# Do you have an accent?



## Andre (Feb 27, 2004)

Pick yes or no or not sure.


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## Amocholes (Nov 5, 2003)

Everybody has an accent. It just depends on who is listening. I live in Ohio and we have an accent which is notable by it's lack of an accent. It's the accent used by news people and announcers all over the country.


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## MrShow (Nov 17, 2003)

I have a southern accent even though its hard for me to tell because everybody else has one here


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## Jackie (Jan 8, 2004)

new england accent or something :stu


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## Dreamcatcher (Nov 8, 2003)

Amocholes said:


> Everybody has an accent. It just depends on who is listening. I live in Ohio and we have an accent which is notable by it's lack of an accent. It's the accent used by news people and announcers all over the country.


Yep.


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## suppressed (Apr 19, 2005)

Yeh I got the Eastern accent I guess... I used to live in CT, then moved to Maine for a little bit before living in Mass, but Ive always been in the East . my family (who all live west ) alll make fun of my eastern accent ..

and I still think its wrong that my aunt wants me to call her "ant" :con









~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Everyone was laughing at me, and I was like shutup guys !!, I look good !."~ Amy Lee ~
http://www.myspace.com/suppressed_hannah


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## Laura (Nov 12, 2003)

...


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## heavymetal (Jan 28, 2005)

I have a Northern Midwestern accent, if you want to call it that.


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## ghostgurl (Sep 20, 2004)

How should I know? Do Californians have accents? I suppose everyone has an accent though.


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## mserychic (Oct 2, 2004)

I have a sort of southern accent.. though seeing as I've always lived in Ca I have no idea where it came from or why :stu


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## Drella (Dec 4, 2004)

I don't have the accent of my area, so no. I just have an over all, bland, American accent.


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## Molten Universe (Feb 17, 2005)

I have many accents.


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## Nyx (Nov 17, 2003)

Slight, slight Spanish accent when I say certain words...


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## OneIsALonelyNumber (Mar 28, 2005)

Last week I went to Walmart to get my "OUL" changed and my "TARES" rotated, so I guess I do have an accent on some words.


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## enlydiazee (Feb 20, 2004)

thanks Amocholes...for that info...I wondered why I sounded like all the newscasters on TV :lol


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## cakesniffer (Nov 11, 2003)

I'm from Boston, what do you think? I pahk my cah in Hahvid Yahd. Ok, I don't really, I don't have a car or a cah... :b


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## daphne (Dec 4, 2004)

Nobody has ever told me that I have an accent! Plus everyone on tv talks the same way that I do.  But I know that to people from other parts of the country (down south or wherever) probably say that I'm the one with the accent! It's all a matter of perspective


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## mystic2102 (Mar 4, 2005)

I would like to think I still have my NJ accent but I think it is slowly fading... I am trying hard not to lose it tho. I don't want to sound like a *******. :no


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## Fly (Apr 9, 2004)

Yes. A strong south-eastern Dutch accent. Proud of it too. 

When speaking English, hmm, probably have a Dutch-English accent. (or should I say "Duts-Inglish eksunt")


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## Lonelyguy (Nov 8, 2003)

Plain old boring midwest accent with a touch of *******. Around here some people pronounce "wash" as "warsh". They warsh their cars and warsh their dishes in the dishwarsher. :lol And instead of batteries we have "batrees". I don't talk that way though.


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## VoxPop (Nov 9, 2003)

Amocholes said:


> Everybody has an accent. It just depends on who is listening. I live in Ohio and we have an accent which is notable by it's lack of an accent. It's the accent used by news people and announcers all over the country.


You live in Ohio and you don't think you have an accent? :cig My girlfriend hails from there and there's defintely an accent when people from Ohio speak, it's a slight one but it's still an accent. I had a hard time understanding some guy from Cleveland, but no problem understanding people from rural Ohio. I guess I have a bit of a "Canadian" accent (Whatever that is) when I speak English but I'm told I could pass for an American.


