Whenever I hear the query “During which?”, as a native New Englander, born in Salem MA, I don't assume the querier is referring to The Great Witchcraft Hysteria of 1692 - as it’s called in Salem..
Instead, I hear the clipped Yankee diction that my mother learned as a (Polish-speaking) neighborhood child at 'The House of the 7 Gables' Settlement House, City of Salem Public Schools, Salem High School, where & when she learned to speak Salem English.
In Salem, there’s no such thing as ‘overly-correct’ speech. How could there be? There’s English, American English, New England English, Yankee English, and (ultimately, in Salem) Salem English. Which I spoke, from infancy, having learned it at home, along with Belarusian Polish and my father's transplanted Glaswegian Scottish. During which mix-acquisition, Salem English seems to have prevailed. Ask anyone who hears me.
No comments:
Post a Comment