Have you ever taken one of those 'What Accent Do You Have?' quizzes? I am fascinated by language and dialects, so I can never resist. Here is my latest result: "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.
Yeah! I talk like a normal person! And I'm not even from any of the places mentioned! Actually, I don't. When I moved here, my next door neighbor asked me where I was from. Um, 30 minutes south of here? That still cracks me up. And when my oldest went away to college (60 miles south), everyone told her she had an accent specific to our city. Something about the way she elongates the 'a' in words like 'can' and 'hate.' I must do it now too, because I can't hear it.
I remember when we took a trip south and stopped for fast food in North Carolina. Middle Child was dumbfounded by the way the cashier spoke to her, "Do y'all want fries with that?" The rest of the trip, she kept trying to copy everything she heard. She got fairly good at it! I, on the other hand, had to really tune in to what people were saying, in order to not have to constantly ask them to repeat themselves. I find it easier to follow Boston and Jersey accents, for some unknown reason. Maybe because as a child, I went to speech therapy to learn my 'r' sounds!
When I was out with friends last weekend, a few of them were teasing a friend about her accent. She grew up about 3 hours south, but also lived in Chicago for quite some time. I had never really noticed, but she does say some words differently, such as putting emphasis on the first syllable of 'insurance' instead of the second one like most people do (that I know, at least).
It seems universal that women love a man with a French or Italian accent. There's just something sexy about it. I could listen to Eric Ripert (French chef) talk all day. I don't understand all the different British dialects, but they can be equally pleasing as well. For some reason, German accents are not as appealing. Possibly too guttural? And I don't think anyone enjoys the accent they hear when they call for technical support (we'll just leave that one unnamed).
For the ladies, Happy Valentine's Day!
Yeah! I talk like a normal person! And I'm not even from any of the places mentioned! Actually, I don't. When I moved here, my next door neighbor asked me where I was from. Um, 30 minutes south of here? That still cracks me up. And when my oldest went away to college (60 miles south), everyone told her she had an accent specific to our city. Something about the way she elongates the 'a' in words like 'can' and 'hate.' I must do it now too, because I can't hear it.
I remember when we took a trip south and stopped for fast food in North Carolina. Middle Child was dumbfounded by the way the cashier spoke to her, "Do y'all want fries with that?" The rest of the trip, she kept trying to copy everything she heard. She got fairly good at it! I, on the other hand, had to really tune in to what people were saying, in order to not have to constantly ask them to repeat themselves. I find it easier to follow Boston and Jersey accents, for some unknown reason. Maybe because as a child, I went to speech therapy to learn my 'r' sounds!
When I was out with friends last weekend, a few of them were teasing a friend about her accent. She grew up about 3 hours south, but also lived in Chicago for quite some time. I had never really noticed, but she does say some words differently, such as putting emphasis on the first syllable of 'insurance' instead of the second one like most people do (that I know, at least).
It seems universal that women love a man with a French or Italian accent. There's just something sexy about it. I could listen to Eric Ripert (French chef) talk all day. I don't understand all the different British dialects, but they can be equally pleasing as well. For some reason, German accents are not as appealing. Possibly too guttural? And I don't think anyone enjoys the accent they hear when they call for technical support (we'll just leave that one unnamed).
For the ladies, Happy Valentine's Day!
I used to have a thick Scottish accent up until age 8, when we moved to England - I soon lost it, to fit in better at the playground! My folks moved around a lot, and it soon became second nature for me to slip into whatever local dialect of the place I found myself in. Even now, as an adult, I unconsciously mimic the accent I find myself surrounded by - so much so, returning after a few months in Austraila, my friends climed it took a while for my voice to return to "normal". One huge to me surprise was finding out how much my accent met approval, on a recent stay in Seattle. That said, I do love the American accent, too!
ReplyDeleteI went to college with a guy who'd grown up in Michigan his whole life, except his senior year in HS, his family moved to Kentucky, and he picked up the absolutely most hick-sounding stereotypical Kentucky-southern accent I've ever heard, and he couldn't get rid of it. We'd razz him about it, and he'd just say that he couldn't hear the difference. . .
