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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Comments:
Jun '11
Re: What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
I suggested a question that should pinpoint the more educated accents some felt the quiz missed: "Do 'ahoy' and 'polloi' rhyme?... Yes, No, or Moe"
Nov '10
Re: What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
I was born in Washington Heights and spent most of my life in Northern New Jersey. Result: Midland (No Accent.)
Maybe I should have gone out more as a kid?
Apr '11
Re: What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
I. raptus
James Of England
... Dawn rhymes with lawn, pawn, mourn, prawn, torn (both Rip and sundering), brawn, etc. ... · 7 hours ago
Remember, these are about different accents, so there is variation. Lots of people who make the distinction between the "oh/ohr" and "aw" sound don't pronounce these -ornsounds the same way. · 2 hours ago
Right. Clipped from the beginning of my comment is "In my English...". I don't claim that my English is particularly definitive. Indeed, I feel kind of strongly that it's not; the corruption of my sort of British English in the late 18th century/ early 19th is a fascinating subject to me. I pretty quickly picked up the softer Texan consonants, but kept my vowels, meaning that even if I did believe in RP supremacy, I'd not have the purity to proclaim from.
The one thing that does make me twinge about my speech is that I've found it super hard to stop using "Hola" as my universal greeting; occasionally, when greeting a Chicano I feel my stomach twist as the fear grips me that I sound like I'm condescending to them.
May '11
Re: What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
John Ammirati
Diane Ellis, Ed.
Me too! Not sure how I ended up with a North Central/Minnesota accent on this quiz after living my entire life in Northern California... · 24 minutes ago
Maybe we Californians are too diverse (oh, that word) for this test. It tagged me as Inland North, and I am a second generation native and life-long resident of Northern California. Philadelphia came as a strong second with The West coming near the bottom. · 7 hours ago
I've never been a Californian. Born in Arizona, then moved back and forth between Arizona and Connecticut for the first six years, then spent the next ten in rural, northern Vermont.
Jun '11
Re: What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
Nailed me as a Southerner.
"How's your Momma and them?"
Dec '11
Re: What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
Scored overwhelmingly Midland, but I do remember being tested as a child for a speech defect. Turned out I was imitating the speech of my very Southern mama and my Yankee preschool teacher was puzzled by both the patois and the accent.
Terrell David: Nailed me as a Southerner.
"How's your Momma and them?"
May '10
Re: What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
The quiz called me a Midlander. But this thread reminded me of a time when a linguist listened to me speaking in conversation and told me, "You have the most interesting accent. Some words sound very weestern, others sound upper mid-west, and still others sound very southern."
I replied, "Congratulations. I grew up in California, went to college in Illinois, and am (was) married to a North Carolinian."
Jul '10
Re: What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
Inland North - notwithstanding I spent 38 years in Pittsburgh. As in "He come up my hause the other day"; "You uns," or "Iron City beer" - but I can't figure out how to spell it phonetically the way it's pronounced there. Though, many of us didn't speak that way, as we fondly called it, Turtleburg-ese. (For those of you who know the area, of course that's Turtle Creek.)
I once heard that in the early days of TV, the "accent" newscasters strove for was the area around Buffalo - as they didn't seem to have an accent and therefore would be acceptable to people across the county.
Feb '12
Re: What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
EThompson: Scored overwhelmingly Midland, but I do remember being tested as a child for a speech defect. Turned out I was imitating the speech of my very Southern mama and my Yankee preschool teacher was puzzled by both the patois and the accent.
Terrell David: Nailed me as a Southerner.
"How's your Momma and them?"
9 hours ago
My sister had chronic problems with ear infections as a child (tubes in, tonsils and adenoids out), and a lot of her speech problems were caused by not be able to hear the sounds she was trying to imitate. (e.g. for six months or so until the next surgery, I was "Umy".)
When she finally started school, they put her in a speech therapy class to get her to say her final "r". She credits this with destroying what Southern accent she might have managed to develop living in a heavily Naval subdivision in Charleston.
Aug '11
Re: What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
Years away from Boston has allowed R's back into my speech, but I still hear like a Bostonian, hence I was pegged "Boston." I'm surprised they didn't have "roof" or "route" in their test. In AZ we have the Mogollon (muggy-on) Rim - a word that would peg a native in one stroke.
Oct '10
Re: What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
Northeast, but I've been told I don't have any accent - so I guess the fact that I pronounce Mary, merry, and marry differently from one another is considered an accent?
May '10
Re: What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
Too short a quiz, I assume. Pegged me as Midland, or "no accent," or Pennsylvania to Missouri. But I am a first-generation Okie! Parents from Kentucky and Florida. I was always aware my mother had an accent, but not my father. So I guess he had a Midland accent, too. ha!
Nov '10
Re: What Kind of American Accent do You Have?
I couldn't wrap my head around this: how do Mary and marry sound different?