What American accent do you have?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around participants sharing their results from a quiz designed to identify American accents. The scope includes personal experiences with accents, perceptions of different American regional accents, and the influence of non-American backgrounds on accent acquisition.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants report scoring a "Western" accent, describing it as a neutral accent that may not necessarily indicate a geographical origin.
  • Others, including a participant from Australia, mention adopting an American accent influenced by interactions with Americans.
  • Several participants identify with the "North Central" accent, commonly associated with Minnesota, but express disagreement with the quiz's accuracy in labeling their accents.
  • There are mentions of the "Midland" accent being a neutral, widely imitated accent, with some participants noting their geographical origins and how it aligns or diverges from the quiz results.
  • Some participants express confusion or humor regarding their quiz results, particularly when they feel their actual speech does not match the identified accent.
  • Discussions also touch on perceptions of accents among different nationalities, with British and Canadian participants sharing their views on American accents.
  • There are playful exchanges about spelling and language use, highlighting differences in English usage among participants from various backgrounds.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally do not reach a consensus on the accuracy of the quiz results, with multiple competing views on what constitutes different American accents and how they relate to participants' actual speech. Disagreements about the quiz's validity and the nature of accents are evident throughout the discussion.

Contextual Notes

Some participants express uncertainty about the definitions of the accents discussed, and there are references to regional variations that may not be fully captured by the quiz. Additionally, the influence of non-American backgrounds on accent perception and acquisition is noted but remains unresolved.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in linguistics, accent studies, or cultural exchanges related to language may find this discussion relevant.

Evo
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What American accent do you have?

I scored - Western

Like Midland, Western is a default, neutral, sounds-good-on-the-evening-news accent. So you might not actually be from the West (but you probably are).

westzu0.jpg


http://www.youthink.com/quiz.asp?action=take&quiz_id=9827
 
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Though I am australia. Currently I have a fluent american accent, due to most germans I've spoken to here have wonderful american accents and I've just happened to adopt it. But i can't tell you where its from. maybe california cause most of there have been to california.
 
North Central

What people call the "Minnesota accent." Sounds almost Canadian. You may have even been asked if you were from Canada before.

What a WRONG quiz. I am don't talk at all like a Candian, eh.

I've heard the Minnesota accent, and I don't talk like that. Quiz BAD.
 
What American accent do you have? (Best version so far)

My Results:


full_230021243.jpg



Northeastern

This could either mean an r-less NYC or Providence accent or one from Jersey which doesn't sound the same. (People in Jersey don't call their state "Joisey" in real life)

I'm British, and thus don't know if this is even close to correct.
 
Western

Like Midland, Western is a default, neutral, sounds-good-on-the-evening-news accent. So you might not actually be from the West (but you probably are).

I'm not american, but from an "eastern" country.
 
Hah, it's way off. It thinks I have a Southern accent! But I'm from Michigan, I don't sound like those people from Ohio and Indiana! :-p

(Okay, okay, it called it "midland", but I figure if Ohioans are allowed to say I have a northern accent... :wink:)
 
matthyaouw said:
I'm British, and thus don't know if this is even close to correct.

I must be British too since I've got exactly the same result!:-p
 
cyrusabdollahi said:
North Central

What people call the "Minnesota accent." Sounds almost Canadian. You may have even been asked if you were from Canada before.

That, and...

siddharth said:
I'm not american, but from an "eastern" country.
...that.

:smile:
 
I've a Canadian accent. Sensible, since I'm Canadian.
 
  • #10
I got 'Midland', and I'm not even a Yank.
 
  • #11
cyrusabdollahi said:
North Central

What people call the "Minnesota accent." Sounds almost Canadian. You may have even been asked if you were from Canada before.

What a WRONG quiz. Im don't talk at all like a Candian, eh.

I've heard the Minnesota accent, and I don't talk like that. Quiz BAD.

I'm don't?:confused:
 
  • #12
Midland

("Midland" is not necessarily the same thing as "Midwest") The default, lowest-common-denominator American accent that newscasters try to imitate. Since it's a neutral accent, just because you have a Midland accent doesn't mean you're from the Midland.


Impressive...the map includes where I live.
 
