# Is there a distinctive Alaskan accent? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 22, 2007, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinctive-alaskan-accent/408994 "2007-06-22T13:44:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinctive-alaskan-accent/408994/1 "2007-06-22T13:44:23Z")
And if there is, could someone point me to a recorded example of it? (Or them, if there’s more than one.) I mean, it’s easy for me to name a Georgia accent (Paula Deen), or Massachusetts (any Kennedy), or Brooklyn (Bugs Bunny). Is there a similarly distinctive Alaska accent? ---
**Author:** ![Aangelica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Aangelica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aangelica)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinctive-alaskan-accent/408994/2 "2007-06-22T14:57:12Z")
No, not really. Alaskans (other than some Alaskan Natives, and that’s generally a case of ESL accenting) have essentially an American-neutral accent. If you’re really curious, you can email me at the email in my profile and I’ll give you my phone number - I grew up in Alaska 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinctive-alaskan-accent/408994/3 "2007-06-22T15:04:14Z")
Gotta differ with **Aangelica**. Grew up in Seattle, I can pick an Alaska accent out of a crowded bar room full of conversation. And it’s not because the voice is bragging about wrestiling a halibut to the deck of a trawler and raping it in front of a dozen bored onlookers either. I don’t have a recorded example though. I’d describe it as typical Pac Northwest with slightly exaggerated vowels & Rs. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinctive-alaskan-accent/408994/4 "2007-06-22T15:06:25Z")
I wouldn’t think so. I spent 7 years in Alaska and they sounded just like I do, that is typical West Coast Normal. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinctive-alaskan-accent/408994/5 "2007-06-22T15:07:18Z")
[QUOTE=Aangelica] If you’re really curious, you can email me at the email in my profile and I’ll give you my phone number - I grew up in Alaska 🙂 [/QUOTE] _Geez, that was the easiest time I ever had pulling a girl’s digits. I wonder: could I adapt this technique, somehow, to work in bars or clubs? The possibilities are endless!_ Um, I mean…e-mail coming. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinctive-alaskan-accent/408994/6 "2007-06-22T15:14:34Z")
Alaska somebody that question and see what they say. “Juneau if there is a distinctive accent?” “I have Nome idea” ---
**Author:** ![Aangelica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Aangelica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aangelica)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinctive-alaskan-accent/408994/7 "2007-06-22T16:08:55Z")
Heh, I’m more than happy to be disagreed with, **Inigo** , as I have no real ear for accents - but I sound precisely like every other Alaskan I’ve met, and nobody ever seems to peg my accent. Plus, I’ve had to do a lot of interaction with tourists, who all seem vaguely amazed that nobody in Alaska has an accent. Of course, a good many of them also surprised we spoke English, so there you go. If anything, in times of stress or pure irritation, I have a south-east Texas sound to my voice, courtesy of my Dad, the Texan. And living in NYC for the last few years has made me more likely to use the word “fuck” than previously. ---
**Author:** ![Aangelica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Aangelica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aangelica)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinctive-alaskan-accent/408994/8 "2007-06-22T16:10:11Z")
[QUOTE=OneCentStamp] _Geez, that was the easiest time I ever had pulling a girl’s digits. I wonder: could I adapt this technique, somehow, to work in bars or clubs? The possibilities are endless!_ Um, I mean…e-mail coming. 🆒 [/QUOTE] Heh 🙂 Since my days on the dating scene are well and truly over (being happily married to another Doper and all), I’m not sure it’d work as a date-getting device. Although, it’s more entertaining than asking a girl up to see your etchings! ---
**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinctive-alaskan-accent/408994/9 "2007-06-22T16:22:16Z")
[QUOTE=Inigo Montoya] Gotta differ with **Aangelica**. Grew up in Seattle, I can pick an Alaska accent out of a crowded bar room full of conversation. And it’s not because the voice is bragging about wrestiling a halibut to the deck of a trawler and raping it in front of a dozen bored onlookers either. I don’t have a recorded example though. I’d describe it as typical Pac Northwest with slightly exaggerated vowels & Rs. [/QUOTE] Are you sure that’s not Canadian you’re describing? I always thought Canadian “accent” comedians did was grossly exaggerated – then I watched the Discovery Channel’s special on the Ice Road. Man, those guys speak Canuckian! ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinctive-alaskan-accent/408994/10 "2007-06-22T16:35:58Z")
[QUOTE=Aangelica] Although, it’s more entertaining than asking a girl up to see your etchings! [/QUOTE] That would never work for me. I wouldn’t even be able to get out the word _etchings_ without a pause and a lecherous smirk, and the girl would know full well that I had no etchings. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinctive-alaskan-accent/408994/11 "2007-06-22T17:44:41Z")
There’s no detectable accent [here](http://accent.gmu.edu/searchsaa.php?function=detail&speakerid=510). There is one [here](http://accent.gmu.edu/searchsaa.php?function=detail&speakerid=571), but the native language of the speaker is “Yupik”. Incidentally, this site is a really neat little time-waster. You can listen to other regional accents by browsing maps of the world through [this link](http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_atlas.php). ---
