Wisconsin Nine - Text
Subject is a white female, born Racine, Wisconsin in 1958. She is a university-educated cutter and draper in theatre by profession, and has lived in Whitewater, Wisconsin; Davis, California; Chicago, Illinois; and Lawrence, Kansas. She describes her own dialect as fairly mild, but imitates what she considers a stronger Wisconsin style of speech, admitting that she might have drifted into a Minnesota dialect in the attempt.
Recorded and edited by Paul Meier, December 4, 2003. Running time: 00:04:31
TRANSCRIPTION
I was born in Racine, Wisconsin, in 1958, and I have one older sister. She’s five and a half years older than I am. Her name is Terry. And… my dad and mom still live in Racine, so I go back and visit every Christmas, so I’m looking forward to that.
We had a small house. The first house that I was in, when I was a kid— it was on Shoup [sp.?] Street. (Um) It was named after somebody that was important, in Racine. I don’t remember what they did. They also named a school after him. (Um) And it was a small little ranch home, and it was just my sister and I and my two parents. And it was an okay neighborhood. It wasn’t-- it was like lower middle class, I guess. And we would play and do crazy things.
And (um) I liked to read a lot when I was a kid, and I’d like to draw. And everything my big sister did, I had to do, you know. She’d get into art and I’d have to get into art, and do all that stuff, you know.
I’ve lived in Whitewater, Wisconsin, which is where I did my undergraduate work, and then I’ve lived in California –northern California— for three years, which is where I did my graduate work, at Davis. And-- Which is where I met Gordon McDougal, who I think you know. Or knew, or something. And (uh) I lived in Chicago for a year and a half. I lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for 12 years, way too long. And Lawrence, for the last five years.
There’s a woman that I met-- I worked with her briefly. I can’t remember where. It was either at the Milwaukee Ballet or the Milwaukee Rep. And she was jobbed in, for a few weeks, and she had the thickest accent. [Reads in dialect] Well, here’s a story for you. Sarah Perry was a veterinary nurse who had been working daily at an old zoo in a deserted district of the territory, so she was very happy to start a new job at a superb private practice in North Square near the Duke Street Tower. That area was much nearer for her and more to her liking. Even so on her first morning she felt stressed. She ate a bowl of porridge, checked herself in the mirror, and washed her face….
UNSCRIPTED SPEECH TRANSCRIBED BY JACQUELINE BAKER, ASSOCIATE EDITOR FOR TRANSCRIPTIONS, October 26, 2007