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## Amocholes (Nov 5, 2003)

> You live in Ohio and you don't think you have an accent?


No, I do have an accent. The point I was trying to get across was that the typical midwest US person speaks in a manner that is closest to grammatical pronunciation. There is quite a bit of variation even within my own small community, but overall we speak with an accent that is easily understood by most english speaking peoples. This is why newscasters, announcers and people who generally speak to mass markets, sound like Ohioans and Indianans. Myself, I am a bit of a vocal chameleon. When I used to work in technical support, I would subconsciously begin talking in a manner similiar to my callers. It seemed to put them more at ease to be speaking with someone that sounded like them. When I was in the Navy I spent 3 months in Scotland and came home with a definite Scottish burr. Even now when I visit my Mom in Tennesee I find certain speech patterns and tones creeping in.


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## Amande (Feb 5, 2005)

Amocholes said:


> Everybody has an accent. It just depends on who is listening. I live in Ohio and we have an accent which is notable by it's lack of an accent. It's the accent used by news people and announcers all over the country.


I've heard that all of my life about Ohio & growing up regardless of where we lived (which was 8 states) people always noted my moms (native Ohioan) lack of accent and nearly always picked Ohio as her home state.

I myself have adopted it since I've lived here so long, but I spent so much time in the south as a youth that I can easily slip into that way of speaking.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

Amocholes said:


> I live in Ohio and we have an accent which is notable by it's lack of an accent. It's the accent used by news people and announcers all over the country.


The same is true in Wisconsin. Native Wisconsin residents sound just like the folks who read the news on CNN, speaking generic American English.


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## trollioso (May 22, 2005)

*I don't think I do, but*

I'm in WI and I know people in Wisconsin like to say it Wesconsin. 
the I's are said as E's. 
Its the strong German ancestory.

can you think of any other things people in Wesconsin pronounce different.


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## Andre (Feb 27, 2004)

People in Wisconsin definitely have an accent different from the way newscasters speak, especially the eastern part of the state where the Northern Cities Vowel Shift can be heard.

I made this poll as a sort of social experiment. Yes, all of you have accents.


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## Kelly (Dec 12, 2003)

Amocholes said:


> > You live in Ohio and you don't think you have an accent?
> 
> 
> No, I do have an accent. The point I was trying to get across was that the typical midwest US person speaks in a manner that is closest to grammatical pronunciation. There is quite a bit of variation even within my own small community, but overall we speak with an accent that is easily understood by most english speaking peoples. This is why newscasters, announcers and people who generally speak to mass markets, sound like Ohioans and Indianans. Myself, I am a bit of a vocal chameleon. When I used to work in technical support, I would subconsciously begin talking in a manner similiar to my callers. It seemed to put them more at ease to be speaking with someone that sounded like them. When I was in the Navy I spent 3 months in Scotland and came home with a definite Scottish burr. Even now when I visit my Mom in Tennesee I find certain speech patterns and tones creeping in.


Hey, Don,

How do you say the word "tour" like, "The band is going on tour??" I wonder because that's when I most notice people's Ohio accents and it drives me crazy!!!

People in Ohio say "tore" instead of "tooour." A lot of the speech is flattened like that.

I have an Ohio accent now, but everytime I go back to Michigan, I get my Michigan accent back. I notice it now though. It almost sounds Canadian. When I was growing up people in Michigan used to say that since we pronounced words as close as possible to the real grammar it can be said that we had no accents. I think it's strange that people would say the same thing about Ohio when I notice such HUGE differences between them. Michigan is more nasal than Ohio.

Maybe you chameleon like abilities because you've lived in different parts of the country??

Have a nice day,
Kelly


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## Amocholes (Nov 5, 2003)

Personally, I pronounce it toour.


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## Kelly (Dec 12, 2003)

Amocholes said:


> Personally, I pronounce it toour.


