Let's Play Accent by Vowels

[RainDog]

a companion to the regionalisms thread

What American Accent Do You Have?

surprise... well, not. I have a southern accent, but people from the south tell me I sound like a yankee. hmmmmmm.

[skygazer]

1. I have a midland accent

"You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.


Hmmmm... Well, I'm from Vermont.....

[SteppingRazor]

2. Same here.

And I grew up in California, before living in Colorado and Missouri for a few years, and then on to Florida, where I currently reside.

[RainDog]

3. yes, what's known as the newscaster's accent

as in, don't place anywhere. North Carolina and Virginia and Canada all have that ouwt and abouwt vowel twist.

southern indiana, missouri, atlanta, dallas - these are NOT midland accents imo. they are predominantly southern-sounding.

[Redstone]

4. Connecticut natives are generally accentless. They don't talk like New Yorkers, or like

northern New Englanders.

Redstone

[Redstone]

5. And also, thanks for posting this. Perfect "companion" post, and I'll be interested

in seeing the replies.

PS: It tells me "northeast," but people here (in New England) say I sound Southern.

Redstone

[RainDog]

6. simple test

for a southern accent...sort of...

so, how many "i's" does the word "five" have? If you answer less than 3, you do not have a southern accent. :)

[RainDog]

7. oh and it has to

sound like the "fi" in "fee fiii fo fum"

[Reverend_Smitty]

8. It says I have a Philadelphia accent

which makes total sense because I grew up in Central Jersey...all youse guys everywhere else talk funny! now excuse me while I drink my caw-fee :P

Your accent is as Philadelphian as a cheesesteak! If you're not from Philadelphia, then you're from someplace near there like south Jersey, Baltimore, or Wilmington. if you've ever journeyed to some far off place where people don't know that Philly has an accent, someone may have thought you talked a little weird even though they didn't have a clue what accent it was they heard.

[ThomCat]

9. It says that I have an Inland North accent

I do sound like I'm from the great lakes region, but it's the Western New York part of the great lakes. I didn't think we sounded all that much like people from Michigan.
:shrug:

[NashVegas]

12. Me, Too

I'm from the Adirondacks and have been in the South for almost 15 years, so ... and I do NOT call soda "pop."

[ThomCat]

13. I think there's definitely a flaw in that test then.

That's too bad. It would be nice to have an accurate test like that to figure out regional accents. :)

[NashVegas]

17. For Us

Something like:

people from other parts of the country say that you talk a) too fast b) too slow.

[MorningGlow]

18. Yee-ah chure we do

It's dat clipt kinda tak dat gits even mow-er clipt aftir a cupple t'ree birs, ya know?

(Greetings from a Raaaaahhhhhchstr native!)

[zingaro]

22. Me too.

[fizzgig]

10. it tells me i have a boston accent

which makes absolutely no sense to me...i have lived in colorado all my life and have never even been to boston

[Blue-Jay]

11. "The Inland North", which is odd.

The last time I took this test (about 2 years ago IIRC), I got "The Midland". I'm a bit of an accent-chameleon.

[KamaAina]

14. Philadelphia!

okay, there is an explanation...

Your accent is as Philadelphian as a cheesesteak! If you're not from Philadelphia, then you're from someplace near there like south Jersey, Baltimore, or Wilmington.

Um, Bawlmer does not sound the same as Philly so stop saying that!

[WinkyDink]

15. Stooopid! I am NOT from Boston or anywhere other than PA!

[LNM]

16. Inland North

Yep, you betcha!

[MorningGlow]

19. Hmmm...says I have "no accent" (Midland)

Either I've conquered the Inland North nasal/clipped accent or it's hard to test someone's accent based on 13 questions, trusting they'll answer truthfully (not that anyone would lie--but sometimes it's hard to pick descriptions of sounds).

[RainDog]

20. yeah

I'm impressed that someone got this far and has it up for free. I'm not a linguist so I wouldn't know how to suggest gutteral stops or where I put my tongue when I say "p" - although I know I don't do this correctly for french because their version doesn't have a puff of breath. and that's supposed to have something to do with where you put your tongue when you say that consonant so that your lips go "sideways" and not forward.. and so that you start pronouncing the word further back in your throat. does that make sense?

try it with prendre.

[XemaSab]

21. It says "no one thinks I have an accent."

Dude, that's just not the case.

