View Full Version : So, Which Regional U.S. Accent Annoys You The Most?
Kids, I've lived everywhere, up north, out west, and even in Tx & Yokelhoma, for a short time. But, nothing grates on my nerves like the smarmy, nasal superiority of a Great Lakes(Minn/Wis/Chicago accent. That, says it all about Those People! That of the Carolinas are a close second, and lets not even get into the Northeast-speak. May they soon secede! Third, are Seattle-ites, who overcompensate with a condescending attitude toward "flyover county people" and it's really, because they aren't hip/rich enough to live in Northern California! Ha. Sorry, but I hate them all. Hate, is good when you are justified. Well, isn't it? Anyway, these people I've described make a very poor impression on littlebittymee, and I don't have an original thought. Which means they annoy everyone outside their territory. See? Maybe there is some excuse for those people, but prolly not. THE most normal American-English is spoken in Kansas City, and I believe it. KC People, are cool, if for no other reason, and there probably isn't. Ha. Not making this up. Even scientists who study such things have said SO. What do you think? Should we build camps in the Utah desert, where they--the irritating people who have annoying regional accents and attitudes-- can be interned while we systematically eliminate all off Zem? Just wondering.
Did not know there was a speech "accent" or style for Seattle.
iris lilies
10-7-14, 1:54am
OP perhaps you would consider putting all of these topics that annoy you in the ongoing Peeve thread:
http://www.simplelivingforum.net/showthread.php?2788-The-Daily-Peeve-Rant&highlight=peeves
Or maybe just a hater thread.
littlebittymee
Is your name Bobby by any chance? Just wondering.
Well, I hate to be Pollyanna here, but I love all the regional accents. They're fun, and it's amazing how many there are. And just because you have a Southern accent doesn't mean you sound the same as a Texan or a Georgian or a Tennessean. They all have different versions of the Southern accent. I live smack between Philadelphia where they say "awn" for "on" and Eastern NJ where they get up and drink their caw-fee.
But I was raised in CT, and my accent is pretty normal (at least to me). When I went to my nephew's wedding in MN people I hadn't met before were disappointed I didn't sound like Carmela in The Sopranos. But I also LOVE the MN accent. And the Boston accent.
If we had only one dialect in this country it would be like listening to the 1812 Overture being played only with trumpets.
goldensmom
10-7-14, 7:44am
Well, I hate to be Pollyanna here, but I love all the regional accents. .
Pollyanna here too, I like them all. I didn't realize I had a 'mid-western' accent until told so by a southerner....my friend would mock my pronunciation of 'house....hoooooowse'. Then I would parrot my Canadian friend 'you've BEAN there?' I really like the 'Yooper' accent and use some of the pronunciation and phrases just because I like to. My great grandparents spoke Pennsylvania Dutch and that has filtered down the family so I use some of those phrases as well. Like them all. Fun.
Hey, coincidentally, this just popped up in my FB feed: play it to find out what accent you have. (Interestingly, I came out with a "Western" accent. Apparently, because of the expansion Westward in the 19th century, that area of the country became an amalgamation of all the Eastern/Southeastern accents and therefore it's the most universal American English dialect).
http://www.playbuzz.com/benjaminbirely10/which-american-accent-do-you-actually-have
Miss Cellane
10-7-14, 8:18am
Just FYI, the Chicago accent was considered the the model of standard American pronunciation in the last century.
IshbelRobertson
10-7-14, 9:08am
Interestingly, it says I have a New England accent! I had to just choose a fast food outlet as none of them have shops in the UK.
Everyone has an accent. There is something called General American English (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_American), which basically means English spoken without a pronounced regional accent, such as those found in the South and Northern New England. But it's a pretty porous definition. There are regional peculiarities of various kinds wherever you go, both in pronunciation and vocabulary.
Accents are in the ear of the beholder, so to speak. I grew up in the NYC suburbs and speak with what I would call the Greater New York Metropolitan Suburban Middle-Class accent. I always thought of myself as speaking pretty un-accented American English, with maybe a little New York intonation mixed in. But in grad school for a time I dated a young lady from Louisiana. One day she came to a lecture I gave, and afterwards I asked her what she thought. "I never realized," she said, "how much you sound like a yankee."
mtnlaurel
10-7-14, 10:31am
Interestingly, it says I have a New England accent! I had to just choose a fast food outlet as none of them have shops in the UK.
Life without 'a Krystals'*? ... Your innards will thank you :)
* 'a Krystals' is the singular of a small square burger with deliciously steamed bun, fully cooked until translucent onions, hint of mustard & strategically placed dill pickle coin (until modern day food scientist ruined the taste) from the proprietor, Krystal, founded in Chattanooga, TN http://krystal.com/company/our-story
As in, "I'm goin' to git a Krystals, you wont one?'
Needless to say - All Southern here on the quiz.
You might enjoy this ridiculousness Ishbel....
Here is one of my most favorite East TN super silly videos that hints at the Southern Appalachians Scottish heritage and the worship of our SEC ball team ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZuNmeo22oY
Although very silly, yes. Like the narrator, I can't help but get a lump in my throat when I see the Power T... too bad our team has stunk for eons, but the passion is still there.
iris lilies
10-7-14, 10:32am
Life without 'a Krystals'*? ... Your innards will thank you :)
* 'a Krystals' is the singular of a small square burger with deliciously steamed bun and fully cooked onions, hint of mustard & strategically placed dill pickle slice (until modern day food scientist ruined the taste) from the proprietor, Krystal, founded in Chattanooga, TN http://krystal.com/company/our-story
As in, "I'm goin' to git a Krystals'...
