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What Kind of American Accent Do You Have?
The Economic Policy Journal ^ | 11-24-2011 | By Xavier Kun

Posted on 11/25/2011 4:19:03 PM PST by blam

What Kind of American Accent Do You Have?

November 24, 2011
Xavier Kun

To most Americans, an accent is something that only other people have, those other people usually being in New York, Boston, and the South. And of those other people, half of the ones you meet will swear they "don't have an accent."

Well, strictly speaking, the only way to not have an accent is to not speak. If you're from anywhere in the USA you have an accent (which may or may not be the accent of the place you're from). Go through this short quiz and you'll find out just which accent that is.

1. What is your age? Under 18 Years Old 18 to 24 Years Old 25 to 30 Years Old 31 to 40 Years Old 41 to 50 Years Old 51 to 60 Years Old Over 60 Years Old 2. What is your gender? Male Female

3. We're going to start with two ordinary words, "cot" and "caught." Do you think those words sound the same or different? Same Different Same, no wait I mean different, well, I don't know...

4. What about "don" and "dawn"? Same Different Same...ish. Maybe a little different.

5. OK, what about "stock" and "stalk"? Same Different Almost, but not quite, the same

6. Now then how do "collar" and "caller" sound? Same Different Almost, but not quite, the same

7. Do you think the word "on" rhymes with "dawn" or with "don"? dawn don Well, I don't think don and dawn sound any different in the first place so on would obviously rhyme with both

8. Moving on, what do you think about "Mary," "merry," and "marry"? All 3 sound different Mary and merry sound the same but marry is different from them All 3 sound the same

9. Our next word is "horrible." How does that first vowel sound? It's just like in the word "whore." It's the same "o" sound as in "hot." Neither one

10. Now for "pen" and "pin." Don't worry about what others say is correct, just tell us how they come out in an ordinary conversation. Same Different Close. Pen sounds almost, but not quite, like pin.

11. What about "feel" and "fill"? Same Different Well, I think they're different even though they sound very, very similar almost to the point of being the same

12. When you say "about," does the "ou" sound like the "ou" in "loud"? No Yes

13. Last question. When you say "bag" does it rhyme with "vague"? Yes No


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: accent; accents; language; linguistics; region; slang
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To: DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis

That’s cuz you Virginians are too close to yankee land.


201 posted on 11/25/2011 7:54:37 PM PST by Scotsman will be Free (11C - Indirect fire, infantry - High angle hell - We will bring you, FIRE)
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To: ROCKLOBSTER
Yeah, it’s a farce, it reads your IP address.

Hmmm. It pegged my northern inland accent from my just south of Boston IP addy.

202 posted on 11/25/2011 7:58:08 PM PST by j_tull (I may make you feel, but I can't make you think.)
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To: j_tull

So did your answers look just like mine?


203 posted on 11/25/2011 8:00:28 PM PST by ROCKLOBSTER ( Celebrate Republicans Freed the Slaves Month.)
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To: DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis

LOL....pegged me as Midland and I’m on the opposite coast! I’ve always said I didn’t have an accent but in Texas they said I did.


204 posted on 11/25/2011 8:28:20 PM PST by oldteen
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To: Dallas59
I'm in Dallas...Born and raised in Fort Worth...
What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North

About as accurate as the East Anglia world temperature records.

I am also "Inland North"
I have lived all my life in the San Francisco Bay Area.
WTF?

I have understood that most, if not all of the National TV Network broadcasters attempt to reflect the California "accent." I do know that when in the South and listen to local broadcasts, I often literally can't understand much of the dialog. Even some in DC.

205 posted on 11/25/2011 8:32:34 PM PST by Publius6961 (My world was lovely, until it was taken over by parasites.)
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To: RegulatorCountry
Haven’t heard “Buick” pronounced in that way. What geographic region does your dad call home?

He is from Alabama.

