When I get drunk, my speech changes in one of the following ways: 1) I am suddenly fluent in French, and prattle on in that language, 2) I am suddenly fluent in Spanish or 3) I adopt an English accent. Sometimes everyone around me is lucky and I just get verbal diarrhea, but every once in awhile one of the following happens.
The first two are rather explicable. I was a French major undergrad, and spent a semester there, so fluency in that is pretty much expected, it just doesn't "happen" until I'm drunk. Before I took French, I took Spanish for umpteen years, so that's not that surprising either. What is distinctly weird is when I come out with the English accent. I've only been to London once, some 8 years ago, and to be honest, I didn't really enjoy it that much. Hell, London is really just like Boston, except people there have non-icky Boston accents, everything is in pounds, and the food is considerably worse. And I haven't been anywhere else in the UK. There is no reason at all for me to start speaking with this certain accent, and I'm sure I do it quite poorly, since then my knowledge of it comes from movies and TV shows.
With the language changes, it only works when I'm around people who can speak said language also. Or not even, in fact, I've been known to jabber in French even when the person I'm talking to never took French. Then I just seem like I'm crazy. But that's normal. Or maybe I'm foreign. But with the British accent, the following conversation usually ensues.
Person to whom I'm talking: "So, you're from England?"
Me: "Um, ewww, no."
Person: "So where are you from?"
Me: "Oh! Wonderful LA!"
Person: "Did you grow up in England?"
Me: "Hell no, didn't I say I was from LA?"
Person: "So what's with the accent?"
Me: "Oh, am I speaking with an accent?"
It's really quite ludicrous, since I do it unconsciously. Who knows what possesses me. Luckily, it usually wears off. Unlike the time I returned from Paris with not a French accent, but an English one, and had it for a week. The first time I went there with my college roommate, I came back with quite the Queen's English, to her eternal confusion, since I don't even believe we met anyone from the UK while in Paris. I had to make a conscious effort to *not speak with an English accent, and she made fun of me for ages.
On the wedding front. My friend has finally chosen a bridesmaid dress. Finally! And - I got my way! I had ixnayed the first dress on account that the neckline was too high, and I bemoaned its full length (her wedding is in August, it's gonna be hot!), and I told my friend that when (if) I get married, everyone's in tea-length dresses. So what did she end up choosing? A strapless tea-length dress. I prevail again. I always win. Always. There's no use trying to resist me.
The first two are rather explicable. I was a French major undergrad, and spent a semester there, so fluency in that is pretty much expected, it just doesn't "happen" until I'm drunk. Before I took French, I took Spanish for umpteen years, so that's not that surprising either. What is distinctly weird is when I come out with the English accent. I've only been to London once, some 8 years ago, and to be honest, I didn't really enjoy it that much. Hell, London is really just like Boston, except people there have non-icky Boston accents, everything is in pounds, and the food is considerably worse. And I haven't been anywhere else in the UK. There is no reason at all for me to start speaking with this certain accent, and I'm sure I do it quite poorly, since then my knowledge of it comes from movies and TV shows.
With the language changes, it only works when I'm around people who can speak said language also. Or not even, in fact, I've been known to jabber in French even when the person I'm talking to never took French. Then I just seem like I'm crazy. But that's normal. Or maybe I'm foreign. But with the British accent, the following conversation usually ensues.
Person to whom I'm talking: "So, you're from England?"
Me: "Um, ewww, no."
Person: "So where are you from?"
Me: "Oh! Wonderful LA!"
Person: "Did you grow up in England?"
Me: "Hell no, didn't I say I was from LA?"
Person: "So what's with the accent?"
Me: "Oh, am I speaking with an accent?"
It's really quite ludicrous, since I do it unconsciously. Who knows what possesses me. Luckily, it usually wears off. Unlike the time I returned from Paris with not a French accent, but an English one, and had it for a week. The first time I went there with my college roommate, I came back with quite the Queen's English, to her eternal confusion, since I don't even believe we met anyone from the UK while in Paris. I had to make a conscious effort to *not speak with an English accent, and she made fun of me for ages.
On the wedding front. My friend has finally chosen a bridesmaid dress. Finally! And - I got my way! I had ixnayed the first dress on account that the neckline was too high, and I bemoaned its full length (her wedding is in August, it's gonna be hot!), and I told my friend that when (if) I get married, everyone's in tea-length dresses. So what did she end up choosing? A strapless tea-length dress. I prevail again. I always win. Always. There's no use trying to resist me.
posted at 20:50
0 Comments:
Enregistrer un commentaire
<< Home