When you’ve grown up in the southern portion of the United States, speaking with an accent isn’t exactly a choice.
The southern dialect is one of the most recognizable accents in the world, and it’s completely ingrained in the people who grew up speaking that way. Asking someone to pronounce their words differently must feel like asking a northerner to start speaking in an Irish tongue – it’s just not going to happen.
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Stephanie Shadrick doesn’t have much of an accent, but her husband Brandon definitely does. He was born and raised in the south, and his accent is both thick and delightful.
A few years back, Stephanie got curious: What would he sound like if he ditched his southern twang and tried to sound like somebody from, say Michigan?
It went about as well as you’d think.
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Stephanie gave her husband a simple sentence to try. “The dog licked the oil and everyone laughed,” she stated. Her husband furrowed his brow and gave it the old college try. It wasn’t exactly fluid.
“Say ‘oil, not ‘awl,'” Stephanie encouraged. “Oy-uhl,” he exaggerated.
“I hate that word!” he later exclaimed. Who knew the word oil was such a tricky one?
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He keeps trying, but it never exactly sounds native. Finally, he throws his hands up and says the most southern-sounding thing ever, “I cain’t!”
“‘Can’t,’ not ‘cain’t.’” she corrects yet again before Brandon finally laughs and says, “That’s about as smooth as you’re going to get.”
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You’ve got to give him credit for at least trying! Don’t worry, Brandon… we think you’re perfect just the way you are. Having different regional dialects is yet another wonderful part of living in these United States!
Watch the funny video below, and be sure to share and spread some smiles.
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