Sunday, Aug. 29, 2004 - 2:58 p.m.

When I came back from 2-1/2 months in Ireland a few years ago my intonation was all screwed up. I like how an Irish accent and intonation sound coming from a native, but as a flat American accented woman, it sounded stupid.I lived with my boss, S. from Dublin, during the whole time. She had the deepest, throatiest Irish accent I had ever heard. I tend to pick up words, sounds and general speech patterns when I am around someone, and thats exactly what happened then.

I can only imagine what I will notice about my English when I return from this 10 month trip. The most obvious thing I can think of that will stand out are the sounds I have picked up. It stood out when I first got here. Instead of my local co-workers saying things like "what?" or "no way." they made "eh(rising tone)" and "uh (falling and rising tone)" sounds. Then I thought it sounded kinda caveman like. Now I dont even notice it when I hear it.

But it actually is a step beyond not noticing. I make the sounds myself, daily. I could not succesfully pick up Chinese or Taiwanese, but these sounds have become such a vital part of my communication ability here it is unreal. Mostly I started using them with the kids, where the biggest language barrier was. (adults have more words for an object or action than kids do, so I could play around with vocab to try and explain something)

But I noticed that I started using the sounds when ordering food, talking to the doctor, and ordering a train ticket. They are mostly "what the fuck" or "I get it" sounds. Its so incredibly hard to describe how they sound to you on this soundless medium. But just think caveman meets trained vocal chords. (Clear but single sound). Wonder when I will get caught using this back home. Will it be while ordering a taco, buying tampons, or telling a cutie man to fuck off in a bar. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. or should I say "ehhhhhh"