Anybody who knows Ruth Ann well, knows that she is very loving and has a lively personality. Her conversations are captivating because she shows genuine interest (unless she's playing free cell) and because her voice is so melodic. What some fail to detect, however, is her accent arises from a smattering of sources.
The Midwest is the biggest culprit. Yes, Ruth Ann was born in Ames, Iowa and reared in Fargo, North Dakota, don'tcha know. You might catch her wording 'warm' like 'arm' with a 'w', or muttering an occasional 'ot chhh', the catch-all Ruth Ann phrase used at will in response to a cheeky joke, the accidental dropping a sewing needle, or a person going out in Rummy before she's ready.
You might also hear a hint of hick in Ruth Ann's vernacular, which stems back to her days spent growing up in Utah. She has long been ridiculed for wordsmithing 'sinsuous' the time-saving combination of 'since you were', as in "Sinsuous up, would you mind getting me a tal'?"
As if that weren't enough, she married a crazy Canuk and has listened to drawn-out vowels for the past 38 years, only adding to her colloquial confusion.
While I facetiously tease Mom about the way her words sound, I've never once questioned the way they make me feel. Mother's language is laced with love. Just as a band-aid makes scuffed up knees all better as a child, Mother's loving words heal wounded souls. Her unfailing optimism and zest for life make me want to be better and let me know that I can.
My college roommates used to tease me about how I said "warm" (I say it like mom) and they REALLY laughed when I said "garburator" (instead of disposal, like Dad)
ReplyDeleteBob--these are the perfect descriptions of Ruth Ann's voice and speech. I am still laughing over the mentioning (and spelling) of Ot Chhh--Joseph loves to do that noise in homage to his mama :)
ReplyDeleteFlori, garburator is classic Canadian. I love it when Dad gets together with his cousins and his accent comes right back.
ReplyDeleteCare, the funniest part about this post is that I was at Johnny's and told him my next post was going to be titled, "Ot chhh" and he said, "Ah, dude, I was going to write about that tonight." I was like, "Get off my wavelength."
I didn't even know I said that. I don't think I say that after losing at Rummy because I don't ever remember losing playing with all of you card holding devils.
ReplyDeleteBob well done. This was a great post. Mom! So sassy... that was your best comeback yet.
ReplyDeleteBut were you building up or tearing down?
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