For some reason, in the past week or two my ears have been picking up on a distinct Chicago accent that AJ has developed. For those who haven't heard a Chicago accent before, there is a funny old Saturday Night Live skit with the Bears Super Fans that illustrates it pretty well available here: http://www.hulu.com/watch/4171/saturday-night-live-bill-swerkskis-super-fans (or you can just google Saturday Night Live Bears skit). Someone once described it to me as chewing on your vowels in the back of your mouth. Back becomes baaaack, as in "No, Mama! Put it baaaaaack!" That becomes thaaaat, as in "No, Mama, I didn't want thaaaaat!" And so on and so forth.
I am trying to figure out where this accent is coming from. I don't notice our nanny having a Chicago accent. Joe does have a bit of one, but not nearly as pronounced as what AJ has been using lately. I have noticed a little bit of one creeping into my speech in recent years, but certainly nothing to this extent. I guess after being in Chicago on and off for the last 15 years (fifteen! wow!), it is to be expected, but I was still surprised. I consider Chicago my adopted home, but in another three short years, I will have lived here as many years as I lived in Iowa.
So for now at least, we are living in a household where AJ puts his craaaaackers in his baaaack paaaack to take them to the paaaark for his snaaack. I will try to get this on video for you in the coming weeks.
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