# Vocal samples thread: how do \*you\* say it? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 22, 2007, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-samples-thread-how-do-you-say-it/427403 "2007-11-22T04:43:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-samples-thread-how-do-you-say-it/427403/81 "2007-11-27T01:39:03Z")
**dynamitedave** , **sandra\_nz** , and **TheLoadedDog** have sent samples. I’m including them into the big compendium, even though I linked to **dynamitedave** ’s samples upthread. The compendium: “Poor”, “pore”, and “pour”. [Pronounced by **Sunspace**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/sunspace_ppp.mp3) [Pronounced by **Telperien**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/telperien_ppp.mp3) [Pronounced by **Cazzle**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/cazzle_ppp.mp3) [Pronounced by **NinetyWt**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/ninetywt_poor.mp3) [Pronounced by **Spoons**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/spoons_poor_pore_pour.mp3) [Pronounced by **dynamitedave**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/dynamitedave_poor.mp3) [Pronounced by **TheLoadedDog**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/the_loaded_dog_poor.mp3) [Pronounced by **sandra\_nz**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/sandra_nz_pour.mp3) “Marry”, “merry”, and “Mary”. [Pronounced by **Sunspace**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/sunspace_mmm.mp3) [Pronounced by **Telperien**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/telperien_mmm.mp3) [Pronounced by **Cazzle**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/cazzle_mmm.mp3) [Pronounced by **NinetyWt**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/ninetywt_merry.mp3) [Pronounced by **Spoons**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/spoons_marry_merry_mary.mp3) [Pronounced by **dynamitedave**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/dynamitedave_marry.mp3) [Pronounced by **TheLoadedDog**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/the_loaded_dog_marry.mp3) [Pronounced by **sandra\_nz**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/sandra_nz_marry.mp3) “Mary was merry as she married Terry, but then Scary Larry got carried away and chased Barry’s hairy dairy cattle through the ceremony.” [Pronounced by **Sunspace**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/sunspace_dairy.mp3) [Pronounced by **Telperien**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/telperien_dairy.mp3) [Pronounced by **Cazzle**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/cazzle_dairy.mp3) [Pronounced by **Spoons** colloquially](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/spoons_c_mary_was_merry.mp3) [Pronounced by **Spoons** more formally, as for a newscast](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/spoons_n_mary_was_merry.mp3) [Pronounced by **NinetyWt**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/ninetywt_dairy.mp3) [Pronounced by **dynamitedave**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/dynamitedave_dairy.mp3) [Pronounced by **TheLoadedDog**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/the_loaded_dog_dairy.mp3) [Pronounced by **sandra\_nz**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/sandra_nz_mary_was_merry.mp3) “Don”, “Dawn”, “Aaron”, and “Erin”. [Pronounced by **Sunspace**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/sunspace_ddae.mp3) [Pronounced by **Telperien**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/telperien_don.mp3) [Pronounced by **Cazzle**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/cazzle_ddae.mp3) [Pronounced by **NinetyWt**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/ninetywt_don.mp3) [Pronounced by **dynamitedave**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/dynamitedave_don.mp3) [Pronounced by **TheLoadedDog**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/the_loaded_dog_don.mp3) [Pronounced by **sandra\_nz**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/sandra_nz_don.mp3) “Boot”, “boat”, “about”, and “house”. [Pronounced by **Spoons**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/spoons_boot_boat_about_house.mp3) [Pronounced by **TheLoadedDog**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/the_loaded_dog_boot_boat_about_house.mp3) “The dog went out and about.” [Pronounced by **NinetyWt**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/ninetywt_dog.mp3) “Mary rarely rose at dawn, but did so on the day she was to marry Don in order to pore over details such as whether the weather would be fine or poor for taking pictures, who was to pour the wedding wines and pitchers of beer, and to be sure that her poor, overly merry cousin Aaron, visiting from Erin, would catch the last boat (a converted ketch) from the mainland and so would not arrive until about the time the honeymoon bags were put in the boot.”