# How do I fake a Minnesotan accent? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 15, 2003, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-fake-a-minnesotan-accent/219042 "2003-12-15T02:27:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-fake-a-minnesotan-accent/219042/21 "2003-12-15T20:16:55Z")
> [@](#): > > Where in NoDak are you? I just moved over from there this summer. . . Hey, where did you live? I lived in Grand Forks for years. I’m a UND graduate. My wife is from Devil’s Lake. I live in the Cities now but I know ND well. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-fake-a-minnesotan-accent/219042/22 "2003-12-15T20:20:06Z")
I think part of the key to the accent is getting the cadence right. There’s a lilting quality, a sort of rising at the end of sentences. Sometimes it sounds like every sentence is a question. “I’m going to the store” can sound like “I’m going to the store?” You have to be subtle, though, don’t over do it. It’s just a hint of a question. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-fake-a-minnesotan-accent/219042/23 "2003-12-15T20:40:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by C8H10N4O2 \* > \*\*I lived in Minnesota in a suburb of the Twin Cities for most of the first 18 years of my life, and I have to admit I don’t know what **a1997xf11** and **Rysdad** are talking about. “You betcha” “din cha” and “uff ta” don’t really exist outside of the extreme northern part of the state – the only time you hear them is in annoying radio commercials in which people feel the need to overemphasize the Scandinavian Heritage thing. \*\* I grew up in the 'burbs of Minneapolis and said “uff da” all the time. Probably more due to the fact that my paternal grandparents were first generation from Sweden. My neighbors would say the “Ohfers” as in “ohfer cute, I like your hotdish doily”. As **a1997xf11** pointed the long “o” sound out, the “t” or the “th” dipthong is sometimes substituted with a “d”. Although, sometimes the “th” is substituted for a “t” consonant as in “Da best way to go up Nort’ is to take Hiway 169, ya know?” **Diogenes the Cynic** pointed out that there is the bit of a question tone at the end of sentences. For instance, ordering in a restaurant: “I would like the steak and some green beans?” It seems to me that this is used so as not to offend someone by being so brash as to have an opinion on what you want. (This gets into the whole area of ‘Minnesota Nice’ which could get ugly) The Minnesotan accent is not as often encountered or heavily pronounced in the “cities” (Minneapolis/St Paul metro area) as it is out-state. Going up nort’ towards Bemidji, Brainerd, Ely et al and you’ll encounter the “Minnesota” accent which is really more of a scandinavian accent. ---
**Author:** ![SeekingTruth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@SeekingTruth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeekingTruth)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-fake-a-minnesotan-accent/219042/24 "2003-12-15T21:26:48Z")
Forget that last post, I don’t know where that came from. I’m in Grand Forks. Been here 10 long years after growing up in Milwaukee. Just imagine MY dialect. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![cheddarsnax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cheddarsnax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheddarsnax)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-fake-a-minnesotan-accent/219042/25 "2003-12-15T21:30:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by a1997xf11 \* > **Soft drinks are called Pop, not soda.** And that’s the way it should be, damnit. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-fake-a-minnesotan-accent/219042/26 "2003-12-15T21:43:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cheddarsnax \* > \*\*And that’s the way it should be, damnit. \*\* I agree, as a matter of fact there used to be a store not far from our house growing up called **Pic-A-Pop** where one could choose from an assortment of pops in 24 packs (IIRC) and then return the bottles and get more. I miss that, their black cherry pop rocked. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2003, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-fake-a-minnesotan-accent/219042/27 "2003-12-16T00:28:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cheddarsnax \* > \*\*And that’s the way it should be, damnit. \*\* I beg to differ. _POP_ is my father, or coincidentally, what he used to do upside the back of my head when I was a smartass. _SODA_ is carbonated water, which can be sugared, flavored, or both. **Diogenes** , I just moved over from Minot this past July. Spent three and a half years up there. Tripler And I made it a point to avoid all the HostFests I could. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-fake-a-minnesotan-accent/219042.md?page=1)