This is a picture I found that's supposed to be America's view of Europe. It's amazing how many of these were actually one of the things I associated with these countries, even if it wasn't my very first thought, and how many I've heard others associate with them. That being said, let me clarify that I was expecting to not agree with any of them, so "how many" is really only two or three for me, personally.
There are a few other stereotype maps like this, and I found this map here. I started looking for it when I saw a similar one on my friend Emilie's blog.
Also on the topic of stereotypes, something interesting we discussed in my linguistics class was that people from both Michigan and Alabama thought the Southern accent sounded less intelligent than the Nothern accent. Michigan thought their accent sounded most pleasant, and Alabama thought *their* accent sounded most pleasant, and both thought that people who spoke their respective accents were nicest. The intelligence thing was strange to me, though. I hate to think that a lack of intelligence is a stereotype the South is self-perpetuating.
This is a collective map of Alabama results regarding which region speaks 'correct English'. 1 - least correct 10 - correct
If anyone wants to look at more maps like this, you can go here or read Dr. Dennis Preston's Perceptual Dialectology (Dordrecht: Foris, 1989).
I think it's just a stereotype that exists everywhere in the nation. The southern accent is associated with farm owners and hillbillies, while the northern accent is associated with industry and education. This is true everywhere. Southerners who associate the accents this way probably find their southern pride in some other virtue.
ReplyDeleteI understand. And they do. Southern hospitality!!
ReplyDeleteBut it's still sad that southerners write themselves off as being uneducated because of the way they speak.
We talked about this today in my cultural/linguistic anthropology class today. It seems that a lot of grad students at USM have practiced really hard to drop their accents because they think it makes them sounds less sophisticated when discussing their research proposals....and, you know me: I don't love the southern accent, but it's just like any other accent in that it has certain labels or connotations that accompany it, one being lower intelligence or education. While I don't particularly like the sound of many American accents, I do think that the southern one has gotten a bad name.
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't seen this, you should check it out. I think you'd really enjoy it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuhRKzVJBRA&feature=related
I love Walt Wolfram. He looks a lot different now.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, we watched the full video in my intro class. If you haven't seen all of it, you should watch it.