 Yay! I knew you were cool! 

Have a nice day,
Kelly


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## Caleb (Apr 7, 2005)

I'm from Texas, but never had a southern accent. When I was in my early 20's I spent some time in the Airforce, and worked with a bunch of guys from Alabama and Georgia that had accents. When I came back home, people were like " Where did you get the southern accent from"? You didn't used to talk like that. And I still have it to this day.


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## Andre (Feb 27, 2004)

I say tour as "tore" and I'm from Philadelphia. I used to think everyone said it the way we do here and thought "toour" sounded really stupid.


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## 30103 (Jan 17, 2004)

i speak with an australian accent. it's probably due to my paul hogan fascination.


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## Jim (Nov 11, 2003)

I never knew that people here in the Pacific Northwest have an accent but apparently we do. One of my professors was actually discussing this the other day.


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## mere phantom (Dec 16, 2003)

i use texas slang like "fixin" but I dont have an accent

i sometimes say TOUR as "tore" or toour depending on what kind of sentence it is, guess its just situational, i often sometimes say things backwards or something


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## Gigi (May 28, 2005)

ilikemyself said:


> I say tour as "tore" and I'm from Philadelphia. I used to think everyone said it the way we do here and thought "toour" sounded really stupid.


I've always pronounced tour "tore," as does my brother. My mom pronounces it "toour," which for some reason really bothers me. The way I pronounce it bothers her, as well. :b

We were both born and raised in Arizona. :stu


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## shawla (May 31, 2005)

Yea, I have a southern accent. lol
I moved from "really" south Georgia, by the Florida border.
Now I live up North. :hide


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## Your Lover Scrub Ducky (Jul 26, 2004)

I'm in arizona, I dont have a noticable accent. Er, I dont think. 

I sometimes talk like Arnold for fun though. I um goweeng to cwush you weeth me bare hands.


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## shoegazer (Aug 28, 2004)

I try to avoid sounding valley girl. Is that an accent? The PBS documentary "Do You Speak American" talked about the way some young people pronounce the long O sound. They say the O in "totally" with the tongue closer to the front and top of the mouth. When the long O is pronounced the standard way, the tongue is kept down and the lips are in a rounder shape. It's hard to describe. I think this is a Massachusetts pronunciation of the long O that has spread to other parts of the country. This seems to be an affected way of talking for certain groups/subcultures. I sometimes pronounce the long O sound like this and try to stop myself.


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## no7483 (Jun 5, 2005)

My answer: Not shure
Hmm...oh curse, I wanted to see that documentary.
I grew up speaking English, but lots of people assume English is my 2nd language...unfortunately it's because of my poor grammer not my "accent"...blah. I pick up accents along the way.


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## shoegazer (Aug 28, 2004)

no7483 said:


> My answer: Not shure
> Hmm...oh curse, I wanted to see that documentary.
> I grew up speaking English, but lots of people assume English is my 2nd language...unfortunately it's because of my poor grammer not my "accent"...blah. I pick up accents along the way.


That was a great documentary. I've always been interested in accents and dialects and language in general, so it was bliss. I'm planning to read the book, too. PBS often has reruns of their programs, so you might be able to see it in the future.


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## koo koo puffs (Aug 25, 2005)

I don't have an accent. Do people in cali have accents?


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## amtoreo (Jul 1, 2005)

Slight southern.


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## eyeguess (Nov 30, 2003)

I sound like someone who grew up north Jersey and spent the last half of their life in the Carolinas

I really try not to have any of the east coast accents


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## feelingbetter (Sep 12, 2005)

People from my area are generally expected to have a backwoods, 3rd grade education type of accent. In actuality we have a lilting, slightly southern accent that many outsiders find delightful.


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## Caedmon (Dec 14, 2003)

You are all so enlightened! :clap Yay!

