A fun and interesting story about regional dialects on this day before Thanksgiving

a thread

1/

— Paul Thomas (@plthomasEdD) November 22, 2023

Those who know me in person have witnessed my distinct and heavy Southern accent, which I never thought much about until I moved to higher ed (students from different parts of the country call me out) and began presenting all over the US

2/

— Paul Thomas (@plthomasEdD) November 22, 2023

Part of my presenting includes acknowledging the accent with some self-deprecating humor

So I had just done that a few times @ncte #NCTE23 in OH

3/

— Paul Thomas (@plthomasEdD) November 22, 2023

On my drive back to SC I was in very rural WV with little to no access to Starbucks etc early that morning. But a rest stop had a coffee shop!

4/

— Paul Thomas (@plthomasEdD) November 22, 2023

I ordered from a very rural WV woman. And it went like this

Me: You have a dark roast?
Her: We got a medium and a light
Me: Medium is fine and do you have oat milk?
Her: We do

Now it gets interesting

5/

— Paul Thomas (@plthomasEdD) November 22, 2023

She stares at the register and seems very confused but admits aloud she can't find how to enter "oatmeal"

So I explain, "O, sorry, I want oat *milk* in the coffee"

She looked up and snapped, "We ain't Starbucks. All we have is whole milk"

😂

6/

— Paul Thomas (@plthomasEdD) November 22, 2023

Besides me triggering her with a simple request for nondairy in my coffee, this scene was replicated back in Feb when I was in Milwaukee WI also presenting at a conference

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— Paul Thomas (@plthomasEdD) November 22, 2023

In the convention center I ordered a dark roast with oat milk

The young man serving me immediately looked up and said, "Where are you from?"

I said SC and he said he heard it in the "oat"

*But* he was smiling and said people always hear he is from WI when he says "oat"

8/

— Paul Thomas (@plthomasEdD) November 22, 2023

When I told my partner the story (she loves nudging me when the heavy pronunciations pop out, turning one-syllable words into two) she asked me to say words in "standard" pronunciation (she is an English major and we don't ascribe to "standard" btw)

9/

— Paul Thomas (@plthomasEdD) November 22, 2023

I can hear the SC in my voice and I can flattening it out some with effort … but it is who I am

That tension between my status as (once) an English teacher, a professor/scholar, a writer and speaker AND the stigma of "sounding Southern" is a pervasive part of my life

10/

— Paul Thomas (@plthomasEdD) November 22, 2023

I find linguistics and language fascinating but that tension does keep me humble and does contribute to my recognition of marginalized languagehttps://t.co/H4yccede4V

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— Paul Thomas (@plthomasEdD) November 22, 2023

Here is a good piece:https://t.co/fln7wKJbCv

LaBrant, L. (1946, June). The words of my mouth. English Journal, 35(6), 323-327. https://t.co/e54WgZPPPj

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— Paul Thomas (@plthomasEdD) November 22, 2023

Since we have swung back to a conservative view of teaching reading and literacy, I want to emphasize that "the words of our mouth" are who we are as humans

Let's now try to erase each other's humanity

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— Paul Thomas (@plthomasEdD) November 22, 2023

Question the hegemony of "standard"

Celebrating diversity includes language use, not just texts to read or view

Correcting Course on Correctness in English/ELA https://t.co/zJe8BOQWHB

14/

— Paul Thomas (@plthomasEdD) November 22, 2023

Highly recommend@NCTE_CCCC

This Ain’t Another Statement! This is a DEMAND for Black Linguistic Justice!https://t.co/r5Ixq7cM7Z

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— Paul Thomas (@plthomasEdD) November 22, 2023

Let us be thankful for our words, our voices

Let us be thankful for the words and voices of others not like us

16/16

— Paul Thomas (@plthomasEdD) November 22, 2023

PS: Many years ago I talked on the phone for the first time with a dear scholar/mentor, Joe Kincheloe, who was from TN. When I spoke, Joe laughed and said, "Well you are from the South aren't you!" It was an immediate sharing of love and understanding

PS 1/

— Paul Thomas (@plthomasEdD) November 22, 2023

Joe told me about being an academic/scholar from the South all over the US and Canada, how it was hard to fit in while being very Southern

Even my remaining in the South, I have to concur …

RIP Joehttps://t.co/97zSOv3xMD

PS 2/2

— Paul Thomas (@plthomasEdD) November 22, 2023