You mean, those copies of White Castle burgers? White Castle was the original.
iris lilies
10-7-14, 10:39am
I answered truthfully for my upbringing and came out Upper Midwest however I do say "ya'll" because I picked that up when I lived in New Mexico. I like that word very much, it sounds nicer and softer than than Iowa-speak "you guys."
I now say "soda" after living for 25 years in the lower Midwest with southern influences.
It's funny that they should mention Mary Merry and Marry because my friend and I were just discussing that. She pronounces them differently and when she does that, I can hear the differences, but I say all 3 words the same way. Yet, it bugs me when people say pen and pin the same. ugh.
mtnlaurel
10-7-14, 10:40am
You mean, those copies of White Castle burgers? White Castle was the original.
when I lived in White Castle territory, I would order No Ketchup, Add Mustard... they handed me mustard packets, no mustard squeeze bottle in back
Edit to Add: whoever came up with those delicious little steamed burgers, I hope has an extra fluffy cloud up in Glory.
They really don't taste as good now as I remember them though... (the Krystals that is, I do blame food science for that)... or maybe it's because I no longer drink and they were much tastier at 2 in the morning. The price of temperance!
I think the In & Out out West wins it on holding on to their ambiance for sure.
IshbelRobertson
10-7-14, 10:47am
Life without 'a Krystals'*?
Needless to say - All Southern here on the quiz.
You might enjoy this ridiculousness Ishbel....
Here is one of my most favorite East TN super silly videos that hints at the Southern Appalachians Scottish heritage and the worship of our SEC ball team ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZuNmeo22oY
Although very silly, yes. Like the narrator, I can't help but get a lump in my throat when I see the Power T... too bad our team has stunk for eons, but the passion is still there.
Interesting video.. But that's not football, that's American football! Real football is called soccer in the USA.
My accent is very similar to Maggie Smith in the film of Muriel spark's Jean Brodie... So not New England in the slightest!
mtnlaurel
10-7-14, 11:02am
You mean, those copies of White Castle burgers? White Castle was the original.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW0DUg63lqU
catherine
10-7-14, 11:08am
Interesting video.. But that's not football, that's American football! Real football is called soccer in the USA.
My accent is very similar to Maggie Smith in the film of Muriel spark's Jean Brodie... So not New England in the slightest!
I loved that movie, and the way Maggie Smith spoke. Ishbel, as small as Scotland is, there are a whole bunch of different accents there, wouldn't you agree? From the refined "Miss Brodie" to the very guttural to the Highlands kind that requires English subtitles!
I like 'em all.
I've always wondered if I seem to have an accent to people from other areas, being from the Rocky Mountain region. Most people I've asked say it's a pretty neutral speech pattern.
IshbelRobertson
10-7-14, 11:48am
Yes, our accents are many and varied, Weegies (affectionate term for Glaswegians), Borders folk, who have an amalgam of Scots and Geordie accent (Newcastle upon Tyne, England), the Aberdonian, whose natives hail from Furry Boots Toon, after the way they say 'furryboots ur ye fae' (where do you come from)'. And don't get me started on highland, zetlander and Orcadian!
A work colleague even said she could tell what side of Edinburgh someone came from! I wouldn't go that far...:D
You mean, those copies of White Castle burgers? White Castle was the original.Actually, White Castle was founded in um, Wichita, a market that they no longer have stores in. Correct me if I am wrong, but I rarely am. That said, here we have IrisLily, telling littlebittymee that this topic belongs under "peeves", where I just know it would be buried without a single response. Yet, she, being the Foodie, turns it into a burger thread! Ha. I've got an idea for a new business venture: A chainof drive-up restasurants for the extremely lazy fatmongerers called "Pick-A-Burger". We'd just have one kind of bacon-wrapped cheeseburgerburger, all hot n' ready n' greasy! As many as you want, instantly. It would be a huuuge success, don't you think?
Did not know there was a speech "accent" or style for Seattle.Ya Better Believe it. It's also combined with an attitude of superiority toward inlanders. I'm not trying to stir things up, here. Just trying to identify a problem, so we can start looking for a solution. Today, is indigineous peoples' day in See-I'm-Addled. Maybe they are feeling sooooo guilty about taking over from the Indians, that they are going to give it back. Doubtful. Which raises the question: Has your community had a "we stole this place from the Indians day", lately?Just Curious. Seattles try soooo hard to be socially-conscious NoCals, it is laughable. They overdo it.
Teacher Terry
10-7-14, 2:31pm
I am a proud person from Wisconsin that still has the Midwest accent even after years of living on the WEst Coast! I love all the accents. My DIL is from Poland & her accent is beautiful.
I could listen to a Georgian accent all day. So soft and lyrical.
I suppose I have a Texan accent, but I think it's muted by time away from Texas and living all over the country/world.
Is your name Bobby by any chance? Just wondering.Where the hxxx you been, lately, boy?
I took that test....and this Jersey girl has a north eastern accent.
One regional accent I don't like is the Brooklyn/Bronx/Staten Island one. IQs drop significantly when I hear it.
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