I would have been surprised if the results were any different. I was born and raised in Michigan, although my parents were from the Upper Peninsula. We call people from that part of the state "Yoopers," and their accent is totally different. Thanks to my parent's influence though I can throw around terms like "da" and "eh" with the best of them. (I also remember a certain elementary teacher who broke my heart when she said my dad was wrong when he pronounced "three" as "tree." )
As an adult, I lived in southwestern Pennsylvania for about 20 years, and that area definitely has a distinct accent. It's completely different from the rest of Pennsylvania, and as you move closer to the West Virginia border it sounds more southern. My children were all born there and my husband is from the Pittsburgh area, so I've picked up some of their slang over the years. Periodically, I find myself saying "ja wanna" for "do you want to" or "nebby" for nosy.
In the end though, I guess those experiences didn't make much difference. I still sound like I'm from Michigan, eh?
Take the test and see if your life experiences have had an influence on your accent.
| What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop." | |
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| What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz | |
7 comments:
Hey! I call it soda, and the last time I checked, I lived in Meeshagain!
You're both wrong. We Bostonians call it by its proper name - tonic.
You call it soda, Lew? That's a surprise. Everyone I know on this side of the state calls it pop. You left coasters just like to be different, eh?!
Tonic, Abi? Tonic is something we mix with gin and it doesn't taste anything like Sprite or Coke. What do you call tonic that gets mixed with alcohol?
We call that tonic, too. If it fizzes, it's tonic.
I took one of these (not this one) and came up with Pacific Northwest. Odd. I was raised in West Texas, and have lived all over since. Does that make me accentless?
Abi, if I order a gin and tonic in Boston will I get a gin mixed with Coke? ;-)
Kvatch, maybe you've become homogenized as a result of all your traveling and experiences?! What is a Pacific Northwest accent? Is it a blend of all the accents from the east coast across all regions to the Pacific Northwest? Then again, that area must be influenced by the Canadians quite a bit too. Of course, you're a frog so maybe that explains your accentless speech! ;-)
the northwest accent is very subtle but if you know what to listen for you'll hear it without a doubt.
the local women (there aren't too many true northwesterners in the northwest because it's a port region) and some men pronounce the 'S' very sharply and it can be very irritating. "scissorS" almost like a 'C' sound as in the first 'C' in "circus"
Also, the women tend to talk in what is called the "creaky voice"
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/225139_nwspeak20.html
(example sound clips on the article)
they also pronounce 'cot' and 'caught' exactly the same.
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