# Hey people... where is this (American) accent from? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 27, 2025, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-people-where-is-this-american-accent-from/1020203 "2025-06-27T20:08:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2025, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-people-where-is-this-american-accent-from/1020203/1 "2025-06-27T20:08:00Z")
This guy has an unusual (to me) accent. (I think he says he’s in Baltimore.) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/e8QoC9DRZCw/maxresdefault.jpg "How To Play Altissimo On the Saxophone featuring Scott Paddock") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8QoC9DRZCw&t=31) ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2025, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-people-where-is-this-american-accent-from/1020203/2 "2025-06-27T20:14:45Z")
I don’t hear anything in his pronunciation that seems quirky or that screams “REGIONAL” to me. His vowels seem very Mid-America. What is striking about his speech is that he speaks very quickly but still manages to _ar-ti-cu-late_ everything so _pre-cise-ly._ You have to listen hard, but he is very easy to understand Who knew playing the saxophone was so complicated? Not me. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2025, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-people-where-is-this-american-accent-from/1020203/3 "2025-06-27T20:28:45Z")
Thanks. I expect that most American accents I’ve heard are east or west coast. Some parts of saxophone playing are complicated, and altissimo is not essential ! ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2025, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-people-where-is-this-american-accent-from/1020203/4 "2025-06-27T20:37:49Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > What is striking about his speech is that he speaks very quickly but still manages to _ar-ti-cu-late_ everything so _pre-cise-ly._ I don’t know. I hear some odd quirks. For example, his “aren’t” is “arnt.” I say it with two syllables. He collapses it into one. There’s some other differences from a “neutral” newscaster English dialect going on there, but I can’t quite pick them out. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2025, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-people-where-is-this-american-accent-from/1020203/5 "2025-06-27T21:16:22Z")
He sounds to me like he was raised in or near the South, but moved to the West Coast in adulthood. Just a slight southern twang, but pronounces some of his short "a"s like they do in the West. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2025, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-people-where-is-this-american-accent-from/1020203/6 "2025-06-27T21:21:41Z")
Pretty neutral to me, but his website says his hometown is Shepherdsburg WV, somewhat catercorner between Harpers Ferry National Historic Park and Antietam National Battlefield. I personally wouldn’t call rural WV ‘southern,’ but there’s a lot of overlap between “Southern” and “Appalachian” sounds. OK, after listening a little more, I am picking up some “southern” sounds. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2025, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-people-where-is-this-american-accent-from/1020203/7 "2025-06-27T21:26:18Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I don’t know. I hear some odd quirks. For example, his “aren’t” is “arnt.” I pronounce it with one syllable. I guess that’s a California thing? There is nothing odd about the accent in the video to these West Coast ears. ---
**Author:** ![X.L.Lent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/a5b964/32.png) [@X.L.Lent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/X.L.Lent)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2025, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-people-where-is-this-american-accent-from/1020203/8 "2025-06-27T21:36:30Z")
I looked at his social media and he appears to work in the Maryland area. He could have grown up somewhere else however. Mods: Hope this post does not count as doxxing. If so, please remove this post. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2025, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-people-where-is-this-american-accent-from/1020203/9 "2025-06-27T21:37:51Z")
I’m from Balto and the only thing that sounds off is his saying “note” — sounds more like “newt” to me, which strikes me as Canadian somehow. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2025, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-people-where-is-this-american-accent-from/1020203/10 "2025-06-28T07:01:29Z")
I also don’t notice anything exceptional in his speech, as a Californian who grew up in Chicago. If anything, I would say there seems to be some aspects of a stereotypical gay speech pattern, including a wide pitch range, slightly breathy voice and careful enunciation, more than any regional accent. ---
**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2025, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-people-where-is-this-american-accent-from/1020203/11 "2025-06-28T11:49:17Z")
It did inspire me to try to enunciate ‘altissimo embouchure.’ Since I’m not a saxophonist, it would take a lot of practice to say it correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2025, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-people-where-is-this-american-accent-from/1020203/12 "2025-06-28T13:41:05Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > I’m from Balto and the only thing that sounds off is his saying “note” — sounds more like “newt” to me, which strikes me as Canadian somehow. I also noticed that. I have heard a similar pronunciation from some of my family who live in the eastern PA/Delaware area. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2025, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-people-where-is-this-american-accent-from/1020203/13 "2025-06-28T14:14:56Z")
Bear with me: Long “o” sounds pronounced as “ew” is Valley Girl speech. Check out Frank/Moon Unit Zappa’s _Valley Girl_ and see if she doesn’t say it a dozen times. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/R5Q1yVLSR3I/maxresdefault.jpg "Frank Zappa, Moon Zappa - Valley Girl") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5Q1yVLSR3I) ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2025, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-people-where-is-this-american-accent-from/1020203/14 "2025-06-28T14:36:50Z")
Being from the midwest we once had some guests from eastern Pennsylvania and we noticed how they did not pronounce long “o”s like we did. Ours were a very strong “Oh” while they had a relaxed “eoh”. I can hear the “eoh” when he says note. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2025, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-people-where-is-this-american-accent-from/1020203/15 "2025-06-28T14:44:28Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > Thanks. I expect that most American accents I’ve heard are east or west coast. For what it’s worth, while there are differences that can be noted if you’re looking for them, most Americans have a difficult time distinguishing most American accents. There are definitely Southern accents, and a few East Coast cities and Appalachia have accents that can be distinguished when they’re strong, but most Americans wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between, say, California, Kansas, Ohio, or Delaware. Of course, the kinds of folks you’ll get in a thread like this aren’t “most Americans”, and mostly do know the subtle differences to look out for. ---
**Author:** ![DaveUnknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@DaveUnknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveUnknown)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2025, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-people-where-is-this-american-accent-from/1020203/16 "2025-06-28T14:48:47Z")
Look up “Hi, I’m Mr Ray” on youtube. THAT is classic baltimore accent, very heavy. I’d say the musician has a mix of WV, central & southern MD— whatever it’s not very heavy. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2025, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-people-where-is-this-american-accent-from/1020203/17 "2025-06-28T15:14:24Z")
My due north for a Baltimore accent will always be Divine saying the word “ironing”. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2025, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-people-where-is-this-american-accent-from/1020203/18 "2025-06-28T15:25:57Z")
Well, the musician didn’t say “warsh,” “wooder” or “zink” so he’s not from Bawlmer. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2025, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-people-where-is-this-american-accent-from/1020203/19 "2025-06-28T15:28:38Z")
Haven’t thought of Mr. Ray in decades. Thanx for the trip down Memory Lane. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2025, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-people-where-is-this-american-accent-from/1020203/20 "2025-06-28T20:56:54Z")
Thanks for the input people - I’m now much better informed, but none the wiser ! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-people-where-is-this-american-accent-from/1020203.md?page=2)