# What American accent do you have? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 25, 2007, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373 "2007-01-25T04:42:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/81 "2007-01-25T14:31:08Z")
Wun’tat be “how _evah_”? (do not mistake with howeva) ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/82 "2007-01-25T14:32:24Z")
I’m also 90% smarter than Jerry Springer guests. Course I knew that because I know how to tie my shoes. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/83 "2007-01-25T14:36:51Z")
The Inland North. Born and bred in Alabama, but I’ve never sounded like it. My parents are so ashamed. ---
**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:** [January 25, 2007, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/84 "2007-01-25T14:37:20Z")
> [@](#): > > “North Central” is what professional linguists call the Minnesota accent. If you saw “Fargo” you probably didn’t think the characters sounded very out of the ordinary. Outsiders probably mistake you for a Canadian a lot. I do live in Minnesota, so I suppose this makes sense. **Sturmhawke** , I too rhyme bag with vague. However, I have always written with a p **e** n. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/85 "2007-01-25T14:52:51Z")
[QUOTE=pizzabrat] I got Midland, but the test lost its validity when it made me choose whether “on” rhymed with “dawn”, “don” or both. It rhymes with neither of them (which _are_ homophones). [/QUOTE] That threw me, too. I thought “on” was the closest. How did you wind up answering it? (I wonder if _that’s_ one of the identifiers for Philadelphia.) [QUOTE=twickster] Midland. And, despite the fact that I call myself a Philly gal – hell, I _am_ a Philly gal – I was born in Michigan and spent a few years in the upper Midwest. [/QUOTE] :eek: You mean to tell me _I’m_ more Philly than you? Well, sheeeyut. ---
**Author:** ![Aangelica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Aangelica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aangelica)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/86 "2007-01-25T15:10:29Z")
Apparently I’m from the Midlands, too. Weird. I grew up in Alaska as the child of a Texan and an ESL who learned English in Holyoak, Mass. However, Alaskan folks don’t have much in the way of an accent in general. Of course, now I live in New York - and while I have no real NY accent, I _do_ use NY figures of speech a whole lot. Such as “What? You fuckin’ kiddin’ me?” ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/87 "2007-01-25T15:21:45Z")
Your Result: The Inland North You may think you speak “Standard English straight out of the dictionary” but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like “Are you from Wisconsin?” or “Are you from Chicago?” Chances are you call carbonated drinks “pop.” No - I call it SODA, dammit!! ---
**Author:** ![jacob\_wrestling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/76d3ee/32.png) [@jacob\_wrestling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacob_wrestling)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/88 "2007-01-25T15:23:36Z")
The Midland. I guess I should look into that TV career. 😃 Not overwhelmingly surprising, as I’ve spent a large chunk of my life in Kansas. I was born and lived in Chicago until I was ten or so. That accent breaks through sometimes, mostly in the form of embarassingly nasal o’s and a’s. (I thought Kansans said “mom” _so strangely_ when I first moved) ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/89 "2007-01-25T15:34:41Z")
Test says “Midlands” for me. I went back and took it with a more Chicago-y accent in my mind, and it _still_ says Midlands. I grew up in Northern California but I’ve lived in the Midwest since 2002 (Chicago since 2003). When I go to California, my parents laugh at my Chicago accent (my dad thinks it’s hilarious when I call him “deeyad”) and in Chicago, my friends mimick my California accent. _shrug_ ---
**Author:** ![Watcher\_of\_the\_Skies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/45deac/32.png) [@Watcher\_of\_the\_Skies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Watcher_of_the_Skies)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/90 "2007-01-25T15:48:29Z")
Dead on, cool test. > [@](#): > > Your Result: Philadelphia > > Your accent is as Philadelphian as a cheesesteak! And my “horrible” rhymes with “hot” and not “whore”, still nailed me - go figure… ---
