# Which American accent do you have? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 20, 2013, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-american-accent-do-you-have/658850 "2013-05-20T18:26:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-american-accent-do-you-have/658850/101 "2013-05-21T10:15:21Z")
> [@](#): > > Which American accent do you have? > > Northeast New England > > The kind of accent they have in Boston. There is more to it than just r`s. Like, you say "don" and "dawn" the same while the people down in NYC don`t. Um born and raised in Houston Texas, never left until I was an adult. My dad was from Alabama and my mom from Germany. ---
**Author:** ![deltasigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@deltasigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltasigma)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-american-accent-do-you-have/658850/102 "2013-05-21T10:25:06Z")
If you don’t have an accent, it seems to peg you as NE. I spent my early childhood in the deep south in an area that didn’t have the typical southern drawl. It’s hard to describe. Anyway, in reading the description it said > [@](#): > > This could either mean an r-less NYC or Providence accent or one from Jersey which doesn’t sound the same. Just because you got this result doesn’t mean you don`t pronounce R's.(People in Jersey don`t call their state “Joisey” in real life) I’m not sure which question they got the r-less thing from though since I definitely pronounce them. I did select ‘different’ for almost every question that asked that though except for the ones with multiple choices for each pronunciation. So I think if they don’t know what to do with you, this where you get tossed. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-american-accent-do-you-have/658850/103 "2013-05-21T10:59:55Z")
It classified me as mid-Atlantic. I spent the first 46 years of my life in Baltimore. Southern Ohio hasn’t affected my speech much in 13 years. ---
**Author:** ![gardentraveler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gardentraveler/32/3576_2.png) [@gardentraveler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gardentraveler)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-american-accent-do-you-have/658850/104 "2013-05-21T11:09:53Z")
Northern. Born in lower Michigan; have lived in Columbus for :eek: almost 30 years. Sounds pretty accurate to me. ---
**Author:** ![Zyanthia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Zyanthia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyanthia)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-american-accent-do-you-have/658850/105 "2013-05-21T11:56:44Z")
Which American accent do you have? Neutral I want an accent darn it! ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-american-accent-do-you-have/658850/106 "2013-05-21T13:07:29Z")
Surprise: Philadelphia. I was born in Philly grew up there, went to college and grad school at Penn and then left at age 25 1/2. ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-american-accent-do-you-have/658850/107 "2013-05-21T13:17:24Z")
I’m a neutral which makes sense considering where I’ve lived in the St. Louis region the last few decades and was born near Cincinnati. I did spend 4 years in New Mexico and 4.5 years in England. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-american-accent-do-you-have/658850/108 "2013-05-21T13:25:24Z")
Neutral, but I’ve lived in Cincinnati, my brother lives in Pittsburgh, and been exposed to a lot of the places on the “neutral” region map, and would say that none of them sound like me at all. FWIW, my accent is an amalgam of having lived and worked extensively in California, Seattle, Washington, DC, Atlanta, Florida and Germany. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-american-accent-do-you-have/658850/109 "2013-05-21T13:27:03Z")
Also for a lot of the questions I had to sort of think “well that depends”. I mean, at work or at the family reunion? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-american-accent-do-you-have/658850/110 "2013-05-21T13:40:17Z")
I got Mid-Atlantic. I was raised in New York State but my parents are from eastern Penna so I guess it makes sense. But even within that we’re inconsistent, e.g., “cahffee” but “dawg” and “tawk”. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-american-accent-do-you-have/658850/111 "2013-05-21T13:42:46Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Um born and raised in Houston Texas, never left until I was an adult. My dad was from Alabama and my mom from Germany. I don’t think this has a Texas accent option; I’m born and raised in Houston as well (Alief area), and my Dad’s family is from the Galveston area for something like 7 generations on one side, and 2-3 on the other, and my mom’s family is from Illinois originally, but she grew up in Galveston as well. The test said I was “Western”, or if I tweaked a couple of answers that I wasn’t sure about, I come out as “Neutral”. I sound neither “Western” nor “Neutral”- I sound pretty much like a guy with a light SE Texas accent. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-american-accent-do-you-have/658850/112 "2013-05-21T13:53:26Z")
I’m from Peru and I got Northeastern. I learnt English primarily from US nuns from Philadelhpia and then spent several years teaching with British books. ---
**Author:** ![FrancisCastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b4bc9f/32.png) [@FrancisCastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrancisCastle)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-american-accent-do-you-have/658850/113 "2013-05-21T15:44:37Z")
Northern. I think I would have skewed Yooper accent if they had that as an option. I’ve lived in NE Wisconsin all my life. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-american-accent-do-you-have/658850/114 "2013-05-21T15:49:21Z")
My result was “neutral”, as I suspected it would be. I have lived in the South (in or near Nashville, Tennessee) all my life, but I do not have the stereotypical accent. Actually, quite a number of people that I know do not speak with a southern accent. ---
**Author:** ![AngelSoft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angelsoft/32/440_2.png) [@AngelSoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelSoft)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-american-accent-do-you-have/658850/115 "2013-05-21T15:54:52Z")
I must have done something wrong because it says I have a Minnesota accent, which makes no sense. I’m sure I answered everything accurately but I know that’s not my accent as I’ve never lived anywhere but the south and the west. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-american-accent-do-you-have/658850/116 "2013-05-21T16:04:57Z")
☹ I’ve worked very hard for years to have a neutral, American accent. According to this test, though, I have a ‘Western’ accent. Oh well…at least it’s not a South Western/hispanic accent, which is what I’ve really tried to lose. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-american-accent-do-you-have/658850/117 "2013-05-21T16:14:19Z")
Northern. Which is weird. I expected Southern, or perhaps Mid-Atlantic. I am from Virginia, with parents from NH and GA. I think most people who have heard me would have said Southern. ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-american-accent-do-you-have/658850/118 "2013-05-21T16:43:43Z")
I was peg as neutral. We moved around the world until I turned 15, so I guess “neutral” must reflect the amalgamation of all the accents I heard from the others on the base. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-american-accent-do-you-have/658850/119 "2013-05-21T16:49:10Z")
It told me “neutral” but I have a southeastern Pennsylvania/Philly-lite accent when I speak. I was raised by parents who aren’t from around here, though, and I credit their presence for mitigating the development of my regional accent, because, frankly, I think it’s butt ugly. IMO, the Philadelphia and Baltimore accents are the ugliest accents in America. ---
**Author:** ![RickG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rickg/32/5174_2.png) [@RickG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickG)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-american-accent-do-you-have/658850/120 "2013-05-21T17:15:13Z")
Mine came up Philadelphia. Frankly, I was amazed. Although I was born there, we moved away when I was 12 (more than 3 decades ago). I’m pretty sure the giveaway is “horrible”. Fun stuff. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-american-accent-do-you-have/658850.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-american-accent-do-you-have/658850.md?page=7)