206 posted on 11/25/2011 8:42:13 PM PST by Sans-Culotte ( Pray for Obama- Psalm 109:8)
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To: Sans-Culotte

My folks who speak or spoke that way were in northwestern North Carolina.

If your dad is in northern or northeastern Alabama, it all might be an Appalachian dialect, likely attributable to the Scotch-Irish who settled the region in large numbers.


207 posted on 11/25/2011 8:49:43 PM PST by RegulatorCountry
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To: blam

I have all kinds of problems with English vowels, so much that strangers ask me where I’m from. I say I’m from Belgium. Or Ruthenia.


208 posted on 11/25/2011 8:52:55 PM PST by Revolting cat! (Let us prey!)
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To: Cyber Liberty; cripplecreek

Popcorn, poppop, soda pop, pop in fresh, popcycles.

Pop is totally different than soda. Soda is carbonation of some sort or something with. soda in it such as soda crackers. You misinformed eastern nuts.


209 posted on 11/25/2011 9:14:09 PM PST by Slip18
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To: blam

It’s right on:

The West: Your accent is the lowest common denominator of American speech. Unless you’re a SoCal surfer, no one thinks you have an accent. And really, you may not even be from the West at all, you could easily be from Florida or one of those big Southern cities like Dallas or Atlanta.


210 posted on 11/25/2011 9:24:03 PM PST by MonicaG (God bless our military! Praying and thanking God for you every day. Thank you!)
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To: beaversmom

Most of us speak American TV accent.


211 posted on 11/25/2011 9:29:42 PM PST by BunnySlippers (I LOVE BULL MARKETS . . .)
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To: blam

Inland north. Go figure, I have spent my whole life in southern California. Guess I failed.


212 posted on 11/25/2011 9:31:05 PM PST by Dawggie
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To: blam

I couldn’t fool them. Southern. LOL!


213 posted on 11/25/2011 9:54:14 PM PST by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped.)
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To: blam
What American accent do you have?
Your Result: The West
 

Your accent is the lowest common denominator of American speech. Unless you're a SoCal surfer, no one thinks you have an accent. And really, you may not even be from the West at all, you could easily be from Florida or one of those big Southern cities like Dallas or Atlanta.

The Midland
 
Boston
 
North Central
 
Philadelphia
 
The Northeast
 
The Inland North
 
The South
 
What American accent do you have?
Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Shucks! That done tickled me. They got it wrong on all counts!

214 posted on 11/25/2011 10:00:55 PM PST by Sarajevo (Is it true that cannibals don't eat clowns because they taste funny?)
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To: Charles Henrickson

I scored 100% Inland North. I have lived different places in my life but my accent is pure Chicago.


215 posted on 11/25/2011 10:10:37 PM PST by Inyokern
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To: Georgia Girl 2
"I couldn’t fool them. Southern. LOL! "

LOL. Me too.

216 posted on 11/25/2011 10:16:59 PM PST by blam
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To: blam
What American accent do you have?
Your Result: The Midland
 

"You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.

The West
 
North Central
 
The South
 
The Inland North
 
Boston
 
Philadelphia
 
The Northeast
 
What American accent do you have?
Quiz Created on GoToQuiz
Yep SE OHio
217 posted on 11/25/2011 10:47:03 PM PST by chris_bdba
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To: cripplecreek

I am going to fro up! Cyber is going to trick me one day and take me over to Uper Country and scare me to death.

Took the test: Lived in So. Cal. for 40 years, the test says I’m a North Easterner. What?


218 posted on 11/25/2011 10:47:52 PM PST by Slip18
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To: RegulatorCountry

No it is RUE-END


219 posted on 11/25/2011 10:48:59 PM PST by chris_bdba
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To: blam

Oddly, it didn’t ask about the letter “R” which does not exist on my vocabulary, but it did get my Boston accent correct.


220 posted on 11/25/2011 11:00:56 PM PST by copwife (All God's creatures have a place in the choir!)
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