I went to one of those schools and no one I know speaks like that! |
How old are you? I know lots that sound like that but most are in their forties. |
41. Class of 1990 |
Then you are lucky: Most of the women I know all sound like that... And they don't come by it naturally ![]() |
I am the original poster about Miss Porter's accent. I obviously did not go to that school or any other school like it. I work with two women in their 40s who went to Miss Porter's (they grew up in Manhattan and I stupidly thought the school was there). At any rate, they do sound like Jackie Kennedy and often mention that they do. |
More on the mid-Atlantic accent in, where else, the Atlantic.
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/08/the-rise-and-fall-of-katharine-hepburns-fake-accent/278505/ Ha! Miss Porter's in Manhattan! |
This is so funny. When I first heard Franklin Roosevelt speak, I thought he was British-!
Of course, I was only about 5 or 6 years old. |
It's casually referred to as "Locust Valley lockjaw" - see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locust_Valley_lockjaw
Her speech is slow and deliberate on the White House tour but if you listen to the recordings of her interviews with Arthur Schlesinger (published as "Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy") you can hear what she sounded like in a more casual setting -- less deliberate, at times (but not always) less whispery, but still with an accent. I doubt she was faking it -- she didn't have to. |
Yeah, PPs response just made me spew my coffee. Such earnestness! |
+1 I find it grating. |
errrahhhh....I left her in the rivahhh One of my fave skits they do |
I've been watching all of the 50 year anniversary shows and one of the announcers said it was an affectation. To me, it sounds like a little girl or baby with a bit of a fake British/French accent rolled into one. I know some girls today who do the "baby talk" thing so as to attract men and not threaten them. |
Kind of like Mr. Howell ![]() |
i know alot of girls today that do this. its so irritating. i lived near a young lady who was in law school who talked like this and i thought jesus maybe she's not gonna be an actual court attorney. |
Biographers have said Jackie's accent (aka "Little Girl Voice") was a public affectation; that her everyday, off-camera speech was much more typical. |