Which words reveal your regional accent when you think you have none?

[Amy10223]

In Ohio, people can actually tell I'm not from here. They say I have a NJ accent. I don't think I have a Jersey accent, I grew up in NY and so I would think I sound more like that. I don't say, New Joisey, for example. And some of those accents from Jersey City and the shore are the most prominent in my opinion.

So--what words give you away? When I say "coffee" "daughter", "insurance", "water" and some other words, that's what gives me away but I think I have no accent at all. People here say "INsurance instead of InSURance, like I say.

I love the NYC accent, it's funny and rough sounding. If you want to hear a true NY accent, look at the movie "The Taking of Pelham 123" where Walter Matthau and Jerry Stiller are undeniably from there. Its really hilarious.

[RFC1872]

Road-Rude

Light-Luyt

Phone--Fewn

Water--Wooter

Eagles-Iggles

'Youss'

Delaware/PA--Mid-Atlantic

Mother is from there and I lived there for a while when I was a child. Never thought I had an accent. Then some random guy asked me where I was from in Pennsylvania.

A state that I haven't lived in for 30 years.

[Amy10223]

Wow, that's unusual. I thought you were from Scotland when you wrote those out!

[RFC1872]

Youtube search--Aunt Mary Pat DiSabatino. That guy nails it.

[Amy10223]

I did. "She" was hard to understand.

[loveslongnails]

Currently, I'm traveling in Europe. It doesn't matter where I am, or which country I'm visiting, everyone knows I'm not European. Many have complimented me by saying
" You must be Canadian, you're too nice to be from the US". LOL

[Amy10223]

Unfortunately that’s the view they have of Americans. We are loud, boisterous, crazy, and rich.

[loveslongnails]

That depends a lot on where you go nowadays. The average European understands that not everyone from the USA supports Trump, and they will ask you "so what do you think of Trump", if they are interested in knowing your opinion, before they judge you! Additionally, they understand that there are tourists, long-term visa people, and ex-pats. If you've moved to their country recently, they seem to know why you did without asking, but they DO love to ask!

[Amy10223]

But it’s generally the case. Yes, not all. I once once outside Tokyo station and looking around for a taxi, and I heard a foreign father say to his family, “Let’s get there now before the crazy Americans do.” Not knowing I was American, or he saw me and didn’t care.

[Amy10223]

PS My Japanese friend asked his Saudi friend what did he think of Trump, and the Saudi man said he’s okay. Then another Japanese friend told me he can’t stand Trump. Most Japanese are shocked at what he does when I tell them, and most of them are not interested in politics around the world.
The UK is smart enough, and Holland people as well as Greenland and Canada, know that he’s crazy.

[loveslongnails]

True enough. I also run into quite a few people who only know little bits and pieces they hear on the news, and they don't know the extent of what's going on. They're shocked enough just hearing the small stupid stuff, let alone the impact it's having on the entire US economy and the world.

[abc3643]

I have a native NY accent but generally do not use it as I live in the midwest now. However, when I get to the NYC area, my accent switches back on.

Also, I am getting older now. My brain is subconsciously saying "fuck it" and so I let my native accent come out more around my wife in our home. (She is native to where we live in Missouri.)

For example, I will say "cawfee" and "dawg" and maybe "awfiss" like a native NYCer more than I used to. Of course, there's also the NYC jargon. For instance, even though we don't live there anymore, if I say "the city", my wife knows I mean Manhattan or if I say "inbound" or "outbound", she knows I mean going into the city or going away from the city. She lived with me in upstate NY for 12 years, so she learned a great deal from me who was born in Queens and grew up in Nassau County.

That said, I've adopted some accented words from this area to be more fluent with my wife. For instance, here, many people say "warsh" for "wash" as in the capital of the USA is "Warshington DC" or "Do you have any clothes you want me to put in the warsh?".

Yeah, "The Taking of Pelham 123" is very good.
The late great Tony Roberts as Warren, the Deputy Mayor, was great.
And the guy who played the Mayor Al was so reminscent of Ed Koch 3 years before Ed became the Mayor. You can't help but wonder if the guy was cast with Ed in mind.
It's currently free on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhwsTOwRkNU

What's great about this particular scene is that it is very New York.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXi_VrFakL0

The accents, the nature of the conversation, the "cut the bullshit and stop fucking around".
THAT's New York and the characters in this scene - especially Tony Roberts and the Mayor and his wife (*) - epitomize that.

(*) The wife is played by the late, great Doris Roberts who was Marie Barrone, Ray's mother, on "Everybody Loves Raymond".

[purplepoppy]

Everyone has an accent, it's just some are more famous and distinctive. It's usually the dialect words and phrases that give you away. Herenin Pembrokeshire its stuff like,
Chopsy -talks a lot
Cobnobble - hit on the head
Cluster- smack on the ear
Slop- gap in a hedge
Dicky - not feeling well

[Amy10223]

I'm thinking those are regional words where you're from. Cobnobble? lol. I would never understand that.
Here is what we call those words in the states: 1. Chatterbox or blabbermouth 2. Smacked 3. clipped? not sure. 4. gap or space 5. under the weather.
I think there are so many different dialects and accents from the UK. People comment especially on the Yorkshire accent, Liverpool or the one from Cornwall. I have another question coming up on what do you call... and a description is given of something. Coming up! Do join us.

[Amy10223]

youtube.com/shorts/mFNZ8-Tbi30?si=dfLfW5uA-Bm4w84F

[MrChinaski]

I use long 'a' sounds /ɑː/ in dance, graph, and so forth, rather than the short /æ/. Common in England, uncommon in Australia... English guards at Windsor Castle thought I was English.

[MrChinaski]

I've heard an old Bostonian accent does this too, maybe?