  • #13
Danger said:
I got 'Midland', and I'm not even a Yank.
That's good; Yanks are from the Northeastern U.S. :-p
 
  • #14
North Central

What people call the "Minnesota accent." Sounds almost Canadian. You may have even been asked if you were from Canada before.

full_274031330.jpg


Go figure.
 
  • #15
Northeastern

This could either mean an r-less NYC or Providence accent or one from Jersey which doesn't sound the same. (People in Jersey don't call their state "Joisey" in real life)

I'm also British.
 
  • #16
Hurkyl said:
That's good; Yanks are from the Northeastern U.S. :-p

Only to other Yanks. To the rest of us, your whole damned country is full of 'em. :biggrin:
 
  • #17
Lisa! said:
I'm don't?:confused:

Hey, let's not have the farsi speakers correcting the native english speakers, MMAKAY??

Its Lisa :!)

Im don't need you correcting me, got it?...it was a typo.
 
  • #18
cyrusabdollahi said:
Hey, let's not have the farsi speakers correcting the native english speakers

You're not a native English speaker; you're a native Yank speaker. You probably spell 'colour' without a 'u'. :-p
 
  • #19
cyrusabdollahi said:
Hey, let's not have the farsi speakers correcting the native english speakers, MMAKAY??

Its Lisa :!)

Im don't need you correcting me, got it?...it was a typo.

I just wanted to make sure whether that was a typo or some structure that I've never heard of!:-p Although at 1st I thought Canadian speak this way!:rolleyes:

P.S. Heaven knows how many farsi speakers I've rejected because of misspelling or making such a mistakes while speaking/writing (in) English!:-po:)
 
Last edited:
  • #20
What American accent do you have? (Best version so far)

My Results:


full_428371978.jpg



Midland

("Midland" is not necessarily the same thing as "Midwest") The default, lowest-common-denominator American accent that newscasters try to imitate. Since it's a neutral accent, just because you have a Midland accent doesn't mean you're from the Midland.
Well, I'm from St. Louis, so it was right.

Incidentally, the St. Louis accent deviates from the Midland accent slightly. Words like "forty-four" become "farty-far," and "Washington" becomes "Warshington." Of course, it's mostly older people who have the "true" St. Louis accent (including my father). I've met exactly one person my age who speaks that way.
 
  • #21
Midland.

Hmm, I'm surprised a fellow countryman siddharth got Western. I thought all Indians sounded the same :rolleyes:
 
  • #22
arunbg said:
I thought all Indians sounded the same :rolleyes:
It also depends on the accents they put on, dood. :smile:
 
  • #23
arunbg said:
I thought all Indians sounded the same :rolleyes:

No, no, you twit; they all look the same. :rolleyes:

(Unless you want to count W, who is Cree. Through a minor navigational error a few hundred years ago, they are also referred to as 'Indians'.)
 
Last edited:
  • #24
Midland. Why didn't they have valley/Cali speak?
 
  • #25
What American accent do you have? (Best version so far)

My Results:


full_537664926.jpg



Northern

You have a Northern accent. That could either be the Chicago/Detroit/Cleveland/Buffalo accent (easily recognizable) or the Western New England accent that news networks go for.

Right on the money!
 
  • #26
I got Western, which is about as far off as you can get. I certainly don't talk like the people from Oklahoma and North Texas who have "flaars" instead of flowers and "awl" instead of oil. My first brother-in-law's mother was from S. Oklahoma and between the differing terminology, and the differing pronunciation of similar terminology, that woman caused me to say "pardon me?" on a pretty regular basis.
 
  • #27
Hypatia, you know that I love you, sweetie, but you have brought an entirely new dimension to your inability to spell. WTF?!

edit: Okay, cancel this post. The Dutchess of Dictionaries has apparently deleted her post that I was responding to.
 
Last edited:
  • #28
0TheSwerve0 said:
Why didn't they have valley/Cali speak?

Perhaps it has something to do with the lack of polysyllabic words?
 
  • #29
lol, I had the wrong code for this forum. Eh gads, spelling cops everywhere! They will never take me alive...TOP OF THE WORLD MOM!
 
  • #30
hypatia said:
They will never take me alive...

And they said that there was no 'upside' to being a necrophile. :rolleyes:
 

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