Texas accent

I used to take American dignitaries to meet important institutional leaders in Japan. Among the dignitaries were occasional members of Congress. Among the leaders in Japan, whom they met, were often department heads including the national banks and treasury.

This is not the point at which to explain that the Japanese bureaucracies are famous for keeping the number of employees to a minimum. The same is true in Sweden. The Japanese agency that manages all of the national parks has five men running it.

At one point, the agency that most American dignitaries wanted to visit was MITI the successful agency that directed the investment into massive computers and computer components.  Later as this agency was perceived to have made mistakes, the name was changed.

At the time, I brought dignitaries to meet the head of MITI.  He was the most impressive of any Japanese they ever met. There are three reasons. He had the most gorgeous secretary anyone can imagine. She brought everyone tea and was dressed elegantly. He would occasionally open his drawer and pull out a very fancy bottle of scotch with small shot glasses for his guests.  All of this impressed the visiting dignitaries but nothing compared with the fact that he spoke English with a Texas accent.

I later found other foreigners who send their children to learn English in Texas.

It is my observation that Americans view a Texas accent as the most American of all accents.

It is my guess that this particular accent has gained prominence from decades of airplane pilots who spoke with the Texas accent.