Damian's Tongue

I was raised by my mother as a single parent along with my brother. She is from Parkin, Arkansas so she definitely has that southern accent some times. Now she speaks as if she was born and raised in California. She would definitely be my biggest influence on how I speak. She says exactly what’s on her mind but knows when to hold her tongue. She talks informal when she is with friends, but when she is in a business setting, then she knows how to sound proper. My second influence would be television. I watched a lot of television growing up, at least when I wasn't playing basketball or going to school. So watching a lot of television definitely influenced how I speak. I am pretty good at code switching which is where you switch how you present yourself for the situation at hand, but my third influence would have to be my teachers. The way they make us pronounce our words and the way the teachers teach you to spell your words and read what’s on the page and not what you think it is. There is a difference between professional speech and informal speaking. I would definitely have to say my biggest influence is my mother.