. [Pronounced by **Sunspace**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/sunspace_paragraph.mp3) [Pronounced by **Fatwater\_Fewl**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/fatwater_fewl_paragraph.mp3) [Pronounced by **Bambi Hassenpfeffer**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/bambih_paragraph.mp3) ( **Bambi** , I must apologise. There’s some kind of weird glitch that cuts off your sample just after ‘ketch’ every time I normalise it and then export it as an MP3.) [Here’s the original](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/Sound_clip_08.wav). [Pronounced by **Spoons** colloquially](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/spoons_c_mary_rarely_rose.mp3) [Pronounced by **Spoons** more formally, as for an audiobook](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/spoons_ab_mary_rarely_rose.mp3) [Pronounced by **GorillaMan**](http://www.owainsutton.co.uk/audio/sentence.mp3) [Pronounced by **dynamitedave**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/dynamitedave_paragraph.mp3) [Pronounced by **TheLoadedDog**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/the_loaded_dog_paragraph.mp3) [Pronounced by **sandra\_nz**](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/sandra_nz_mary_rarely_rose.mp3) “Poor old Paul pored over the book as Portia poured him some porter.” [Pronounced by **Spoons** colloquially](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/spoons_c_poor_old_paul.mp3) [Pronounced by **Spoons** more formally, as for a newscast](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/spoons_n_poor_old_paul.mp3) “It was dawn when Don, Dawn, Aaron, and Erin took off, but Erin made an error in navigation.” [Pronounced by **Spoons** colloquially](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/spoons_c_it_was_dawn.mp3) [Pronounced by **Spoons** more formally, as for a newscast](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/spoons_n_it_was_dawn.mp3) “I put on my boots and left the house to talk with a man about a boat.” [Pronounced by **Spoons** colloquially](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/spoons_c_i_put_on_my_boots.mp3) [Pronounced by **Spoons** more formally, as for a newscast](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/spoons_n_i_put_on_my_boots.mp3) ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-samples-thread-how-do-you-say-it/427403/82 "2007-11-27T01:58:16Z")
Hm. Okay, just listened to **sandra\_nz** and she reminds me somewhat of my current Kiwi friend but only just vaguely whereas \*\*TheLoadedDog \*\*sounds kind of like \*\*dynamitedave \*\* even though he’s an Aussie. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-samples-thread-how-do-you-say-it/427403/83 "2007-11-27T01:59:35Z")
[QUOTE=Aesiron] \*\*TheLoadedDog \*\*sounds kind of like \*\*dynamitedave \*\* even though he’s an Aussie. [/QUOTE] I frequently get asked, in my home city of Sydney - born and bred - “Hey, what’s that accent?” So I hope nobody is expecting Steve Irwin. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-samples-thread-how-do-you-say-it/427403/84 "2007-11-27T02:17:24Z")
[QUOTE=TheLoadedDog] I frequently get asked, in my home city of Sydney - born and bred - “Hey, what’s that accent?” So I hope nobody is expecting Steve Irwin. [/QUOTE] I love how you say “away.” You actually sound a fair bit like I was expecting, somehow. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-samples-thread-how-do-you-say-it/427403/85 "2007-11-27T02:34:06Z")
[QUOTE=TheLoadedDog] **eugh** **Sunspace** , if my recordings are too faint, I’m happy to redo them. It’s the first time I’ve used Audacity, and it’s four in the morning and I’m probably not thinking straight, so the settings could probably have been better. [/QUOTE] No prob. I loudened them. 🙂 (Actually, I ‘normalised’ them. It’s in the Effect menu.) ---
**Author:** ![lobstermobster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobstermobster/32/10033_2.png) [@lobstermobster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobstermobster)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-samples-thread-how-do-you-say-it/427403/86 "2007-11-27T02:51:38Z")
God I love australian accents. I could listen to that all the time. Sunspace has way more of an accent than I was expecting. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-samples-thread-how-do-you-say-it/427403/87 "2007-11-27T03:29:47Z")
[QUOTE=lobstermobster] God I love australian accents. I could listen to that all the time. [/quote] :: nods :: > [@lobstermobster](#): > > Sunspace has way more of an accent than I was expecting. Honestly, I think a lot of that is me. **Spoons** and I are basically from the same place. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-samples-thread-how-do-you-say-it/427403/88 "2007-11-29T00:14:32Z")
Am I too late to the party? Or is there room for a minnesotan here too? You could tell me once and for all if I have the infamous accent. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-samples-thread-how-do-you-say-it/427403/89 "2007-11-29T02:09:19Z")
[QUOTE=Inner Stickler] Am I too late to the party? Or is there room for a minnesotan here too? You could tell me once and for all if I have the infamous accent. [/QUOTE] Be welcome! (What accent? I’m unfamiliar with it… I thought you guys sounded like us. 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-samples-thread-how-do-you-say-it/427403/90 "2007-11-30T06:52:16Z")
I found a microphone, and just when I had time to actually record these samples, I found out it didn’t work. :smack: Anyway, maybe there’s just something I’m not doing right, I’ll try again tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![lobstermobster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobstermobster/32/10033_2.png) [@lobstermobster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobstermobster)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2007, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-samples-thread-how-do-you-say-it/427403/91 "2007-11-30T15:19:41Z")
[QUOTE=Hypnagogic Jerk] I found a microphone, and just when I had time to actually record these samples, I found out it didn’t work. :smack: Anyway, maybe there’s just something I’m not doing right, I’ll try again tomorrow. [/QUOTE] You better fix it, Frenchy, because I wanna hear it. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2007, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-samples-thread-how-do-you-say-it/427403/92 "2007-12-01T16:51:01Z")
