Final Post

Well, it is quite odd to think this is last time I will have the opportunity to read the blogs of my classmates.  Stanford has changed the way we all speak.  My hallmates and I are speaking more alike now at the end of first quarter than we did during NSO.  We all use "hella," "real talk," and "tight" frequently and without even noticing.  I never used any of these words or phrases before I came to Stanford.  I still get comments about the way I say "water" and my frequent use of "yoooo" instead of "oh no!"  I don't think my vowels have moved or formants shifted, but I do think being around the same people makes everyone start picking up some sayings from each other.  I've caught some of my roommates using some of my sayings without them even realizing that they were doing it, and I have done the same with their sayings.  It is inevitable and fun, I especially notice it now when I am back in New Jersey with old friends.  We all have really different phrases we say all the time, when just four months ago we shared all those phrases.  Friends going to school is Missouri have especially noticeable new terms that I cannot understand for the life of me.  This class has made me so much more aware of accents, lexicons, and the struggle people learning english as a second language are experiencing.  I would point out things to my roommates when we would meet someone new about their accent... they thought I was pretty cool.  It made me appreciate those accent differences so much more than had I not taken this class.