Ever since yesterday, I’ve been scoffing at reports from national press that Hillary Clinton slipped into a Southern drawl while in Columbia yesterday — supposedly an acquired skill from her time in Arkansas.
Watch some of the clip above, which was the end of her speech over at the Marriott, and tell me: Do you hear a Southern accent? I do not.
Of course, since I myself have picked up a mild accent over the years (having lived in either Tennessee or South Carolina since 1971, except for two years in Kansas in the mid-80s), maybe my ear isn’t as sensitive as it should be.
Anyway, since I can slip in or out of that accent if I stop and think about it, I wouldn’t be shocked if she could. I’m just not hearing it.
Except… I can just barely here it in this loop that someone posted on The Vine. I’ll give them that…
And I’ll also say that at least it’s reasonably natural-sounding, as opposed to a bogus Hollywood Southern accent.
Speaking of which, this Tweet really did crack me up (not the first part; the last part):
@ByronYork @RichardGrenell @BradWarthen Her southern drawl has reappeared too…
"As god is my witness, I will never go power-hungry again!"
— Jeebus Christos (@travelinjeebus) May 27, 2015
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By the way, if that autoplay feature on the Vine clip drives you nuts, just scroll up or down so that it’s not visible on your screen.
If it STILL drives you crazy, let me know and I’ll try to fix it. As a rule, I hate autoplay. But in this case I couldn’t get the sound to play — which was essential — without saying “yes” to autoplay.
Sorry…
But it you scroll past it too FAST, it will stop playing and won’t stop. (If this happens, just refresh the page.)
Man… I don’t know about water-boarding, but if “they” forced me to sit and listen to that for about five minutes, I’d tell them whatever they wanted to know…
Well, folks from Chicago, would never pronounce it “hahly”–more “hye-eely”
But since I hear myself drawling despite having parents from Buff’lo, (I bet a recording of me before I returned in 1998 would have me sounding quite ‘neutral’ American), it’s awfully easy to pick up.
That’s a midwestern accent all the way, save perhaps her putting on a little drawl for South Caro-lah-na, and her Kiki’s recommendation.
It’s like a Zapruder clip. Can you slow it down ?