**Author:** ![Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/c4cdca/32.png) [@Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quiddity_Glomfuster)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/91 "2007-01-25T15:51:19Z")
[QUOTE=robardin] As for “Mary/merry/marry” – if there had been an option to say that “mary” and “marry” were the same but different from “merry” I would have gone with that. If I make a very fine distinction I can make/hear one between “Mary” and “marry”, as the name “Mary” can have slightly more of a dipthong to it when said, especially if stretching the “a” sound out for shouting (“HEY MAAARY! OVER HERE!”). [/QUOTE] This ‘Ma’ thing is fascinating to me. In my part of the world, ‘Mary’ and ‘Merry’ sound exactly the same and ‘Marry’ is different. The Ma sound for the first two is Meh (and ‘eh’ is not like the Canajun ‘ay’ but like the ‘e’ in ‘text’. Yep, I’d say ‘Mary’ and ‘Merry’ the way I’d say ‘text’. ‘Marry’ on the other hand is like ‘snack’. > [@](#): > > “North Central” is what professional linguists call the Minnesota accent. If you saw “Fargo” you probably didn’t think the characters sounded very out of the ordinary. Outsiders probably mistake you for a Canadian a lot. I thought the people in Fargo talked funny. It’s always interesting to me that people equate that accent with the Canadian accent. I’d say it’s much more ‘Midland’ or ‘generic TV announcer’. Not that Canadians have accents 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/92 "2007-01-25T15:52:44Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] Damn, Your Result: **The North East** Central Jersey born in NYC. [/QUOTE] Exact same result here. Spooky…! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/93 "2007-01-25T15:55:10Z")
[QUOTE=Gut] The West. I guess Western Canada counts as West. [/QUOTE] Ditto. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/94 "2007-01-25T15:56:38Z")
It pegged me as Midland, and while I was born there (Ohio), it is more likely due to all the phonics I teach to young grade schoolers (incl. K). They get pen/pin mixed up all the time. ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/95 "2007-01-25T15:59:07Z")
[QUOTE=koeeoaddi] That threw me, too. I thought “on” was the closest. How did you wind up answering it? (I wonder if _that’s_ one of the identifiers for Philadelphia.) :eek: [/QUOTE] I think the third option (they all rhyme). ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/96 "2007-01-25T15:59:28Z")
[QUOTE=Sofaspud] Apparently I should get a career as a DJ. “The Midland” here. Can someone who hears this difference possibly express it in text? Because I Just Don’t Get It. I’m trying to figure out different ways to say them and it ain’t working. I mean, I can hear (and even speak, heh) the difference betweey Mary/Marry and Merry. The latter is discernible, though slight. But between Mary and Marry? I’m confused. [/QUOTE] Mary rhymes with hairy, marry rhymes with carry, merry rhymes with berry. It is quite distinct to me. A as in “mate”, a as in “mat”, and e as in “met”. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/97 "2007-01-25T16:01:07Z")
[QUOTE=Aangelica] Apparently I’m from the Midlands, too. Weird. I grew up in Alaska as the child of a Texan and an ESL who learned English in Holyoak, Mass. [/QUOTE] Holyoke ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/98 "2007-01-25T16:11:23Z")
Another “The Northeast” result here. This reminds me of a conversation I had once with some locals while I was in Kentucky: They: Y’all talk really funny. That accent of yours… Me: Well, it’s a matter of what you’re used to. I don’t think I have any accent at all. They: Exactly…you sound just like them folks on the TV. Made sense. ---
**Author:** ![rackensack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@rackensack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rackensack)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/99 "2007-01-25T16:40:24Z")
[QUOTE=Pixiesnix] Midland accent. Raised in Arkansas, but moved to southern Illinois, so sounds right to me. Another quiz on the site sez I’m 100% true Arkansan, though. I’m so conflicted! [/QUOTE] Another Arkie, another Midland accent. Sounded like a refugee from Grapes of Wrath until I was in my teens, when I moved to Fayetteville and started hanging out mostly with professor’s kids from all over the country, among whom hick accents were most definitely declasse, so I more or less consciously eliminated the accent (I tend to be a natural mimic anyway – after a few weeks of working at a client site in Minnesota, I end up sounding like an extra from _Fargo_). My adult life has been spent in Atlanta, with lots of travel to other parts of the country, so my accent these days is about as homogenous as it gets. Only got 77% on the Arkie test, however – kept arguing with myself about whether to answer honestly or the way I thought the maker of the test would say an Arkie would. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/100 "2007-01-25T16:50:58Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] Having been raised in Texas, I feel qualified to admit and agree that a Texas accent is indeed rather annoying. [/QUOTE] Well, some Texas accents are worse than others. _Faux_ Texan (as spoken by, say, an Ivy Leaguer born in Connecticut) is the worst of all. I was raised in Texas by my native Houstonian mother & her mother, who came from Indiana. Grandma successfully protected two generations from the worst of the Texas accent; I test as “Midland.” (Although I can lay on the Texas accent better than those Ivy Leaguers.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373.md?page=6)