Literacy Vignette #2: Speaking Habits
Growing up in North Carolina, I was considered a Southern boy. I was raised
to be hospitable, generous, kind and a just all around friendly person. With this
‘southern’ attitude came a southern accent. Around age 6, I started to obtain a pretty
thick southern accent. My mom would tell me I inherited it from her as my Dad has
the most normal voice in the world. I think since I would cling to my mom and rely
on her for everything, all that time spent with her was how I picked up a southern
accent. Having an accent is by no means bad, some people would consider it to
actually be unique and different. But later in my life, I would say around age 10, my
accent changed.
My father was really into sports such as football and basketball and as a kid, I
developed no natural interest for sports. My dad first got me interested. When I was
9, I joined my first basketball league and t ball league in the same year. My dad
would always encourage me to play sports and would come to every game I had on
the weekends. In between games, he would help me practice and give me pointers
on whatever sport it was. After about a year of playing sports, my accent had
changed without me even knowing it. It was hard for me to understand at first but
then it hit me. After spending all that time with my dad, I had lost my southern
accent and gained, as I mentioned earlier, my dad’s normal voice. My dad had
subconsciously changed my voice in a way. Being around him and talking to him and
having conversations changed my accent. In a way, this could be considered my
secondary discourse as I developed it after my southern accent discourse. I believe
that this relates to literacy because it shows that the way you read, write and in my
case speak can change over time. It depends on what you’re exposed to as you grow
up. You can be influenced by so many different things that can change you from a
literacy standpoint. This event in my life didn’t necessarily inspire me but it played a
significant role in my life.