Why are foreign accents so adorable? 
British, especially. Probably because I can understand what they are actually saying...
Well, most of the time.
But everything with a French accent sounds romantic - everything Spanish sounds rapid-fire and immensely important like disaster bulletins - Indian (east Indian - the original India) is so... Indian.
I like Japanese because I can imagine subtitles running below whatever is being spoken. Russian sounds cold - I know, I know, it's just a matter of association. And anything spoken in Chinese makes me hungry.
I didn't completely understand other pople finding American accents 'cute' until I lived in a British community, and found my neighbors hanging on my every word. It was extrememly embarrasing at first, but then it was sort of fun.
Because someone from London sounds completely different from a Yorkshire native - or a person from Wales is highly insulted if you mistake them for someone from Bristol.
After a while you pick it up. 
But to them, a southern drawl and New Yorker... well, it's all American, right?
I just love it.
We are living in a foreign country. -Edmond Jabès, The Book of
Questions Image: Edward S. Curtis, Chaiwa, a Tewa Indian girl with a
butterfly whorl ...
2 comments:
I agree- British accents are TOO cute! Andrew went to London on his mission so he loves those accents too. One of his areas included Air Force families based at Lakenheath, and he said that AF brats would get British accents after going to school there! How cute would that be?
Oh, and did you read the new Ensign article about "Hope, the Misunderstood Sister"? It reminded me of you, of course! I think you should blog about why you and your two daughters have the names you have. There's got to be a story behind why you chose those names, eh?
My mother is originally from Glasgow and mostly grew up in New Jersey. My father is from England and lived in Canada most of his childhood. They both have several accents that will come out at weird times (If we hear New Jersey, we know we're in trouble.) I spent so much time with my scottish grandmother that I had a little brogue when I was around three years old. Eric makes fun of me for the strange way I say Library. He says it's like "LIE-bree." (Apparently I am just fancy like that!)
It's crazy how an accent seems to up a person's perceived IQ- my parents have had several Italian/French visitors lately, and they can make the McDonald's drive-thru menu sound super posh.
I would love to hear the stories behind the names, too!
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