What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
Apologies to non-American Ricochet members for this quiz, which is only for Americans. I was surprised by my results, seeing as I did not grow up in the inland north, and in fact have been to the inland north only once, and that only for a weekend.
I once spoke to a professional linguist who astonished me by tracing my accent not only to the Upper West Side, but to the block I grew up on. My family left New York when I was eight years old and moved to Seattle, but apparently you can still hear the imprint.
Unless it was a lucky guess.
I have the sense that accent in America now is not only a factor of geography but of age. Young people speak with a different intonation from their parents, it seems to me. Of course, as a conservative, I disapprove.
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Nov '10
Re: What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
I too cheated and took the test ... I was born and raised in Toronto but apparently I have a an accent from the West. Although I may be from Florida or Dallas or Atlanta which coincidentally are all places where I would love to live ...
Apr '11
Re: What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
"I don't have an accent," I sneered as I read this piece. But I took the quiz anyway. And it nailed me...not just to the region, but to my birth city - Boston. I've been away from Boston and living in the South for decades. Holy Chips! Do I still sound like Cliff Clavin? (By the way, it's Patriot's Day in Boston - Go Red Sox!)
Oct '10
Re: What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
Slightly off topic here (but you knew that when you saw the avatar), but I've been told that when Aussies imitate an American accent, it comes out close to Texan. Anyone know if that's true?
Jan '11
Re: What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
"Your accent is as Philadelphian as a cheesesteak!" Got that right.
I remember studying for a while in Germany, and then arriving home in Philadelphia, where my parents met me at the airport. As it happened, I hadn't actually used English for several months. When my mother first started speaking, I was absolutely floored by how accented her speech was. We're so accustomed to shaving off and ignoring those differences that we don't notice them.
May '11
Re: What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
Interestingly, I got a North Central or Minnesotan accent despite never having lived there in my life. I've lived most of my life in New England, but Northeast was my lowest score. West was highest, despite the fact that I last lived there when I was about six.
Mar '11
Re: What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
Interesting. I remember having a French teacher in High School who used to complain that radio and television had destroyed the Richmond, Va., accent. He was from Tennessee and claimed that one of the reasons he had settled in Richmond was the accent. After that monologue, I really started to listen to how my grandparents spoke, and, by listening to my grandmother, I realized of what Mr. Knox had been complaining. My maternal grandmother still has, even after the ravages of Alzheimer's, the most beautiful, sonorous, dulcet diction. Oh, I've lived in Richmond and nearby cities all my life.
Apr '11
Re: What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
Not even close, Mate.
The nearest thing an Australian accent comes to is a South African, from Cape Colony, not the Boer Republics.
Feb '11
Re: What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
She: Well, I took it even though Claire told me not to. It says I'm from the "Northeast," which I suppose is accurate (several hundred miles North, and several thousand miles East.)
Today, though, I'm going dahntahn to the home of my favorite football team (how baht them Stillers? I'd pay a hunert dowars for a ticket if I had to). On the way home, I'll stop at Eat 'n Park in Little Worshington. Maybe I'll have some chocolate melk while I'm looking at the nice keller pitchers on the menu.
Yinz have a great day! · 1 hour ago
Edited 1 hour ago
We are from the same place and I scored "Inland North."
Oct '10
Re: What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
The test pegged me to Philadelphia. I was born there, but began traveling and living in other states and countries when I was 18, over 50 years ago.
The Philadelphia site rated me 28% Philly, probably visited the city over 5 years ago. Not a bad conclusion.
The Geo IP read won't help for many of us who do not live where we grew up.
May '10
Re: What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
I speak American Broadcasting where we in the Midwest plotted for decades to destroy your regional identity. We'll return to our cultural destruction right after these messages...
Dec '10
Re: What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
My arse. Just because I grew up in Midland (Tx) doesn't mean Midland has its own accent. I've heard recordings of me as a child, and the Texas accent was so thick I could barely understand what was said. However, I did my best to remove the accent during adolescence because Yee-Haw sounds stupid from a skateboard.
It seems that whoever wrote the test can narrow northeastern accents to areas within a state but anything outside of that region is just somewhere not northeastern.
Oct '10
Re: What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
Ignoring Claire, and being someone who really doesn't have an (American) accent, I scored solid New York.
I am amazed at the way foreign actors and actresses can sufficiently imitate some sort of American accent to go unremarked. (Yvonne Strahovski springs to mind for various reasons...)
May '11
Re: What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
The Inland North.
Huh. Didn't realize my accent was really that distinct. But, yeah, I'm from Michigan. (makes a mitten shape with my hand and points to the south-east corner) Right here. ;)
Edited on April 16, 2012 at 3:16pmSep '10
Re: What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
It caught me - nailed me as Philadelphia accent.
May '10
Re: What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
Sat next to a fellow that worked for Rand McNally map company on a flight years ago. He correctly identified the town in New York State that I grew up in.
Jul '10
Re: What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
These feels like a Yankee test. Philly and Boston get their own entries but the South is all lumped together as one? Balderdash!
Jan '11
Re: What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
It nailed me - northern New Jersey. I guess the years in CA, AZ, and GA have not had much of an effect.
The Geo IP would not have helped with me either.
Nov '10
Re: What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
Claire and Katievs, I think the quiz doesn't capture certain educated eastern/northeastern accents. It put me in the "Inland North" also, even though I guarantee that my short a is absolutely nothing like the broad short a they use up there. I grew up outside Washington, DC, and spent my youth and young adulthood all over the northeastern seaboard. I have spent some time in the upper midwest, and people from that part of the world honestly thought I had an English accent.
Feb '12
Re: What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
Scored Midland. Grew up in Charleston and have lived on the Missouri/Kansas border for the rest. I will agree that the author seemed to rely mostly on a NE/not NE mindset.
Out of curiosity, if don and dawn are pronounced differently, what do they sound like?
Aug '10
Re: What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
I was not impressed. I am from Connecticut and it placed me in Philadelphia, which has a regional accent quite distinct. For example, they say Melk for Milk. Also, I say Marry and Mary the same but Merry differently, and there was no way to choose that option.