Do you have an accent?

We do pronounce some words differently than the general population here. Those words tend to the more country / twangy aspect of Kansas City (ve-HI-cle comes to mind). Somehow my aunt managed to raise her children in Pittsburgh and you'll never hear a "youns" or "gawd" out of them, so I'm sure it can be avoided.

And we say soda ....

[Vanquisher]

Re: Do you have an accent?

I really don't think so, but that depends on where YOU are from, right?

I adopt a little bit everywhere I go, like "ya'll". It's a very useful all-purpose word. I think Utah is pretty accentless with a few backwoods exceptions that I managed to avoid. I did grow up in like suburbia, ya know? Like, totally.

I don't even say "Oh my heck!" anymore. Wow, I have grown so much.

[poky]

Re: Do you have an accent?

I mostly lost it the PNW which is an accentless culture.

...or IS it?!

http://www.artsci.washington.edu/nwenglish/index.asp

I've filled out the form to join the study; my parents both grew up in the PNW, and I've lived there all my life till 6 months ago. I remember being made fun of in college for how I said "bag".

[rainbabies]

Re: Do you have an accent?

i have been told before i do, but it's not bad. living here, and hearing the southern drawl, cracks.me.up.

[Phoebe]

Re: Do you have an accent?

Not that I know of, but I say "pop".

[alison]

Re: Do you have an accent?

I mostly lost it the PNW which is an accentless culture.

...or IS it?!

http://www.artsci.washington.edu/nwenglish/index.asp

I've filled out the form to join the study; my parents both grew up in the PNW, and I've lived there all my life till 6 months ago. I remember being made fun of in college for how I said "bag".

I took a class with Prof. Wassink. I loved her class and she's a fabulous lecturer. I learned so much. I don't think I can join the study. I have been living in Chicawgo too long, and have adopted parts of the dialect. I've become very nasal.

[poky]

Re: Do you have an accent?

Really interesting (well, to me) article about PNW dialect (Portland in particular, but a lot of it applies to Seattle, too), linked to from that study site:

http://www.pbs.org/speak/seatosea/ameri ... northwest/

Some of it is SO true. I already mentioned the bag thing; I do pronounce bag and beg *almost* (but not quite) identically. And I'd never consciously realized it, but "book" and "pool" are two *totally* different vowel sounds for me, too, and "boot" is somewhere inbetween them.

Wild.

[alison]

Re: Do you have an accent?

It's very interesting, Sandy! I agree! I don't have the y-glide. Bag and beg are two different-sounding words, but caught and cot are exactly the same!

Re: Do you have an accent?

Really interesting (well, to me) article about PNW dialect (Portland in particular, but a lot of it applies to Seattle, too), linked to from that study site:

http://www.pbs.org/speak/seatosea/ameri ... northwest/

Some of it is SO true. I already mentioned the bag thing; I do pronounce bag and beg *almost* (but not quite) identically. And I'd never consciously realized it, but "book" and "pool" are two *totally* different vowel sounds for me, too, and "boot" is somewhere inbetween them.

Wild.

My bff who grew up outside of Seattle says "beg" for "bag". Same for tag. Will you put all of your tegs in a beg? I hear a touch of that in my kids but to the same degree.

I grew up in Denver, which I would consider to be essentially without accent.

[alison]

Re: Do you have an accent?

Come to think of it, Nellie and Sandy, I think my best friend says beg instead of bag. And teg.

I read that in Seattle, people have a sharp s, and "creaky" voices. Ssssseattle.

[DCJenn]

Re: Do you have an accent?

Probably- somewhere between Pittsburgh (lived there until 2nd grade, Maryland (which is not Baltimore which is more like the 'burgh but scarier) and a little southern twang thrown in.

Jenn

Re: Do you have an accent?

I still have my Texas twang and am proud of it!!

[Rapunzel]

Re: Do you have an accent?

I honestly don't know.

I don't think I have an accent - but you are all going to have to listen to me on the videos I posted and tell me if I do or not.

:huh:

[Rapunzel]

Re: Do you have an accent?

I must have picked up that accent from frequently speaking Baby-ese (which I am QUITE fluent in).

Re: Do you have an accent?

Some words and the cadence of my speech is Southern. However, rarely asked where I'm from so I think my accent isn't really strong. Grew up in Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, have lived in North Carolina and Alabama so it's there. However, my dad was originally from the Great Lakes so perhaps that mitigated my accent? :huh:

That said, I had a student last week ask where I was from.