because it's cool - you all wish you had a good reason to use a cool, British term. I have one.
My most noted and most involuntary is my pronunciation of the word "naughty". If I don't pronounce the "t" very speficially it feels wrong to me, but I also know that I got that from my week with Deborah, not my proper-English upbringing.

One day with Michele and I sound like J-Lo for a week. (J-Lo also tends to pop out when I am angry or drinking... both times of very fast speaking, I can't control myself.)

Send me south for a quick vacation, I carry a twang for weeks. Send me to Maine for a long weekend and I'm eating "lobstah".

I don't do it on purpose, I just do it. And I used to be so self-conscious of it but now, as we have discussed here so often, I have gotten much more comfortable with me, as a person who I really like and don't constantly criticize or apologize for. So, I like it.

I am really looking forward to a week in Florida (twang, here I come) with my sister, Deborah and her Scottish brood.
Can you have a twangy brogue?