# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![Alma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Alma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alma)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/101 "2007-01-25T17:44:58Z")
[QUOTE=DanBlather] 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”. [/QUOTE] Midland accent here, with a slight midwestern twang that’s not really Southern and doesn’t seem to be on this test. I keep going over and over this, and I just can’t pronounce any of those words the way you describe. They are all homonyms to me, pronounced kind of like “bang.” ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Griffin-Kentzel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_griffin-kentzel/32/14787_2.png) [@Larry\_Griffin-Kentzel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Griffin-Kentzel)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/102 "2007-01-25T18:00:55Z")
Your Result: **The Northeast** > [@](#): > > Judging by how you talk you are probably from north Jersey, New York City, Connecticut or Rhode Island. Chances are, if you are from New York City (and not those other places) people would probably be able to tell if they actually heard you speak. Raised in the bayous of South Louisiana. Moved to New York City in 1969. 🙂 \*\* \*\* ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/103 "2007-01-25T18:02:24Z")
[QUOTE=DanBlather] Mary rhymes with hairy, marry rhymes with carry, merry rhymes with berry. It is quite distinct to me. [/QUOTE] You do realize that for some of us, all six of those words rhyme with each other - which makes the comparison meaningless. I wonder if people from the east coast have an easier time with spelling? I got midlands (wrong) and then west (right). I then spent time saying “Dawn” and “Don” I say the first at a slightly higher pitch and the tone rises slightly - so you can tell the difference, but its the same vowel. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/104 "2007-01-25T18:02:59Z")
Hmm. It gave me the Philadelphia one too, followed closely by Northeast. My parents are from Eastern PA but I grew up in New York State. But I know that my pronunciation is a melange. I always tease my friend who pronounces Mary, merry and marry all the same. And bury, Barry and berry. They had a dog who I think was named Barry but I could never get them to confirm since they pronounced Berry that way too. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slip\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f475e1/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slip\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slip_1)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/105 "2007-01-25T18:19:24Z")
Hmmm … born and reared in Texas. Fort Worth, specifically (so it’s north central Texan). The test pegged me as “Midland”. But, I have worked diligently to purge most Texan from my accent (I used to lecture, and it doesn’t pay to have a distinct accent of any sort, particularly Southern when lecturing up North). I’ve been told I have a mid-America radio announcer dialect. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/106 "2007-01-25T18:28:04Z")
It fell back on “The Midland” for me, too. I’ve made one brief visit (a couple of days) to one of the states they mentioned, and I grew up in a rural Louisiana town, not a big city. I do live in Dallas now, but my accent hasn’t changed appreciably since moving here–people in my home town always thought I talked funny. ---
**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:** [January 25, 2007, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/107 "2007-01-25T18:28:09Z")
Midland, but I see that my basic “Western” accent is being shaded by “Boston,” which is where my wife comes from. Then it gets hit with “The South,” which is where my mother came from. Makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/108 "2007-01-25T18:28:50Z")
Almost none. I’ve always been told I sound like a newscaster. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/109 "2007-01-25T18:32:23Z")
Posted too soon: according to the poll I’m Philadelphia (been there a few times but never picked up an accent). After that I’m equally South and Midland followed closely by Northeast, then a major dip to Inland North and another dip to Boston and The West with no North Central. Who the hell says bag in such a way that it rhymes with vague (or vice versa)? ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Machine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Ice\_Machine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Machine)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/110 "2007-01-25T18:47:06Z")
[QUOTE=Quiddity Glomfuster] 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 😛 [/QUOTE] It pegged me as North Central and since I did spend my first 24 years in Ontario the last part of their description is correct but I hated the accent in Fargo and didn’t think it sounded Canadian at all. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/111 "2007-01-25T20:22:04Z")
[QUOTE=Sarahfeena] It got me right…I am indeed a Chicagoan, and I definitely sound like one! [/QUOTE] I was born and raised in Cleveland, but I join you as a proud Inland Northerner. And yes, “pop” _is_ the proper term for a carbonated non-alcoholic beverage! ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/112 "2007-01-25T20:28:05Z")
[QUOTE=Sampiro] Who the hell says bag in such a way that it rhymes with vague (or vice versa)? [/QUOTE] My friend from Montana does. I have to really pay attention to context when she talks. She also mentioned that us East Coasters don’t say the “t” in words like mitten and kitten and she’s right. ---
**Author:** ![LadyMack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4491bb/32.png) [@LadyMack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LadyMack)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/113 "2007-01-25T20:36:08Z")
Lifelong Arkie here, tested Midland. I do try to spit out the grits before speaking to non natives. ---
**Author:** ![Walkabout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walkabout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walkabout)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/114 "2007-01-25T20:37:43Z")
Another midlander here. I have lived in West Virginia all my life, but my parents were Australian. They kept us from getting too much of a southern accent. ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/115 "2007-01-25T21:20:22Z")
According to the test, I have a midland accent. This is somewhat surprising as I grew up in Northern VA and have never been west of West Virginia, with the exception of an international flight where I switched planes in Texas. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/116 "2007-01-25T21:28:47Z")
I got the “Minnesotan, often confused with Canadian” tag, which is reassuring. The first syllable of “whore” is definitely not pronounced the same as “horrible.” Plus it’s a two syllable word. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/117 "2007-01-25T21:47:03Z")
The West??? I’m from Northern NY and now live in Upstate NY and while I don’t have that annoying New Yawk accent, I also don’t have that nasally Central NY accent either, so I guess I don’t have an accent. The only answer I changed was the “about” question. When I lived in Northern NY, I was more likely to pronounce it closer to the Canadian pronunciation. In that case, I was considered “North Central” according to the quiz. It wasn’t accurate for me except to say that I didn’t really have an accent. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/118 "2007-01-25T22:04:48Z")
I just took the quiz for Indiana (to which I moved in 2001) and got 95%. After being assured that “[n]o one will confuse you with a Buckeye, a Wolverine, a Kentuckian, or an Illinoisan”, I decided to test my ability to fit in elsewhere in the (greater) Midwest. Here are the results: 82% Ohioan – guess my lack of euchre experience outweighs 40-plus years as a resident of “The Heart of it All”. 31% from Michigan – Indeed, I’ve been to the “Water Winter Wonderland”, but have no illusions of being a true Michigander. 0% Kentucky – My friend Crystal, who’s from Bardstown and proud of it, will be relieved to know that I have no bluegrass in my blood, even though my mother was born in Alexandria and my brother lived in Louisville for a few months. 89% knowledgeable about Illinois – apparently the occasional trips to Evanston and Champaign in support of the Purdue women’s basketball team have familiarized me with the Prairie State to a degree greater than I had realized! Of course, the fact that I’ve been a geography/history nerd since childhood undoubtedly helped… ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/119 "2007-01-25T22:08:13Z")
Born and raised in Texas but the test says “West”. I guess I’m doing it wrong then. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373/120 "2007-01-25T22:53:49Z")
Midland. I have spent my entire life in Northern California, but that’s mostly the same (and, indeed, my West score was only slightly lower than my Midland score). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-accent-do-you-have/389373.md?page=7)