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["Robert Walton" <waltonrp AT gmail.com>]

>> He by the way was born in New Haven, Connecticut of Connecticut
>> people. He was raised by those people in Texas. His accent is
>> certainly Texan, not something that a Connecticut Yankee just picks
>> up, IMO. This is one of the first reasons I never trusted Bush when he
>> was running for office.
>
> Rob, please clarify the above, because I am getting that you never trusted 
> Bush when he took office because he had a Texas accent when he was born in 
> CT.
> You've really kind of lost me in this discussion.
>

Growing up in Florida, I know lots of northern transplants. People
learn language from their parents (mostly). The accents may vary, but
for the most part stay the same. That his parents speak like they do
and he speaks with such a strong Texas accent seemed strange to me.
Maybe it's just what it is, but someone that is doing the things he
did in life is not normally going to pick up such a country accent.

Politicians are graded on lots of little things. Haircuts, looks,
eyeglasses, how they dress and how they speak. National politicians
even more so.

James (and many others) feel that Obama is talking down to them. James
explained to us that in addition to what he says, how Obama says it
plays into that.

Who was the newscaster (I think in 2000) who did the election coverage
filled with down home talk?  I find it hard to believe that a
politician does not consider how they pronounce words.

I may just be paranoid, but I think that politicians polish for how
they want us to perceive  them.

Back in the 1980s in Tampa, lots of my peers were learning to NOT
speak Southern. It was important to speak "standard American English"
if you wanted to get hired by the come south managers of most
companies.

A candidates speech patterns helps us to create a perception. For
instance Obama, speaking (overly) proper English helps him not to be
perceived as the black candidate (think Sharpton). My thought has been
does Bush's speech pattern help to create an image of him that would
distract from the fact that his family are Connecticut Yankees, modern
day carpetbaggers and northeastern educated?

"Nucular" just bugs me, in Carter, Clinton, and Bush.

Rob - Va






> I worked with some guys from NY and Boston for a period of about a year. 
> After that, my accent changed to the point that Southerners thought I had 
> been raised elsewhere.  Since I have moved away from the city, my accent 
> has become very, very country.  Point is, it doesn't take long to change an 
> accent and you are never too old to have your accent change.
>
>
>>
>> "Changing "nu-clee-ar" into "nu-cu-lar" is an example of what
>> linguists call metathesis, which is the switching of two adjacent
>> sounds. (Think of it this way: "nook le yer" becomes "nook ye ler.")"
>
> I don't say nucular, I say nukluar or something.
>
>
> BTW, Rob, the other day I had a friend over and we were reading some of the 
> posts to the list and she saw the one where you said something to the 
> effect of I am a Southerner because I was raised in Florida.  Now, my 
> friend is from southern Alabama <snicker, snicker, I tease her all the 
> time> and she says "Why everyone knows there are no Southerners left in 
> Florida...lol"
> Just thought you would get a kick out of that...or maybe not.  ;)  Please 
> know that while my timing may be off, I really AM joking around with ya.  I 
> like Bob's comment about being named Robert in VA.  Very creative.
>
> Akka B, saying nuke now, as not to offend or irritate Rob :)
>
>
>
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