# What & Why was the Puritan "Nasal Whine"?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-why-was-the-puritan-nasal-whine/535441>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 8, 2010, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-why-was-the-puritan-nasal-whine/535441 "2010-04-08T18:20:17Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Wikipedia_Cites)\
**Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-why-was-the-puritan-nasal-whine/535441/1 "2010-04-08T18:20:17Z")

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\*The peculiarities of the Puritan, his look, his dress, \*\*his dialect, \*_his strange scruples, had been, ever since the time of Elizabeth, favourite subjects with mockers_

\*What were then considered as the signs of real godliness, the sadcoloured dress, the sour look, the straight hair, \*\*the nasal whine, \*\*the speech interspersed with quaint texts, the Sunday, gloomy as a Pharisaical Sabbath . . . \*

–Macaulay, History of England  
What was the puritan 'nasal whine?" Why would Englishmen of certain religious beliefs affect (or have) a special method of speaking?

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**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\
**Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-why-was-the-puritan-nasal-whine/535441/2 "2010-04-08T18:59:08Z")

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Seems to have been a [regionalism associated with parts of East Anglia (and later with Puritan settlers in America):](http://www.30pov.com/2010/02/09/complexity-of-the-yankee-twang/)

> [@](#):
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> Picture it: 17th Century East Anglia, England. Folks in that area spoke with (and in some of the region still speak with) a certain high-pitched, nasal accent known as the “Norfolk Whine.” Between 1629 and 1641, English Puritans moved in abundance to Massachusetts. Fleeing what they considered unfit conditions at home, the Puritans desired to setup a new life, based on old values. The majority of Massachusetts’ Puritans came from East Anglia. The accent they brought with them mixed in with certain other influences in America, and that resulted in the accent we all know and love (or at least know and mock).

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**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2010, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-why-was-the-puritan-nasal-whine/535441/3 "2010-04-09T16:13:55Z")

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A very good book on the culture(s) of the first English settlers of the New World is “Albion’s Seed” by David Hackett Fischer. He traces four important immigrant groups (including the Puritans), their folkways, and their lasting influence on American culture. Fascinating.

The Puritans brought the distinctive dialect and accent of the area in England they came from, and that accent and dialect lasted much longer in America than it did in Britain (because colonies in general tend to have very conservative cultures). The Puritan whine became the modern Yankee drawl, so there’s an indication of what it sounded like.