questionmark Posted July 29, 2014 #1 Share Posted July 29, 2014 OAK RIDGE, Tenn., July 29 (UPI) --Plans for a class that would have taught Department of Energy employees how to pull the plug on their southern accents have been cancelled. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory's proposed "Southern Accent Reduction" class will not be taught after some employees complained that they found the class offensive. The six-week course was going to be taught by "accent reduction trainer" Lisa Scott, and students were going to learn to "speak with a more neutral American accent" so they could "be remembered for what you say and not how you say it." Read more: http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2014/07/29/Oak-Ridge-National-Laboratory-in-Tennessee-cancels-Southern-Accent-Reduction-class/1381406653271/#ixzz38t01PYQq Don't they have no other problems to spend the money on? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OverSword Posted July 29, 2014 #2 Share Posted July 29, 2014 I enjoy getting calls from Southerners. I think I would miss the accent. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrooma Posted July 29, 2014 #3 Share Posted July 29, 2014 QUOTE- Oak Ridge cancels 'Southern Accent Reduction' . Rock Ridge cancels request for new Sheriff..... . =-O 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark_Grey Posted July 29, 2014 #4 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Is this mandatory for all call center employees? Let's neutralize the accents where it counts 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrooma Posted July 29, 2014 #5 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Is this mandatory for all call center employees? Let's neutralize the accents where it counts . what, Bangladesh?! . 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OverSword Posted July 29, 2014 #6 Share Posted July 29, 2014 When I get calls from call centers in India the person always has a made up western name like Charles or Lydia. Cracks me up. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark_Grey Posted July 29, 2014 #7 Share Posted July 29, 2014 what, Bangladesh?! When I get calls from call centers in India the person always has a made up western name like Charles or Lydia. Cracks me up. "Hello sir or madam. My name is Buck Rogers. Is mister or missus Sm....Smitt home?" 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skep B Posted July 29, 2014 #8 Share Posted July 29, 2014 I had a very bad twangy appalachian accent growing up. Eventually I started meeting people from other places and realized the way I sounded made me seem dumb, regardless of what I was saying. To fix that I started watching mimicking the way I spoke after specific actors I saw/heard in movies. Largely James Earl Jones and Orson Welles. Not realizing it was those two funny enough. I was going by Unicron from the old Transformers movie, and Mufasa At this point my natural voice is something I have to think about to speak like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aztek Posted July 29, 2014 #9 Share Posted July 29, 2014 (edited) whatcha ya'll don't like 'bout southers accent? Edited July 29, 2014 by aztek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubblykiss Posted July 29, 2014 #10 Share Posted July 29, 2014 When I get calls from call centers in India the person always has a made up western name like Charles or Lydia. Cracks me up. To be fair they probably have a MA or 2 whereas when you get a call from Charles in 'merica, he probably has 4 or 5 teeth and a drinking problem 17 years old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myles Posted July 29, 2014 #11 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Because of the southern stereotype, they are often considered to be less intelligent when they talk with a strong accent. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrooma Posted July 29, 2014 #12 Share Posted July 29, 2014 i have a very broad Yorkshire accent. very. if i (as me & my mates do when we txt each other) started speaking phonetically, in dialect, there'd be two-maybe three people on here who could-maybe-understand me. i'm proud of my accent. it opens doors. worldwide. how you speak betrays your origins, and that has never been anything to be ashamed of.* . . *(unless you come from France.) . 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted July 29, 2014 #13 Share Posted July 29, 2014 I like the Southern accent, as long as the person uses correct English. I get a lot of attention with mine while traveling. I'm not a fan of country Southern with phrases like "We ain't got none" or "can't get no..." 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrooma Posted July 29, 2014 #14 Share Posted July 29, 2014 (edited) I'm not a fan of country Southern with phrases like "We ain't got none" or "can't get no..." . whyever not?! most folk nowadays either end a sentence with a 'hmmm?' or a patronising 'hmmm.....' . embrace your inner 'ahyhuuh-ism', your constant 'dafuuuu....?ness. . kemall man. kemall..... . Edited July 29, 2014 by shrooma 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted July 29, 2014 #15 Share Posted July 29, 2014 (edited) . whyever not?! most folk nowadays either end a sentence with a 'hmmm?' or a patronising 'hmmm.....' . embrace your inner 'ahyhuuh-ism', your constant 'dafuuuu....?ness. . kemall man. kemall..... . Cuz everbody, especially damn Yankees, already thank we is illiterate, inbred, moonshine swillin', tobbacee chewing, backwoods, snaggletoothed, Bible thumpin', gun tote'n rednecks. We has got us sum edumacated people in the hollers from these parts. Edited July 29, 2014 by Michelle 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aztek Posted July 29, 2014 #16 Share Posted July 29, 2014 . I'm not a fan of country Southern with phrases like "We ain't got none" or "can't get no..." that is how people in Brooklyn talk. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted July 30, 2014 #17 Share Posted July 30, 2014 that is how people in Brooklyn talk. Amazin' ain't it! If people would focus more on what we have in common we could all stand around the campfire holding hands and singin' kum ba yah. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquatus1 Posted July 30, 2014 #18 Share Posted July 30, 2014 Actually, a lot of the requests I get for "Business English" training are really accent training classes. Accents influence behavior and perception; there is really no way around that. I don't personally find any particular accent to be more or less offensive; for me it comes down to consistency of dialect. I can, however, state with certainty that it does affect business transactions. Whether or not the Department of Energy needed this training would be more of a consideration for me than whether or not it offended anyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rafterman Posted July 30, 2014 #19 Share Posted July 30, 2014 I like the Southern accent, as long as the person uses correct English. I get a lot of attention with mine while traveling. I'm not a fan of country Southern with phrases like "We ain't got none" or "can't get no..." I agree. Southern is not synonymous with ignorant. Considering the substantial literary heritage of Southern writers, you'd think folks would have figured that out by now. I too get a lot of good mileage out of my Southern accent. People seem to love it and it generates a lot of good interactions. When I was in graduate school, my classmates always told me they loved my presentations because it was like listening to Bill Clinton. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bama13 Posted July 30, 2014 #20 Share Posted July 30, 2014 Cuz everbody, especially damn Yankees, already thank we is illiterate, inbred, moonshine swillin', tobbacee chewing, backwoods, snaggletoothed, Bible thumpin', gun tote'n rednecks. We has got us sum edumacated people in the hollers from these parts. Well you are from 10rc. It isn't fair to lump us Alabamans in with y'all "illiterate, inbred, moonshine swillin', tobbacee chewing, backwoods, snaggletoothed, Bible thumpin', gun tote'n rednecks." Besides that 10rc ernge is hideous. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bama13 Posted July 30, 2014 #21 Share Posted July 30, 2014 whatcha ya'll don't like 'bout southers accent? Not sure where you're from brother, but it's y'all, not ya'll. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mantis914 Posted July 30, 2014 #22 Share Posted July 30, 2014 I know where they could use this class is Hollywood because the actors that try to put on a southern accent tend to over do it. Case in point: The Closer with that Sedgewyck chick, when she speaks on that show (and my wife would like that show!), it makes my skin crawl with that phony baloney accent... ugh... her and several others... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aztek Posted July 30, 2014 #23 Share Posted July 30, 2014 Not sure where you're from brother, but it's y'all, not ya'll. damn auto correct, lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundew Posted July 30, 2014 #24 Share Posted July 30, 2014 And why pick on Southerners? How about Bronx accents, or Bostonian? Or Cajun? There are plenty of accents that may be difficult to understand, get over it. I believe I had read once that Appalachian dialects are closest to the original old English, but it's been a while and I may be way off. Personally if you don't like the accent of a pretty Southern Belle, well, I just feel sorry for you. And since at the same time we are flooding our country with Spanish language "children" I find this rather ironic, y'all. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bama13 Posted July 30, 2014 #25 Share Posted July 30, 2014 And why pick on Southerners? How about Bronx accents, or Bostonian? Or Cajun? There are plenty of accents that may be difficult to understand, get over it. I believe I had read once that Appalachian dialects are closest to the original old English, but it's been a while and I may be way off. Personally if you don't like the accent of a pretty Southern Belle, well, I just feel sorry for you. And since at the same time we are flooding our country with Spanish language "children" I find this rather ironic, y'all. Reminds me of my trip to the Bahamas for a friend wedding. His wife is from Boston. When getting directions her father told me to "turn right at the god shack". I said "god shack? Is that what they call churches in Boston?" He looked at me like I was crazy and said "No, the god shack. You know where the god with the gun is." I said "Oh, the guard shack, got it." 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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