Read phonetically to get the picture
Here in Baston people have one of the best accents in my opinion. For instance a gentleman heah in the affice has lived in Bean town his whole life. When I furst moved to this jab six yeah’s ago. I could nawt stawp teez’in this guy. Every time he woar Khakis I’d ask him weah his car keys were and he’d respond… “Whad am I retahdid, my kaa-kis are in my khakis…!”
Laughing uncontrollably we’d usually go back and forth for a few minutes. Living in New England we have several distinct accents, most notable are those from Massachusetts and from Maine. ie. the Maine “Bumpah Stickah” anyone else have fun and interesting accents?
I just wanted to chime in and inform everyone that not all Massachusetts residents have the aforementioned accent. We here in Western Mass. are pretty bland, actually. I love the Boston accent; sometimes I wish I had one.
My friend from the Boston area used to always come up to our area to attend a “hoss show.” He found it hilarious that we Western-Massers pronounced the “R” in horse so pronouncedly.
Well, I grew up in Maine, and I don’t drop my aaahhhhs. In fact, most Mainahs don’t have much of an accent; generally it’s the older people in rural areas that talk Mainah.
I sure do miss the Boston accent. I worked at American Rep. Theatre in Cambridge (our fair city) for a while, and the receptionist would answer the phone, “A Ahhh Tee, Can I help you?” She just couldn’t bring herself to pronounce that “R.”
Ok, so I’ve been trying to spell out a Vermont accent, but I just can’t figure out how. Anybody on the boards from the kingdom who can help me out?
Thanks, Phlosphr. You left out the “Jeezum Crow!” the alternate “Geezo dood” and the “Aww, sh*tdood! Hat’s a uh pretty fricken sweet truck dere.” I’ve found the best way to replicate the VT accent is to pretend you don’t have an upper lip and then try to talk like someone from the northern Great Lake region with an Irish accent. Good times.
I can’t stand being out here in SoCal, where everybody talks “normally.”
Obviously, I’m over-dramaticizing the accent here - most of us in this area do not do the “d” for “th” thing, but some of us do, and the ones who do have the most pronounced accent.
Here we have the Columbia County accent.
Dood, wir gunna go out on thuh lake an git wastit. Yoo gize cummin widdis? We got dat new Smirnoff shit, an wir gunna take Joe’s car cuz its a peesashit an he don’ care if it gets busted on dat crappy road wid all thuh potoles.
If you ever meet me in person, ask me to say “hawk” to you and tell me if you think it sounds funny.
Like, omigawd, didja see Brian’s car? I’m SOOO totally jealous, like, y’know? It’s, like, SO tight!
(For best effect, above conversation should be on a cell phone in a Starbucks or Jamba Juice.) I like to think that I avoid the pernicious influence of the Valley on my speech most of the time, but I admit to the occasional ‘like y’know’. Hard to avoid with the Valley only about a half hour’s drive away.
Being a former southern New Jersey resident, I would like to dispel the rumor that everyone from New Jersey has a “Jersey accent”. The only people I had ever met with such an accent lived 20 minutes outside of NYC. Yes, some people pronounced water as “wutter”. Yes, some people pronounced bagel as “beggel”. But the vast majority of people I knew (including myself) spoke with more of a homogenized American accent, like one in California (minus the Valley girl/surfer intonations). I always spoke with kind of a drawl, saying water as “wahhhter” or Florida as “Flahridah”. No one has ever been able to tell I’m from Jersey, but the moment I tell them I am they launch into a New York accent.
(My own accent & regionalisms.) What-evvverrr. I am so hella stressed today, I seriously need the weekend to come NOW. Dude, my friend from down South is going up to the City tomorrow, I told her to say hi to my parents for me.
(Where I live now.) My aaafice is practically empty right now, everyone went up North to go gaaaalfing. I’m thirsty, think I’ll have some paaap. Can’t forget to these looon daaacs for this signing on Monday.
