Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Accent Hour.


Is this photo sufficiently British?

Tonight, in my mondo study session for the beast of a test that I have on Friday, Geoff (yes his name is spelled that way and yes it makes me think of the Joffrey Ballet, even though his name is pronounced "jeff") began reading the chapter 4 finance problem with a British accent. It was gently enough to cause me to listen more carefully to see if what my ears had detected was correct, and indeed as he read "The firm anticipates that next year's sales will reach $16 million..." there was definitely a British accent. I began to smile. I was amused. As he continued, I could help but grin. And then the grin broke into a giggle because I could tell that he was grinning as he spoke as well. He was amusing himself! When he paused to ask me a question, I responded of course in my very best British accent as well. It startled him I think, but we laughed and tried to suddenly become some of London's best business analysts. Needless to say, by the end of the problem the accents were a bit more of a distraction, and we missed some key clues early on in the problem due to our lack of attention to the meaning of the words (because we were so involved with the sound of the words!). However, the brief accent hour was just the right addition to our study to liven it up a little, and to lighten it up a little ("Lighten up!" right?). Sometimes something as small and simple as changing tone or rhythm or pattern of speech can brighten things up. Has that happened to you?

Well, I hope as you've been reading this, you've used your best British-accent-thought-voice. Surley I've been typing it in a British accent :D. If you need something to liven up your day a little, I suggest throwing in an accent hour here or there. It's a delight.

Love, Kk

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