A hilarious video featuring some of NBC News' finest anchors has recently gone viral. I watched this side-splitting video twice before I actually started to dissect what made Brian Williams and Lester Holt perfect for this spoof and then it occurred to me: Their voices are perfectly flat and absolutely void of any sort of dialect. If nothing else, watch the video from about the 1:13 mark on and you will see what I mean. This got me interested enough to consult my handy-dandy go to fact checker (Google) in order to find out where these two men are from. Holt is from California whereas Williams is from New York. Does anyone else find it a little odd that two men from opposite coasts have the same flat accent? Sadly, most people aren't surprised by this.
You see, mass communication has had a huge effect on the way Americans view dialects. I am sure that this isn't anything unique to any region in particular, but I will use my experience as a person from the Appalachian mountains.
I get a lot of grief for the way I talk.
I get grief when I go on vacations. I get grief at my college. I get grief from teachers and people who consider themselves intellectuals because for some unknown reason, I am expected to find my intelligence inferior to theirs simply for the way I talk. Here's that catch: I don't want to change. Everyone's dialect reflects their heritage and upbringing. In my hometown, most people will have a common ancestry. (Which I've heard means we moved to Appalachia to escape the Potato Famine.) The way people in Appalachia speak is a direct reflection of their heritage just as is true for anyone anywhere in the United States.
Yes, I speak slower than some people.
I speak slowly because when I am talking to you, you are important and I am in no hurry. I have no need to rush through conversation, but if I'm pinched for time, I'll let you know. I was raised to give people respect and value them (because, after all, the most important thing we have in life is each other). Everyone was raised with different guidelines for decorum so we all carry conversations differently. You know what? That's pretty awesome.
The Media has caused an environment only accepting of one dialect.
For some reason, Americans today strive for the flat accent. We all seek to have plain speech that doesn't distinguish us from the next person. If you watch the news (or anything on television for that matter) you will most likely find that everyone is speaking in roughly the same manner. Where is the color and vibrancy in that? Where is the celebration of the uniqueness of man? Where is the diversity? After all, America is a melting pot, right? Apparently this isn't the case. We have been taught that one of the greatest things about America is that America is a place where everyone mixes together. Nowadays, people say we are less of a melting pot and more of a salad bowl. Our cultures are unique and distinct yet they compliment each other beautifully. I like to think that we are like the salad at Olive Garden. You've got your lettuce, tomatoes, onions, peppers, croutons, and it is all tossed together in the same delicious salad dressing. Everything is different and has it's own flavor, yet it is all tied together with one common trait. This is the quintessence of America.
If we claim to celebrate diversity we should celebrate the diversity in the way we speak. It has been said that the hamburger is the only truly American cuisine. If this is the case, then imagine people from every state sitting down at a big, long table. When it is time for the meal, everyone is served the same exact McDonald's hamburger and is given water to drink. They have to do this because it is standardized, across the board American cuisine. That doesn't sound very fun does it? Now, instead, imagine this: the same people meet for dinner, but this time everyone brings their own flavor. The Louisiana native brings Jambalaya, the citizen of Maine provides lobster rolls, people from Chicago and New York City compete to see who has the best pizza while the Georgian and Texan just shake their heads and smile as they sit down their apple pie and fresh tacos. Which of these dinners would you rather be at?
You see, America is too beautifully vibrant to try to standardize our speech. The drawls and distorted word endings have been artfully crafted by years of existence. To drop our dialect is to deny our history and to mock someone else's is to be an utter fool. (You can explore and embrace your heritage while respecting everyone else's or you can snidely mock a person who speaks differently than you. Who is truly ignorant there?)
