If immigrants can assimilate,West Virginians can by
IT'S called "accent reduction" and it's becoming a big deal in America, especially among immigrants who are trying to get jobs.
Go online and you can find software to help people for whom English is a second language.
You can find entire Web sites devoted to helping immigrants speak English with less of an accent. There are even courses in community colleges and universities to help newcomers speak proper English so they can get jobs.
Why? It's simple. Most U.S. employers want their employees to speak English that most folks can understand, especially if those employees deal with the public
And that makes sense.
When I call a customer assistance number and someone answers who doesn't speak a form of Midwestern American English, I get frustrated and sometimes just hang up.
I attended entirely too many rock concerts (a la Kiss) in my youth and my hearing is going. Unless my ears are attuned to the kind of English being spoken, I sometimes simply don't understand.
The question at hand: Should some folks born and bred in America seek accent reduction as well? I think so, especially those who live deep in Appalachia.
I am sometimes amazed by the heavy accents I hear on local news. Folks in Eastern Kentucky and Southern West Virginia probably watch as much or more TV than others in this region.
And yet, it seems they are unaffected by the "standard English" they hear over the medium.
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