[Amy10223]

Don’t you mean short vowel songs as in dance and graphic? Long a is found in words like bake, slay, sleigh, prey, and break.

[MrChinaski]

Long like bark, not short like back. Kind of.

[MrChinaski]

barn vs ban is probably clearer

[Amy10223]

Ok. The a in bark is an r- controlled a, so you say r. R controls all vowels; or, ur, er, ir and ar.
You must say dance like an English person would, if you sound English. Somewhere between dance and donce.

[Amy10223]

But what word are you saying, ban or barn?

[MrChinaski]

ban is ban and barn is barn. But words like dance, trance, enhance, enchant, can't, staff, etc contain an 'ar' sound, sought of.

[Amy10223]

That’s hard to imagine, for me.

[Abbycado]

There aren’t many in PA where my hometown is. Further south, oh boy…

[Amy10223]

Really? I know that my sister now has an accent after having lived there for many years, but I can't tell if it's a Jersey accent. She was raised there since she was young, while I lived in NY and then moved to NJ when I was 17.

[Abbycado]

I live in northern PA by the lake (when not at school). Pittsburgh has some whacky ways of pronouncing and words in general.

[Amy10223]

I've not been in Pittsburgh, but I know Bath, PA, close to Allentown.

[Abbycado]

That’s on the other side of the state of my hometown. The closest I get to there is at school in the middle of the state at State College, PA.

[Amy10223]

Oh, I see.

[Iron_Man]

https://voca.ro/1dUaLIejB8bk

[Amy10223]

Nice tool there. Can you say, coffee, water, daughter, crayon, toilet, aunt, New York, and Florida? And can you say, "We're gonna (going) go back to the house and chill for a minute?"

[Iron_Man]

OK, that’s a lot of work but OK

[Iron_Man]

I can’t look at the screen and say all that on the voicemail I’m really tired now I’m gonna take a nap. It’s like an actor trying to memorize his lines, but I’ll say a few words because you asked

[Iron_Man]

https://voca.ro/1er539NGelQt

[Amy10223]

I'm so sorry, I meant on that recording tool you used the first time.

[Amy10223]

Thank you for that.

[Amy10223]

I don't know where you are from, But I will take a guess by process of elimination! You're not from the south, as in the Deep South, you're not from the northeast but I think you are from the east coast. You have a light lisp on the s sound. You pronounce "aunt" like "ant". I'mg going to say you're a Florida native, or from Philly. LOL

[Amy10223]

https://voca.ro/1317Cth21Mug

[Iron_Man]

Thanks for the voicemail. Yes, I’m from the East Coast Florida. But I don’t think I have a lisp, but I say aunt different from you I’ll do another one

[Iron_Man]

https://voca.ro/16G8ntAhMilh

[Amy10223]

Do you are from NYC and not Florida? Aha. I knew it was east coast. You drag your SS at the end of words.

[Iron_Man]

I don’t live in New York City. I came to Florida at six months old from Portugal and I’ve lived here my whole entire life. My father was in the Air Force. We are Swedish Americans. I don’t have a New York accent

[Iron_Man]

My father was in the United States Air Force and happened to be stationed in Portugal for a while when I was born

[Amy10223]

I know you’re in Florida, but you said you were from NYC in the voicemail. Interesting that you’re Swedish American.

[Iron_Man]

No, I’m just talking about what you wanted me to say in the voicemail of course I’m not from New York City i’ve only been there twice. I’ve never lived there and that was for vacation.

[Amy10223]

Funny message.

[Amy10223]

I see, okay. It was to see where I could guess you are from.

[OneViewpoint]

"R's" and "L's". Listen for the R's" and "L's".

Then listen for the emphasis. IN-surance. VE-hicle.

Listen for the "L's".

Listen for the pace.

[msc545]

I'm in Southern California. I don't think I have any accent at all, actually.

[Amy10223]

Loonger vowels, words kind of drawwwwn out?

[msc545]

No, not really.

[Amy10223]

And you've been there all your life? Most from LA talk like that, they exaggerate their vowel sounds.

[Sevenpointfive]

noooo, nooot realllly. i heard it! congrats

[msc545]

No, not at all

[msc545]

I'm from La and I've been here all my life. I don't think anyone I know here speaks like that

[Amy10223]

youtube.com/shorts/j3DoV-b0Yh0?si=Q8xVYoBPh6JSdbFl

[msc545]

Nobody here actually speaks like that. That's just exaggerated valley speak.

[Sevenpointfive]

they do here in texas. they are still from the valley lol

[bananathunder]

I probably have a similar accent but don't notice it lol

[Amy10223]

A similar accent to NY or the midwest?

[bananathunder]

midwest

[Amy10223]

I didn't know they had accents, but I hear some sound like they are from the south. There is an accent close to where there is a trail, I forget the name.

[bananathunder]

are you talking about the West Virgina area? I'm more northern PA

[Amy10223]

Yes, near W VA. Ah, I remember now. The Appalachia people or those who lived near the Appalachian trail have a twangy accent. It’s very notable.

[bananathunder]

Yeah they have a heavy one. Sound like that guy on king of the hill lol

[Amy10223]

Yes. Sounds almost like they’re from Tennessee.

[bananathunder]

Exactly. I had to stop at a hospital in that area once and I couldn't understand what my Dr was saying lol

[Amy10223]

Right, I know what you mean. They have a lot of people here from Kentucky too, or maybe Tennessee, that have moved here, that's why I thought they have accents here. I think the hardest accent to understand is the Scottish accent.
youtube.com/shorts/y0cXjpEXKXI?si=sQdCQQH_6Ah2_adV

[bananathunder]

yeah that one isn't as common around here though lol

[NathanDavis]

anything in Spanish...