# Fargo: Accents **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 15, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-accents/546809 "2010-07-15T18:30:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-accents/546809/61 "2010-07-16T05:57:43Z")
> [@In\_Winnipeg](#): > > Okay, time for outside resources. […] > > Here is WCCO, […] in Minneapolis. […] B.93FM … of Fort Frances, Ontario […] > CHUM-FM in Toronto […] Z-99 in Regina […] > Take a listen and let us know what your findings are. Broadcasters suppress their regional accents in favour of an [artificially standardized accent](http://www.answers.com/topic/standard-midwestern)? How long has this been going on? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-accents/546809/62 "2010-07-16T07:46:26Z")
(never mind) ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-accents/546809/63 "2010-07-16T10:57:51Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > If you want to hear western/central Canadian accents, check out [Corner Gas.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4E9oa4BnbI) That’s pretty much exactly what I sound like (except, you know, like a woman version - slightly higher voice). Yeah, I couldn’t hear an accent in those guys at all. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-accents/546809/64 "2010-07-16T12:16:29Z")
There are some Scandanavian enclaves in the Puget Sound area, like Ballard and Poulsbo, where that accent is spoken. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-accents/546809/65 "2010-07-16T16:00:21Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > Does it make you feel better to know that one of the distinctive features of this accent is called “Canadian Raising?” (This is the peculiarity that leads people to assert that Canadians pronounce “about” as “aboot.”) > > The accent does have some similarities with certain Canadian dialects. As an Atlantic Canadian that grew up in Vancouver, it took several viewings for me to get that the scenes with her Chinese friend from school were meant to be funny because of a dissonance between his accent and his ethnicity. Totally invisible to me. 😃 Slight hijack: My wife is of Chinese decent, but was born in Chicago. She has a standard American midwest accent. She has a cousin in Calgary with a thick Canadian accent. Another cousin in New York City with a thick Queens accent. When the three of them get together and start talking, it’s hard for me to keep a straight face. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-accents/546809/66 "2010-07-16T16:23:51Z")
> [@In\_Winnipeg](#): > > Sus-skatch-choo-wun ? If you’re pronouncing it with more than two syllables, you’re probably not from there. 🙂 > [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Yeah, I couldn’t hear an accent in those guys at all. That’s what I keep telling people - I don’t have an accent! ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-accents/546809/67 "2010-07-16T16:28:08Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I think they do. There are even variations within the Ontario accent, like the Toronto Valley Girl, Northern Ontarian, and regular Torontonian. And, of course, hearing anyone from outside Saskatchewan pronounce “Saskatchewan” is always a dead give-away. 🙂 sas-KATCH-ew-wan (Wan doesn’t rhyme with “one” or with “man.” Somewhere in between like Obi- **Wan** Kenobi.) Am I doing it right? ETA: Yikes! More than two syllables! ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-accents/546809/68 "2010-07-16T16:38:45Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > If you’re pronouncing it with more than two syllables, you’re probably not from there. 🙂 True, I’m not. I pronounce it the way most Canadians pronounce it. It is funny to hear Americans say it, especially since they _really_ pronounce the “wan” at the end, almost like it’s accented. But then again, they pronounce “Toronto” in a totally phonetic way, too. 😃 As far as I know, in regard to Ontario, yes, there is a little bit of a twang in the speech of the Ottawa Valley, but it’s nothing that makes it hard to understand. They are the ones more likely to say “aboot” if anyone is. And naturally, there are Maritimers that speak in a dialect resembling what is heard in Maine, especially in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia; Newfoundland, though has a dialect that sounds almost Irish in nature. That being said, though, a lot of this dialect is levelling out because of the media – both major networks have national news broadcasts, and the same anchormen are heard and seen all through the whole country, and they speak what is known as a Midwestern accent. . ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-accents/546809/69 "2010-07-16T18:59:38Z")
> [@Uncle\_Jocko](#): > > Another fun fact … _Fargo_ does not, in fact, take place in Fargo! They hardly even get up to Brainerd, for gosh sakes! > > Best. North Dakota. Tourism. Promotion. EVER. Or, maybe not. Hey, the plains of Wyoming in Brokeback Mountain are actually Alberta. And the wheat in 300 came from the University of Saskatchewan! 😃 > [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I think they do. There are even variations within the Ontario accent, like the Toronto Valley Girl, Northern Ontarian, and regular Torontonian. And, of course, hearing anyone from outside Saskatchewan pronounce “Saskatchewan” is always a dead give-away. 🙂 Every time someone ends the word Saskatchewan with a pronounced WAN that rhymes with RAN I want to reach into the TV and strangle them. There’s this one newscaster on CTV Newsnet that is really bad for that. ---