ReplyDeleteHere in Michigan, I think our 'accent', such as it is, is mostly manifest in somewhat flat vowels. The 'Yooper accent' is pretty similar to a Canadian or Minnesota accent. We also have a thing for 'mispronouncing' place names. Charlotte, MI, for example, is pronounced shar-LOTT, Milan is MYE-lun, and Chesaning is chez-NING.
I once did an informal linguistic study that seemed to indicate that Michiganders, and lower-peninsula Michganders most especially, are almost unique among Americans as to the term they use to describe a poorly-executed dive that results in landing flat on one's stomach - we call it a 'belly-smacker', whereas most Americans call it a 'belly-flop' (deep southerners call it a 'belly-buster'). . .
My best friend is Italian. I love hearing him talk. It's far better than a French accent to me. I also love the way southerners manage to make it seem appropriate to call anyone Darlin'. :)
ReplyDeleteAs for me... I grew up in NW Ohio, and picked up a few strange pronunciations from my mother. No one else that I know pronounced guarantee so that the first syllable rhymes with car. I never realized it was wrong until my college friends laughed at me! I try to say it the normal way now, but to remember which is right, I have to remember the old Orville Redenbacher commercials where he said, "I guarantee it" with an extreme emphasis on the long A.
Shrinky - Ah! So, you do enjoy an American accent? How would you describe it? Because we think a British accent sounds so 'proper.' And yes, Australian accents are wonderful too!
ReplyDeleteCraig - City names can be so finicky, can't they? I can't tell you how many places I've visited where I had to be told the correct pronounciation of the town. Or is that pronunciation? Potato, potatoe!
Me - Funny, as my mom is from that area and I never noticed her saying guarantee the way you described. However, she always said 'borrow' wrong. I think she said it 'bore-row' instead of 'bar-row' like we do.
We grew on a diet of American movies, which always seemed so laid back and cool - so I guess I still hold on to that association!
ReplyDeleteMy dad grew up on a farm, and he had kind of a 'nasal' way of speaking that rendered 'bottom' as 'bonnum', or maybe 'bontum'. I have friends who hail from the small farm-town of Fowler, MI, who render their hometown as 'Foulder'.
ReplyDeleteI've heard 'bore-row'; it almost sounds Canadian, eh? The way they say 'Proh-cess' instead of 'prah-cess'. . .
And, as long as we're talking place-names, I might as well mention 'Chi-CAW-go' (as the more persnickety Chicagoans say it) versus 'Chi-CAH-go' (as almost everyone else says it). . .
And @Shrinky, we have good friends from both Scotland (Glasgow) and Ireland (Dublin, Belfast), and those Gaelic vowels are just a hoot!
Even though I've lived in Northern Ireland for 12 years, my voice is still posh London and I've never picked up the local accent. It's very difficult to imitate if you haven't grown up with it. And there's not a single accent either. Every NI town has a slightly different one so the locals can tell instantly if someone's from Ballymena or Banbridge.
ReplyDeleteWell I think guarantee is just something I picked up from mom, not a regional thing. She had a few other oddities that I have struggled to get out of my vocabulary: the same much (instead of the same amount), the same many (instead of the same quantity), etc.
ReplyDeleteMom also has creative pronunciations of places... she says o-HI-yah for Ohio, chi-KA-guh, to-LEE-duh, etc... no matter HOW many times we tell her that's not correct.
Nick - That's interesting that you haven't picked up the local accent after all these years. Although I do have a friend who moved to the Carolinas in 1990 and he never developed a southern accent.
ReplyDeleteMe - Ok, your mom sounds like a real character!
I beg to differ - for those of us not from the Midwest, it is indeed a distinct accent. A little flat, a wee bit nasally at times (sorry). It only sounds "normal" to you because it's yours. My father's wife is from Pennsylvania - she has a strong accent to my ears. And I remember my former in laws from Michigan expressing outraged surprised when I said they had Michigander accents. I have a fair number of patients from Ohio, MI, and so on who have relocated for the lower cost of living and the warmth. Most definitely they have accents.
ReplyDeleteI think my accent is mixed - a little Southern of course (of the Georgia variety, not the Appalachian I live around) and influences from my childhood in New England and California.
Where did you take the quiz? I'd like to check it out.
