*** JFK's accent was educated and elite, two factors I did mention in
my assessment of dialects. His pitch was also higher, smoother, and
softer.
Dialect is definitely a product of environment. Ah, yes, here
it is:
>> In order to assess accent similarities and differences, one
needs first of all to draw an ethnic map. Then upon this map one
needs to allow for social
> distinction as well as economic differences.
<<
I already guessed that you are
from US seeing you amazed by my
description of Europe barren population. I
can guess from your
surname that you are of German origin. How this origin
is remote
and how it still infuences your speech? Do you remember
something
of the language of your ancestors or is it alien to you like
Enochian?
*** Yes, Haverhill was named after a town somewhere in
England. The Merrimack Valley is along the Merrimack River in the North
East corner
of Massachusetts. My surname is actually my married name and German
is the
ethnicity of my husband. My maiden name is Walukevich which is of
Polish and Lithuanian heritage. Polish was a language that my mother and
aunt (who lived in our household) would speak when they had "private" matters
to discuss. The only things I remember in Polish are a few Catholic
prayers and some "off color" words.
It is quite interesting, but apparently you speak
of
"microdifferences". All kind of English spoken in your valley are
mutually
understandable or there is some difficulty of communication?
*** You are absolutely correct that all people in my valley could
converse with others, even though some might choose not to. For example,
someonw whose occupation was that of an uneducated factory worker would find
it difficult to converse with the Kennedys for example. Somewhere,
however, I did mention that a speaker of Haverhillian would find understanding
Creole (as spoken in Louisiana) incomprehensible.
As for me, language and species
origins are all but clear and
understandable. We know almost nothing about
this topic, and all
models of macro-families are still very feeble and
uncapable to go
back to the ultimate source of human language.
So
reconstruct precise paths in the history of language change
is terribly
hard and all this despite of Glen's opinion.
Glen uses Occam's Razor in a
terrible way. Once Einstein said that
things are the most possible easy,
but not easier than possible, and
I agree.
*** Finding the "ultimate source" for language-origins is a moot
endeavor. So is searching for origins of species. A
spoken language is the assimilation of education, geography, class, religion,
and social group to which a person belongs (i.e. the environment).
A species likewise is the product of its environment.
Best
wishes,
Gerry