Texas 6

Listen to Texas 6, a 63-year-old woman from Austin and other places in Texas, and also Kansas, United States. Click or tap the triangle-shaped play button to hear the subject.

Both as a courtesy and to comply with copyright law, please remember to credit IDEA for direct or indirect use of samples.  IDEA is a free resource; please consider supporting us.

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

AGE: 63

DATE OF BIRTH (DD/MM/YYYY): 1937

PLACE OF BIRTH: Topeka, Kansas

GENDER: female

ETHNICITY: Caucasian

OCCUPATION: retired administrative secretary

EDUCATION: high school diploma

AREA(S) OF RESIDENCE OUTSIDE REPRESENTATIVE REGION FOR LONGER THAN SIX MONTHS:

The subject was born in Kansas and moved to Texas in 1967, having previously lived in Cleveland, Ohio. She’s lived many places in Texas, including Houston, Galveston, San Antonio and Austin, where she was recorded.

OTHER INFLUENCES ON SPEECH:

The subject worked for almost 20 years on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin, in the theatre department.

The text used in our recordings of scripted speech can be found by clicking here.

RECORDED BY: Pamela Christian

DATE OF RECORDING (DD/MM/YYYY): 16/05/2001

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF SCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

ORTHOGRAPHIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH:

I’ve lived here since 1967, an’ (uh) my husband an’ I moved here from Cleveland, Ohio, where he was with NASA, at the Lewis Research Center there. And (um) we wanted a southern climate. We were tired of the snow, up there, so we came to Texas. And (uh) at that point in time, I had had all my three children. An’ (uh) then we came to (uh) Houston area. It’s where we came to, to live. An’ bought a home there, an’ (um) … so that was the cr– … We started our life in Texas. An’ a few years later I divorced, and then I lived in Galveston, and Mission, Texas, which is near McAllen, an’ San Antonio. An’ then up here in Austin, which — I got my job at UT, an’ I (uh) worked in the UT theatre and events department for 19 years. Put in some good hours there in the academic area, which I love very much. An’ now I’m retired, an’ still live here in Austin. An’ (uh) I have (uh) grandchildren here, an’ family, an’ … so I enjoy bein’ retired very much, an’ (uh) I always suggest it for ev’rybody. Yeah I (um) didn’ really know much about theatre, before I got the position here in the department. An’ so it, it spawned a great love for the theatre now. An’ I love to go an’ see things. An’ we’ve had so many shows here. An’ one show I got to see — there was professional group came in, was the performance of (uh) Phantom of the Opera. That was very good … at Performing Arts Center. But I’ve seen many, many shows here in the department. I mean, from little scenes to big productions, an’ this department is just — It’s amazing, what the students do. It’s like theatre: They say theatre is magic, an’ I believe that, beca– [chortles] Y’can see all these rehearsals, which — I had taken part in some (uh) things here. I’ve, I’ve gotten involved in theatre (uh), since I (uh) became to love it. And (uh) I worked on some professional shows, up in town, as (uh) sound. And (uh) even did a l — couple little walk-in parts as (uh) an actor. An’ I’ve done lights. I got involved in (uh) props. So, I got a little taste o’ theatre so I could know what these students are goin’ through an’ when they talk to me, I can better relate to what they’re talkin’ about. So (uh), I also work with Michael Harlan, who’s (uh) directin’ shows at Capitol City Playhouse, which we no longer have anymore, but it was a great venue for, for good theatre in Austin. An’ he produced (uh) The Seagull an’ (uh) Biloxi Blues, both of which I did sound, sound operator for those shows. An’ (um), so I, I’ve spent a lotta time in the department plus I’ve actually worked in theatre a little bit, so I, I’ve learned to really love it more an’ more even being involved. Y’know, so, it’s been great experience here in Austin.

TRANSCRIBED BY: Jacqueline Baker

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): 20/07/2008

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

SCHOLARLY COMMENTARY:

This dialect is characterized by a musical, sing-songy type of lilt that connects the words and creates flow and variety. It has an overall happy and upbeat quality. Subject holds her lips tight and uses a narrow mouth opening. Oftentimes she seems to be talking out of the side of her mouth with one corner of the mouth turned upwards. Subject has strong forward placement, giving her speech a nasal quality. The most prominent phonetic feature is the use of the hard “r,” which is made with middle of the tongue pulled back to the soft palate. The “r” sound is held for a short beat in words like: territory, square, bird, tire. Short vowel extensions are prominent (implementing the “y” sound after the vowel) in words like: stressed, vet, measure, Texas, and children, mission, interesting, missing. Long vowels are pronounced with a slight drop in the jaw making them more open, creating the “aw” sound: strong, palm, Austin; and also the long “o”: know, closed, motor boat. Special pronunciations include: washed = warshed, and woman = woa-man. And for the word “huge,” the “h” is silent.

COMMENTARY BY: Pamela Christian

DATE OF COMMENTARY (DD/MM/YYYY): 16/05/2001

The archive provides:

• Recordings of accent/dialect speakers from the region you select.
• Text of the speakers’ biographical details.
• Scholarly commentary and analysis in some cases.
• In most cases, an orthographic transcription of the speakers’ unscripted speech.  In a small number of cases, you will also find a narrow phonetic transcription of the sample (see Phonetic Transcriptions for a complete list).  The recordings average four minutes in length and feature both the reading of one of two standard passages, and some unscripted speech. The two passages are Comma Gets a Cure (currently our standard passage) and The Rainbow Passage (used in our earliest recordings).

 

For instructional materials or coaching in the accents and dialects represented here, please go to Other Dialect Services.