An Unusual Girl

Yesterday was another "Josie is an individual" day. I was listening to Josie read a book (hallelujah, the girl finally decided she really could read, after all) and when she was done I said "Josie, you can totally read. You know that, right?" And she said "Yes. I know. I can even read in a French accent!" (This discovery was made earlier at school. She was reading an Arthur book to her teacher, so naturally she lapsed into her French accent.) I wasn't actually aware that she had a French accent, but sure enough, she does. I thought at first she must have picked it up from Pepe Le Pew cartoons, but then I remembered all of the countless hours of culturally enriching SpongeBob SquarePants episodes my kids have been marinating in this summer, and I further remembered the announcer with the French accent. Who says TV doesn't teach?

But the language "arts" didn't stop there. No. This girl is mul-ti-tal-ent-ed. She has also got a pretty convincing southern drawl, a la Reba. No. We never watched Reba. Not even the commercials. But somehow she picked up a Reba twang. (Maybe it was The Little Rascals movie, in which Reba has a small role as a race car driver. My kids screen it regularly here.) The funny thing about the "Reba": when Josie does it, she talks out of one side of her mouth and then the other, going back and forth between each word. It is a lot of work. But worth it. I'm not sure how, but it does improve the whole listening experience. Plus it is fun to watch. (I wonder though, does her teacher think it's funny?)

So this got me to thinking, what if in high school, instead of teaching German or French or Spanish or Chinese, they taught you how to speak English with one of those accents? It certainly would be easier than learning a whole new language. And then you would really sound authentic. Just like Josie.