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chefmarksamson t1_j22b5lf wrote

Both of those pronunciations are pretty common throughout Appalachia, and aren’t “wrong” so much as they are different. I’d imagine that it bothers you so much because you’ve internalized messaging that tells you that broad Mid-Atlantic and Midwestern accents are “correct,” and deviation from that is somewhere between nonstandard (northern working class accents like stereotypical Boston and New York accents) and ignorant (southern working class accents like Appalachian, Southern, and African American accents).

I’m from Southern West Virginia, and grew up ashamed of my accent. I thought it made me and everyone I knew sound like a dumbfuck hillbilly, so I managed to successfully shed it. Now I really like the regional variation everyone brings to their speech. I legit love hearing people from different parts of the country talk. Makes me wish I still had my accent.

Stop shaming your mom. There’s not going to be a test later or anything, and, honestly, if somebody wants to judge you for being working class, they’ll find a way to do it no matter how you speak.

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Emergency-Ad-4671 OP t1_j22cit5 wrote

She’s 65 and keeping the accent forever. Just genuinely wondering as I’ve never heard another pittsburgher say it that way. I’ll unlock my mom from the basement now and allow her to speak

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