Living in Las Vegas and being in the military has afforded me the opportunity to hear many different accents (my favorite is a southern accent on a girl. I could listen to that reading the phone book. OMG, if they throw in ‘darlin’ at least once or twice, I’d be in heaven).
One of the things I’ve noticed about Las Vegas is the usage of the word ‘hella.’ I’ve heard that’s a Northern California thing, but I have never heard that word used before until I got in LV.
And yesterday, some people pegged my accent as a Californian one. Why? There’s a very good chance that it is because of my use of the words dude, like, totally, sweet, bro. For example: Dude, that was like, totally sweet. Seriously bro.
And I will admit to saying ‘like’ way more times than I’d wish in a standard sentence.
So fellow Californians, do you think you have an accent? If so, how can people tell you’re from California?
I have been known to say dude, sweet, and totally, and my use of like is practically unconscious. I like totally don’t even know when I’m saying it. Nobody says sweet anymore though–I’ve heard elementary kids say tight instead.
Hella was a Northern CA thing back in the early 90’s. I don’t hear it anymore, but back then my cousin from Sacramento said it all the time–and her friends, and a lot of No. CA people at college. (Religious kids who didn’t want to say hell turned it into a joke and said hecka sometimes.) I guess it moved to Las Vegas? If I heard it now, it would be like hearing a guy say “Hang ten, dude!”
People don’t ask me if I’m from California, though–I went to Utah a few weeks ago and they all just asked me where I was from. I probably wasn’t saying dude enough, but I’ve tried to cut down since I turned into a 34-yo mommy.
I don’t think it’s an accent (pronunciation) so much as it’s a speech rhythm. Word selection also plays a part. Californians, especially Southern Californians, have a quite distinctive speech rhythm. I don’t know where it comes from, but you can usually pick us out in a crowd quite easily.
I live in CA, Sacramento and yes we do say hella and hecka. People look at us like we are crazy but it such an awesome word! Its a NO Cal thing. The great thing about being from CA is because of Hollywood our “accent” its recognized as the “american” accent all over the world.
Here in California, people often assume I’m from Berkeley. :eek:
I guess the equation is:
my degree of weirdness on the Richter Scale, times the ratio of observer’s relative worldly inexperience = MBFB (must be from Berkeley.)
I just haven’t got the heart to tell them that Berkeley is mostly populated with affluent conformists these days.
Hey, I thought northern Californians used the term NorCal and despised No Cal because it was a southern California term. Maybe it’s a bay area thing.
My nephew from San Bruno is 21 and peppers his speech with “hella” but it’s always used in the phrase “hella good”. I don’t hear so many So Cal people say it but then, Gwen is from Orange County.
So, there also a speaking style? Where it sounds like someone is always asking a question? For every sentence? Whether it really is a question? Or not? Is this also a California-ism? I would have thought so? Because I’ve heard people talking this way around here sometimes?
I’ve lived here for almost 5 years and I haven’t noticed a California accent. Generally, people speak clearly and without any grammatical oddities. I haven’t heard anyone say “hella” yet, but as soon as I do, I’ll be sure to stab them in the throat.
Maybe I just don’t have the ear for it yet. I can pick out Hawaiians, though, quite easily.
I say dude, like, totally, and sweet. I don’t interject it every other word and not in a stoner/surfer voice, but I do say it, and I’m not from here.
I haven’t heard that in years, but I think it is a California thing if folks still do it at all.
Hella, is NorCal and is one of the very few words that makes my skin crawl.
My conception of the California accent is a combination of cadence (like silenus said) and also a lazy soft a sound. I don’t know why but native Californian’s don’t open their mouths wide enough to make this sound (in accordance with Standard American) and it ends up being a flat sound rather than a round sound. (I don’t know if I am describing it well since I, with my heavy California accent, don’t actually hear it. I am parroting what my voice and speach teacher told me in college.)
Also, I personally use the word dude much more than I am comforatble with, but can’t seem to break myself of it.
Would be interesting to know how many were actually born and grew up in Calif. I did, as did my mother before me. However, our speech would have been influenced by her parents who were from W. VA and Texas, as well as my father, who was from Ohio. I’m not so sure there really is a Calif. accent, as most people (in So. Calif. where I’m from) who live there now came from elsewhere. My aunt’s family lived in So. Calif. since the 1800’s, but I never noticed an accent - maybe because I was born there and listened to her all my life.
I know there is a Californian accent because everyone talked with one when I moved there is 5th grade but by 7th I don’t hear it any more so I assume that I speak with the accent. No idea what it is though. But living in Colorado or Texas I’ve never heard someone guess what state I’m from by my accent and most tell me that I don’t have one. But yes I use sweet like totally all the time dude.
But “dude” is such a perfect word. We use it to express a myriad of emotions; joy, apprehension, awe, disappointment, disgust, amusement, annoyance, longing… all depending on tonality and how long we draw out the u.
I suppose we may use it too often. After my son was born, my brother called him “little dude” so much, it was one of my son’s first words. My brother is now permanently dubbed “uncle dude.”
Dude, I swear we NorCal folks do not have an accent of any kind. In fact, our accent is the neutral lack of all other American accents. I will assert this until my dying day, despite the fact that my husband and all his Virginia pals insist that I do.
Dude, I hella wish I had an accent. That would be sweet!
No, throwing the dude in front changes it from being just a head nodding agreement into something that has a hint of shock to it. (Though I use really do use both phrases liberally in my regular speech. Unless I am being office NAF, in which case I manage to get rid of all of that as well as remove the “fuck” from inbetween every other word.)
