You think Californians have no accent?
That’s funny rite there!
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As a native Texan, with several generations of ancestors who were also, I too find that funny.
In the ‘80s, I worked for a major defense contractor in TX and the Army had us send a team to one of our subcontractors (also a major defense contractor) in CA to investigate their claims for money.
I was one of a team of eight who spent May into Oct. in CA, and we were all Texans. The CA people we had to deal with and that we encountered sounded like East Coasters to us. Everyone spoke in a very fast tempo and with clipped words (think of Rubio talking).
They must have thought us to be deficient because of our Texas drawls. ....Just in the one discipline I was investigating I managed to reduce their claims by 35% and other team members had similar results. The Army reimbursed my company for the expenses of our team and nailed the other company. ....Sometimes the drawl lulls the opponent.
Well put! I lived in Southern California for several years, and I clearly remember the double-take my fiancé's best friend did when, to his amazement, the gal with the Southern drawl said something clever and intelligent upon our first meeting. He eventually got used to me and my "hick" drawl, but it was a process for him (a New York Jew).
I submit to you that part of the reason those Californians spoke using clipped words is because so many of them actually are from "back east" (as it was called in California; here in Texas, we call it "up north").
BTW, that's an impressive ancestry you're sporting on your profile page. My ancestors also came from Germany through Galveston, but that wasn't until later in the century. They stayed in Galveston -- a decision that cost them dearly in September 1900 when the worst natural disaster in U.S. history hit the island.