**Instant Stickler** and **cmyk** have sent samples. Here’s **Instant Stickler** : [“Poor”, “pore”, and “pour”](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/is_poor.mp3) [“Marry”, “merry”, and “Mary”](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/is_merry.mp3) [“Mary was merry as she married Terry, but then Scary Larry got carried away and chased Barry’s hairy dairy cattle through the ceremony.”](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/is_dairy.mp3) [“Don”, “Dawn”, “Aaron”, and “Erin”](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/is_don.mp3) And, [“Mary rarely rose at dawn, but did so on the day she was to marry Don in order to pore over details such as whether the weather would be fine or poor for taking pictures, who was to pour the wedding wines and pitchers of beer, and to be sure that her poor, overly merry cousin Aaron, visiting from Erin, would catch the last boat (a converted ketch) from the mainland and so would not arrive until about the time the honeymoon bags were put in the boot.”](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/is_paragraph.mp3) And here’s **CMYK** : [“Poor”, “pore”, and “pour”](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/cmyk_poor.mp3) [“Marry”, “merry”, and “Mary”](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/cmyk_marry.mp3) [“Mary was merry as she married Terry, but then Scary Larry got carried away and chased Barry’s hairy dairy cattle through the ceremony.”](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/cmyk_dairy.mp3) [“Don”, “Dawn”, “Aaron”, and “Erin”](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/cmyk_don.mp3) Plus… [“talk”, “walk”, “folk”, “balk”, and “often”](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/cmyk_talk.mp3) [“out and about”](http://www.sunspace.org/audio/cmyk_about.mp3) ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2007, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-samples-thread-how-do-you-say-it/427403/93 "2007-12-01T16:57:32Z")
**Instant Stickler** , eh? Hmm, it’s actually pretty descriptive. Maybe I need a name change. Instant Stickler! Just add water! ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2007, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-samples-thread-how-do-you-say-it/427403/94 "2007-12-01T17:06:10Z")
[QUOTE=Inner Stickler] **Instant Stickler** , eh? Hmm, it’s actually pretty descriptive. Maybe I need a name change. Instant Stickler! Just add water! [/QUOTE] Ooops. :: blush :: I _knew_ I shouldn’t have abbreviated your name on the samples… On the other hand, I’m not sure what this infamous Minnesotan accent people keep talking about is. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2007, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-samples-thread-how-do-you-say-it/427403/95 "2007-12-01T17:45:07Z")
Have you seen _Fargo_? That’s a perfect example of the stereotype. Think Scandinavian/Canadian ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2007, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-samples-thread-how-do-you-say-it/427403/96 "2007-12-01T17:47:58Z")
I couldn’t quite place \*\*Inner Stickler’s \*\* accent, but **CMYK** sounds like a friend of mine from Oregon. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Purl_McKnittington)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2007, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-samples-thread-how-do-you-say-it/427403/97 "2007-12-01T17:57:17Z")
Erm, yeah, about that Minnesota/Wisconsin accent. Maybe ten percent of the residents of the Upper Midwest have that accent. “Ja der hey” isn’t really as prevalent as any filmmaker will have you believe, and the closest you’ll get is a tendency to have a slight Germanic/Scandinavian flair on “yeah” and similar. It’s a little bit sing-songy and a little bit nasal, but not much “howsa 'bout dat.” **Inner Stickler** , I can’t detect an accent at all in your voice, which is another way of saying you sound like you come from the Upper Midwest. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2007, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-samples-thread-how-do-you-say-it/427403/98 "2007-12-01T22:53:52Z")
All I know is that when I visited Georgia, the natives would ask me to say boat and then laugh. All I could think was, “I don’t have the funny accent! You do!” Luckily my Minnesota nice prevented me from saying it out loud. I only ever hear myself sound Minnesotan when I say Minnesota for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2007, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-samples-thread-how-do-you-say-it/427403/99 "2007-12-02T02:34:01Z")
[QUOTE=Miss Purl McKnittington] Erm, yeah, about that Minnesota/Wisconsin accent. Maybe ten percent of the residents of the Upper Midwest have that accent. “Ja der hey” isn’t really as prevalent as any filmmaker will have you believe, and the closest you’ll get is a tendency to have a slight Germanic/Scandinavian flair on “yeah” and similar. It’s a little bit sing-songy and a little bit nasal, but not much “howsa 'bout dat.” [/QUOTE] r For what it’s worth, I wasn’t saying Minnesotans sound like Marge Gunderson but, if you want to hear a representation of the stereotype, that \*Fargo \*would be the best (easiest?) way. I’d probably direct someone unfamiliar with a Southern accent to, um . . . a Foghorn Leghorn short? I’m suddenly at a loss for a good representation of a stereotypical Southern accent in mass media. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2007, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-samples-thread-how-do-you-say-it/427403/100 "2007-12-02T05:55:37Z")
Can I play? Can I? Can I? I love listening to recordings. I love making recordings. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-samples-thread-how-do-you-say-it/427403.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-samples-thread-how-do-you-say-it/427403.md?page=6)