**Author:** ![Dunawake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dunawake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunawake)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinctive-alaskan-accent/408994/12 "2007-06-22T17:50:51Z")
I grew up in Alaska and never noticed any major accent change when I moved down to the lower 48. I’ve been in California so long now that I don’t think I retain any of whatever Alaskan accent I may have had. I doubt people up there say “hella” as much as I do now. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinctive-alaskan-accent/408994/13 "2007-06-22T17:55:34Z")
I keep thinking of Marilyn on “Northern Exposure” who had an obvious accent but I wonder if that’s more of a Native American accent than an Alaska thing (especially since the show was filmed in Washington State). ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinctive-alaskan-accent/408994/14 "2007-06-22T18:28:14Z")
[QUOTE=Shoeless] I keep thinking of Marilyn on “Northern Exposure” who had an obvious accent but I wonder if that’s more of a Native American accent than an Alaska thing (especially since the show was filmed in Washington State). [/QUOTE] That’s a NA accent, not an Alaskan accent; it’s common for Natives who grew up on the rez, though hers was a very broad version. It’s actually a really pretty accent, IMO. The excellent movie [Smoke Signals](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120321/) features extensive dialog in this accent. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinctive-alaskan-accent/408994/15 "2007-06-22T18:45:13Z")
My WAG is that there has, since, oh, the middle of the last millenium or so, been a significant portion of people in Alaska that were neither born nor raised there. Therefore, the existence of an easily discernable Alaskan accent is unlikely. Please note that having a few common phrases or vowel sounds does not an accent make. ---
**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 22, 2007, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinctive-alaskan-accent/408994/16 "2007-06-22T19:29:17Z")
My uncle moved to nowhere Alaska (Kotzebue) in the 60s and married a native Eskimo. They had 4 daughters during the 70s. Whenever they came to visit us (rarely) in Milwaukee nobody could detect any type of accent. I still remember when I and my other Milwaukee cousin (both 12 at the time) got in an arguement with our cousin from Alaska (she was 12 also) she accused us of being prejudice against eskimos. Being 12 we were both extremely confused and amused at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinctive-alaskan-accent/408994/17 "2007-06-22T21:26:33Z")
[QUOTE=Jodi] That’s a NA accent, not an Alaskan accent; it’s common for Natives who grew up on the rez, though hers was a very broad version. It’s actually a really pretty accent, IMO. The excellent movie [Smoke Signals](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120321/) features extensive dialog in this accent. [/QUOTE] Hee. I was going to assume it was NA because of having heard Adam Beach as well. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Aangelica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Aangelica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aangelica)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2007, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinctive-alaskan-accent/408994/18 "2007-06-23T00:04:26Z")
Ya - Marilyn on Northern Exposure had a Native Alaskan accent, and a fairly pronounced one. That particular accent is fairly common in people who were either raised in smaller, primarily NA communities or people who do not speak English (but rather one of the NA languages) as a first language. Either way, it’s not so much an Alaskan accent as it is a Native Alaskan one, if you see the distinction. ---
**Author:** ![mommyfromAK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@mommyfromAK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mommyfromAK)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinctive-alaskan-accent/408994/19 "2010-11-17T10:50:16Z")
I wonder about accents in Alaska. I’m from there and do not feel that they exsist. However, Alaska is a large state, and in different regions some accents do prevail. For instance, I thought Sarah Palin was “windy” and her accent was faked. However, the region she comes from had an influx of settlers from the upper midwest states during the great depression. Of course while running for election she hyped up her usage of some phrases like “you betcha, ect.” go help her in her attempt to connect with the voters. All politicians do that…it’s called code switching. You can hear her attempting to enunciate her -ings and her yous more clearly in responses where she appeared to have a ready answer, and returning to her more natural -in’ and ya when she does not have an answer. So returning to Alaska and accents…yes and no, it depends on the part example: [http://web.ku.edu/~idea/northamerica/usa/alaska/alaska.htm](http://web.ku.edu/~idea/northamerica/usa/alaska/alaska.htm) Also, the Marilyn from Northern Exposure was from Washington State (where Norther Exposure was filmed). Her accent is not Alaskan 😉 ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinctive-alaskan-accent/408994/20 "2010-11-17T19:40:21Z")
“I can see Russian _braains_ from my house.” “OMG, you killed Zombie Palin!” “Wait, she was a zombie?” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-distinctive-alaskan-accent/408994.md?page=2)