Posted on 11/25/2011 4:19:03 PM PST by blam
But the graph got it about right -- The West was first, twice as long as second. I am from the West.
I was born in Madrid, Spain. I know I have a very strong accent, it is something that I need to be very aware of when I am teaching. But the test says I have Midlands accent and calls it “no accent”. LOL!!!!
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That’s because you likely have a very good ear for “correct” English pronunciation that you emulate (as best you can not being a native speaker).
I’m a central Pennsylvania native and the test pegged me correctly. My mother was from Mississippi and Dad from Pennsylvania. We kids grew up calling carbonated beverages “soda-pop”—I guess incorporating a “standard” from each parent.
If they added questions such as how you say (or at least said when you were a kid) the plural of ‘you’ (in the part of Pennsylvania where I was raised they said ‘youens’ as in “Where are youens going?”) they could have narrowed it down further.
Normally, it takes long-term ingestion of the waters of the Charles River to induce the migration of your “r”s to the ends of your words.
I am from Indy, but the result was Philly accent.
I’m intrigued by certain “quirks” (to my ears) coming from various people I have heard:
“Chimbly” (Midweswtern Uncle)
“Missoura” (Missourians)
“Winda” (East Texan NASA engineer)
“What are you going do düe?” (Virgina and North Carolina)
Alternative attempt at spelling: “duay.”
I have found no good way to illustrate this through spelling.
It begins with the lips pursed (thus the umlaut approximation) and curls its way into a long “e” sound. It stretches out the final sound to about 1.18 syllables.
If you live on Austin’s north side, it’s:
“On Rundberg, Rutland, and Rutherford,
Rurricanes Rardly Rappen.”
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