Life in the Quah

The Southside Drive-In. See Frito pie on the menu? E at the swimmin' hole.

A cashier at Whole Food in Tulsa told me that locals refer to Tahlequah as "the Quah," but I haven't heard anyone say this. But perhaps no one uses the term around me because I am so obviously from out of town? My students informed me on Monday that I have an accent. I don't know what that means -- although New Englanders have distinctive ways of pronouncing certain words (e.g. "aunt" is not "ant"), I don't think there is a Connecticut accent. It's not as though I sound like a Kennedy: "Pahk the cah in Hahvahd Yahd." Similarly, Californians have certain verbal tics ("hella" and "hecka" with a liberal sprinkling of "like"), but there isn't a recognizable Sacramento Valley accent. Instead, what students perceive as my "accent" seems to be the absence of an Oklahoma twang. With that in mind, here are some photos of local color.