# Do you have an accent? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 25, 2000, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-an-accent/15351 "2000-03-25T21:18:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2000, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-an-accent/15351/41 "2000-03-30T19:27:00Z")
I have a Montgomery County, Maryland accent, which is sort of like a _very_ soft Southern accent with nasally o’s. My friends in Utah think I have a thick Southern drawl. My friends here in SC have no problem identifying me as a Yankee. I’ve also been told I have an English accent (from a Minnessotan). My husband, who’s from Australia, gets asked where he’s from all the time. He just deadpans, “About a half mile up the road.” (South Carolina) and gets some really weird looks. ---
**Author:** ![xekul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/838e76/32.png) [@xekul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xekul)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2000, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-an-accent/15351/42 "2000-03-30T21:55:00Z")
A little; it’s not strong. I picked up the language just before I turned four, but people make fun of the way I pronounce the ag sound in dagger. * * * ``You’re just an empty cage girl if you kill the bird.’’ – Tori Amos. ---
**Author:** ![Homer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/df788c/32.png) [@Homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homer)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2000, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-an-accent/15351/43 "2000-03-31T08:41:00Z")
> [@](#): > > But like Homer (and I NEVER thought I’d agree w/ Homer!) Hey, now! Cheap shot! 🙂 I’m mellow, man. I’m mellow. And you ARE allowed to call me Tim, if you like. 🙂 –Tim * * * You can’t accidently create a handicapped baby whilst smoking pot. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2000, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-an-accent/15351/44 "2000-03-31T08:58:00Z")
I don’t know if I have an accent or not. My friend from Georgia says I do. (I am a native of L.A.) I don’t think I had an accent of any kind for many years, then I picked up some “Valley Girl” phrases from some teenage co-workers (Oh My Gawd) a few years back, and I suspect that I now have an “accent” of sorts. I recently moved to the Midwest, and some have accents, some don’t. Some are damned thick, and scary, at least to me. The most telling sign (even amongst a Midwesterner who doesn’t have a noticable accent) is that they pronounce “insurance” like “_ **in** _surance”, whereas Californians pronounce it in_ **sur** _ance. I’ve noticed this among most Midwesterners, and it is backed up by the old Hitchock film “Marnie”. (Where Sean Connery catches Tippi Hedren in a lie, after she claims to be from California, but pronounces the word _ **in** _surance, the Midwestern/Southern pronunciation.) I’m not saying all Midwesterners pronounce it this way, but many do. * * * * * * Polydactyl Cats Unlimited “A Cat Cannot Have Too Many Toes” ---
**Author:** ![ProudAmerican](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f05b48/32.png) [@ProudAmerican](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ProudAmerican)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2000, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-an-accent/15351/45 "2000-03-31T09:05:00Z")
I’ve lived in Tennessee for 37 of my 40 years, but I _still_ get “Where you from?” all the time. Folks from other parts of the country don’t ask me this. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2000, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-an-accent/15351/46 "2000-03-31T16:46:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Sealemon88: > \*\*I’m from Texas. > > It’s all of y’all that have accents. > > \*\* Proving once again that the plural of “y’all” is “all y’all”. * * * New and Improved Enright3 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-an-accent/15351.md?page=2)