Agent - Oh, I know I have one. But I wonder, do you think that everyone on TV/movies sound 'normal' or do they have an 'accent' to you? Because in my own ear, they sound just like me. The site I used was: http://www.gotoquiz.com/what_american_accent_do_you_have
ReplyDeleteThe ending of that site is _do_you_have
ReplyDeleteIntriguing, and correct- it identified my accent as Inland North, and I guess you can't get a whole lot more Inland North than Minnesota... and yes, it's POP, okay?
ReplyDelete(Living in NY for the past 13 years, I'm still getting looks because I can't seem to master calling it "Soda").
'Naturally' I don't appear to have any particular accent which is just as well. Growing up I would naturally slip into the accent of whomever I was speaking to. Not intentionally, it just happened. Let's just say I had to teach myself how NOT to do so after a few less than cordial encounters with folks who assumed I was mocking them .....
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, I have SUCH a fascination with accents!
ReplyDeleteAnd it's funny because I'm not very good at picking up languages from various countries, however I have a good ear for picking up the accents. In fact, when I was still acting, I had to use several different accents because I was portraying characters from different places. Oh, what FUN that was!!
I think my two favorite accents are French and Italian. I tend to like the more romantic languages. I lived in Holland for a summer and like German, it's very guttural. However, I kinda find it sexy in a way.
And as far as U.S. accents go, my favorite is NY. I LOVE a NY accent!
FUN post, my friend!
Thoroughly enjoyed!
X
Just took it and guess what - "Midland." The one area of the country I have never inhabited. I've lived in New England, the West Coast, the Gulf Coast, the Deep South, Northern Virginia (a land unto itself) and Appalachia, plus Switzerland for good measure. But never anywhere in the central US, a land considered possibly non-existent to Navy folk. I asked my boyfriend (who is very much a local) tonight if he thought I had a Southern accent and he said, "No! And I would never have believed you grew up mostly in the South." But I can lapse into it with ease.
ReplyDeleteSailor - Oh, it's totally POP here as well!
ReplyDeleteX - Nope, never good to appear to be mocking someone. And sort of reminds me of white kids from the suburbs who are acting ghetto.
Ron - I'm amazed when actors can portray a thick accent. Must take a lot of practice! And I do love a NY accent too, although I think of it as NJ - is there a difference? I used to work with someone from Newark, so that's what I always think of.
Agent - I'm not surprised you got Midland. I'm sure that's what the majority gets. So many people are transplants that regional accents are probably diminishing.
I always get a chuckle from watching 'House', 'cuz I first knew Hugh Laurie as Bertie Wooster. Something about British actors faking American accents just makes me laugh. . .
ReplyDeleteSo I had to take one of those quizzes before I commented.
ReplyDeleteWhat American accent do you have?
Your Result: Philadelphia
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.
So I guess they have me summed up pretty well. Born and raised in South Jersey, living 15 minutes from Philly.
A friend of mine moved from this area to Northern GA right after graduation. She developed an accent pretty quickly. To the locals, she must sound like Philly, trying to be Southern. ;)
Love the Fabio vid. Thanks.
Yeah. I was actually kinda natural at it but when there were multiple different accents around it quickly became apparent what was going on .... those are the only times I got 'caught' but the results were less than satisfactory.
ReplyDeleteCraig - I wouldn't know what nationality he even is!
ReplyDeleteChick - It's good to know they got it right. Isn't Fabio V. a treasure??
Oh thank you got sharing this video! Not only does the accent make me absolutely want to melt but the food looks amazing! I have been told I have a Boston accent although I really never hear it but I do live an hour south of Boston so what do I know?
ReplyDeleteThe accent that gets me on a guy is an Irish accent. I want to just go to Ireland and listen!
Vie - Isn't he yummy?? :)
ReplyDeleteIt's a laugh when children quickly absorb different accents on long journeys. I worry people will think they're making fun of them, but I suppose why would they worry - the kids must sound normal, it's me who's the odd one.
ReplyDeleteWhen you overhear someone talking to a mate frmo home over the phone, it's interesting to see how long it takes before they lapse back into their original accent, regardless of where they've moved in the meantime.
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i've taken those quizzes and i always come out as being from philadelphia, which is accurate in terms of accent, for the most part.
ReplyDeletemy son is hilarious with accents. he really nails them, including an east indian one.
the only accent that totally grates on me is any of the NYC accents...mainly because i know it's going to generally be accompanied by aggression.