**Author:** ![FalconFinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@FalconFinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FalconFinder)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-accents/546809/70 "2010-07-16T19:02:50Z")
I have relatives in Southeastern North Dakota and none of them, despite having Norwegian ancestry have an accent anywhere near the accent in Fargo. They sound Midwestern – though a few words here and there might have a slight Scandinavian twang to them. In fact, I don’t recall hearing that accent from anyone that lives in the area where they live. Oddly enough, I have some cousins (same side of the family) that grew up in central Wisconsin who do have a bit of that Minnesota accent… ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-accents/546809/71 "2010-07-16T20:19:11Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > If you’re pronouncing it with more than two syllables, you’re probably not from there. 🙂 Oh, come on! There’s about 2.25 syllables in Saskatchewan as pronounced by locals. You’ve got this slight double-slurring of the initial s’s. sSKATCHwun When I say it, the ‘wan’ is pretty close to rhyming with ‘one.’ Maybe a bit more towards ‘on,’ but not a whole lot. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-accents/546809/72 "2010-07-16T22:54:27Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Yeah, I couldn’t hear an accent in those guys at all. It is similar to the standard Midwestern accent, but there’s definitely a difference. I know a lot of Arizonans–are you sure you’re a native? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-accents/546809/73 "2010-07-16T23:08:08Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > Oh, come on! There’s about 2.25 syllables in Saskatchewan as pronounced by locals. You’ve got this slight double-slurring of the initial s’s. > > sSKATCHwun > > When I say it, the ‘wan’ is pretty close to rhyming with ‘one.’ Maybe a bit more towards ‘on,’ but not a whole lot. That’s about as good a written pronunciation as you’re likely to get. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-accents/546809/74 "2010-07-17T00:08:52Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > It is similar to the standard Midwestern accent, but there’s definitely a difference. I know a lot of Arizonans–are you sure you’re a native? 😛 Yeah. And I think I know a lot more Arizonans than you do. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Staver808](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@Staver808](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staver808)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-accents/546809/75 "2010-07-17T02:04:42Z")
If you ever see the cartoon Bobby’s World by Howie Mandel, the mom has the strongest realistic sounding accent I’ve ever heard. Working retail in Hawaii I’ve met people from all over the world and have met a bunch from North Dakota with the accent. Most noticeably (to me at least) was the “Oh yeah, yeah” in the beginning, “Don’tcha know” at the end and when they say no, it tends to be slowly drawn out. But even then, I find it more charming and slghtly amusing (I think it’s a friendly sounding accent) than anything and it’s really not that obvious. I’m an accent whore and tend to pick up accents if I talk to people long enough. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-accents/546809/76 "2010-07-17T06:55:13Z")
I know some Minnesotans, and they sound a little smoother and less nasally than the Michigan U.P.'ers that I know, and they in turn sound like some Alaskans and Ontarians I have heard. It’s the sound of The North spreading West. ---
**Author:** ![judikium](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9adbd/32.png) [@judikium](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/judikium)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-accents/546809/77 "2010-07-17T06:56:20Z")
I’m from central Minnesota, and the for the most part, no one’s accent is pronounced. I notice it a lot more when I interact with people from the far north - Bemidji, Grand Rapids, everything beyond- their vowels are crazy sometimes- even younger people. My accent is pretty much nonexistent, but my o’s give me away sometimes. Saying I’m from Minnesota (even if I try to say it normally!) always draws a laugh among non-Midwesterners. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-accents/546809/78 "2010-07-17T07:22:35Z")
> [@judikium](#): > > I notice it a lot more when I interact with people from the far north - Bemidji, Grand Rapids, everything beyond… An I the only one who thinks ‘Bemidji’ sounds like a bite-size candy? “Coming this fall from Nestle’s, try new, chocolate Bemidjis!” ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-accents/546809/79 "2010-07-17T07:41:00Z")
Andrew Zimmern is a New Yorker? Pshaw, Hardly. That guy’s Minnesotan Ahramaic, flat nebbish neurotic, accent belies his vowel shift. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-accents/546809/80 "2010-07-17T09:00:48Z")
Look, I’m not trying to infer anything nefarious. It’s simply a matter of dialect. Zimmern sounds like a Minnesotan- German- Jew from the urban or suburban parts of Minnesota with residuals of Summers spent in New York, the sonic subtleties are quite apparent. It’s very simple, nothing judgemental, its just that people place themselves quite specifically ethno-linguistically and geograpically. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fargo-accents/546809.md?page=3)