EVERYONE knows I'm from Cali the second I open my mouth. EVERYONE. :o

[RainDog]

23. Dude! no, dude. sick, they do that?

Dude either reminds me of The Big Lebowski or Sean Penn waaaay back. sort of like bless your heart for southerners (I NEVER use that phrase, so obviously I'm not southern.

maybe it should ask how long the "u" is in "dude?" :rofl:

[XemaSab]

27. I was told once in high school

"Xema, you have the biggest vocabulary of anyone I know, yet you start every single sentence with the word "dude." :P

[RainDog]

32. that's what makes them tag you as SoCal?

surfers and skateboarders have their own patois.

whenever I say dude, I can only say it as a joke because around here it's skateboard culture and I am waaaaay past that, and was never that anyway.

[XemaSab]

37. It's more than that

Not just the words I use, but the way I make my vowels... :P

[GreenPartyVoter]

24. I sound like I am from the West? LOL Well I admit to being born in Maine but

raised by a Mid-Atlantic state mother, so my pronunciations might be a tad mixed up.

But I have never even been to the West. LOL

But to be honest I have often thought I have no accent. Just equated it with TV newscasters, not the West.

[Iggo]

25. It says I have no accent...

...but I totally speak with a SoCal accent. Hmmm...

[Solon]

26. It says I have a Midland North Accent, which makes no sense, I was born and raised in Missouri...

and I do NOT call carbonated drinks "pop", I either call it soda or coke.

[RainDog]

28. if you were southern

you'd ask for an RC Cola and a Moon Pie at the gas station ... :)

southerners also say "ink pen" instead of just "pen" - maybe because pin and pen sound the same?

[Solon]

30. pin and pen do NOT sound the same...

at least not around here. Missouri can be divided into two groups of people, according to how they pronounce Missouri. I live in an area where they pronounce Missouri with the "i" sounding like an "e" sound, MissourEE. In other parts of the state, people pronounce it "MissourAH". You can guess what accent most of these folks have.

[RainDog]

31. Missour-ah

sounds like oklahoma or nebraska or something to me. where I come from, pen and pin sound the same. but there are lots of variations on southern accents too... some based upon location and some based upon education into "elocution" or influences other than southern speak.

do you say pecan like pe-con or pe-Can pie?

[Solon]

33. pe-con...

You want to know what's funny, on the test, it asked if you "Don" and "Dawn" are pronounced the same, I said no, because my name IS Don, and I remember a manager at a previous job who pronounced it is "Dawn", she had a southern accent, and I teased her about it relentlessly.

The only thing I can think of that seems to be different between my area and the nearest city, St. Louis, is that people in my area say the word "Wash" differently, but it depends on context. Example like this: "I'm going to wORsh my clothes in the wAshing machine." That's messed up.

[PVnRT]

29. #13 is obviously to separate out the Wisconsites

Since my Wisconsinite wife says "flag" and "bag" like "vague."

I get Midland. no accent. Hellz yeah.

[AlCzervik]

34. Boston.

[Rob H.]

35. Midland (no accent)

Sounds about right. I was a Navy brat growing up, so that makes perfect sense since we never lived anywhere long enough for me to pick one up.

[redqueen]

36. The West?

Your accent is the lowest common denominator of American speech. Unless you're a SoCal surfer, no one thinks you have an accent. And really, you may not even be from the West at all, you could easily be from Florida or one of those big Southern cities like Dallas or Atlanta.


Guess that makes sense... since I'm from Dallas.

[femmocrat]

44. I got "the West", too, but I'm a PA native and resident!

Silly quiz.

[WolverineDG]

38. I've got a Midland accent over here

My whole life I've always heard "You don't sound like you're from Texas," but I am. Born & raised here, but along the border where the widespread use of Spanish flattens out the vowels. :) OTOH, my mom was so Texan, she put an "r" in "wash."

dg

[leeroysphitz]

39. It told me I sounded like a valley girl...

What the hell does that mean?

[RainDog]

40. did it ask you how you say

Gag me with a spoon?

(btw, I actually do have "flair" from long ago with that saying on a button.) -is it flare or flair?

[leeroysphitz]

41. Hm... Like totally.

[femmocrat]

42. Worthless. Said I had a "Western" accent, but....

I have never lived west of Pittsburgh. Hell, I've never even been to Cleveland, and have only flown over the rest of the country on my way to CA!

[RainDog]

43. what's the explanation for a western accent?

I don't know if I'm supposed to thinking of Clint Eastwood or Annie Oakley.

[femmocrat]

46. Please read Redqueen's post #36.

She copied the explanation.

:hi:

[SPKrazy]

45. "Inland North"

:rofl:

yeah right

:spray:

[Seashell Eyes]

47. Midwestern accent here

I think they forgot this question: How do you pronounce the country to the north of us, Can-a-da or Keyan-a-da?