Tag! You're It!

      I'm not sure how this happened but I may be ahead of the curve for once, discovering a new internet fad before it's so "been there, done that." It's called an Accent Vlog, and I'm sure it has linguists around the word salivating all over themselves. As a writer who's struggled with figuring out how to individualize voices, there's a little drool on my chin as well.

So here's the deal. Someone out there got this ball rolling (if anyone knows who, please share) and made up a list of words and questions and set it free in the blogosphere.  Some folks appear to have made variations to their list, but the most common list seems to be:

Accent Vlog Words: Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught

The Accent Vlog Questions:
What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?
What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
What do you call gym shoes?
What do you say to address a group of people?
What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
What do you call your grandparents?
What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
What is the thing you change the TV channel with?

Here are some samples from Youtube.

From the American South

from Texas

from NYC

from the Carribbean

There's a lot here that's of value to writers, but for the moment, just enjoy. Have fun with it. See if you can find a "voice" from somewhere that's really different from how you sound. If you find any that are especially worth sharing, (and there are lots of posts, so I may not be as early into this as I initially thought) throw the link in a comment. Or if you decide to play, share that link, too. I'd love to see it.