Yes, we all have accents, unless there is only one sound pattern for your language. Mine is Standard American. Sometimes it will slip into a Utah variation, or a West Coast slide or a New England variation, depending on who I've been talking too. :lol I pick up the accent of the people around me.


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## feelingbetter (Sep 12, 2005)

I have two questions for every one; First, "Younse", "You All" or "Yous Guys", which do you use? Also my Dad's generation uses the phrase "pert near", anyone know what it means?


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## cube (Jul 8, 2004)

I have a slight southern accent. I don't hear it that much but when I've been up north people have always pointed it out to me.


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## raalka (Nov 14, 2004)

*Re: I don't think I do, but*



trollioso said:


> I'm in WI and I know people in Wisconsin like to say it Wesconsin.
> the I's are said as E's.
> Its the strong German ancestory.


Wow, I've lived here my whole life and I've NEVER heard anyone say Wisconsin like that! Maybe you live in another part of the state, lol. I don't really know what people in other areas of Wisconsin sound like, as I rarely leave the Milwaukee area. I would imagine they sound a lot different up north, though. Actually, yeah, they totally do...my up north relatives definitely crack me up. But it's cute.


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## raalka (Nov 14, 2004)

I really do think we are about as accent-free as they come around here. Like UltraShy said, we sound just like they do on CNN. In my mind, if the people on TV sound like me, then I don't have an accent. Haha.  Yay Wisconsin. Or at least Milwaukee. :lol


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## pm5kbebop (Oct 22, 2005)

ive been told i have somewhat of a texas accent now.


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## roya (Nov 12, 2005)

accent is a sexy thing...


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## Saki (Nov 8, 2005)

My brain is now dripping out of my ear because of all the people that voted that they don't have an accent...


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## Vincenzo (Sep 24, 2005)

English. I don't think well-spoken English really deserves the 'accent' tag, mind you. It's just perfect speaking.


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## itsmemaggi (Sep 26, 2005)

Caedmon said:


> Mine is Standard American. Sometimes it will slip into a Utah variation, or a West Coast slide or a New England variation, depending on who I've been talking too. :lol I pick up the accent of the people around me.


I do the same thing. When I was younger, I had a friend from Trinidad, and when I would go to her house and spend time with her family, I'd absorb the whole accent and come home and sound like I was from Trinidad.  It was quite strange.

I have a Staten Island accent, which is a bit different from the well-known Brooklyn accent (Brooklyn's right across the Verazzano from us)... My accent is very slight usually, because I pride myself on "correct" pronunciation of words... But it can get stronger when I'm talking to a friend in school or on the phone. I just tend to match my accent with whomever I'm talking. I guess it ties into that whole "acceptance," thing.

xoxo
Maggi


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## Swiftwind (Feb 5, 2005)

I agree, everyone has an accent...

I have an Australian accent, but it's not one of those very strong 'westie' accents (as we call it here).

Some people think I sound American, I guess that's cause my dad is American, but I don't even live with him. Also, when I was younger I lived in Singapore and we had an amah (maid/helper) who was from the Philippines, so I had a philippino accent!


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## Wisdom (Dec 10, 2005)

Yes, a very New England accent. Sounding like someone from Maine. Notorious for their own dialect.


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## missnat84 (Dec 31, 2004)

My accent is very strong,and to make matters worse,i hate the sound of my own voice.


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## RX2000 (Jan 25, 2004)

I have a slight southern accent.


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## Meee (Oct 24, 2005)

I don't think i have a strong accent at all, really. I just sound... English.


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## lac24 (May 10, 2006)

Got a Southern US accent


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## whiteclouds (Mar 18, 2004)

I don't feel like I have an accent. Yet when I travel to other places, people can tell I'm from Chicago by the way I talk.


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## Swiftwind (Feb 5, 2005)

feelingbetter said:


> I have two questions for every one; First, "Younse", "You All" or "Yous Guys", which do you use? Also my Dad's generation uses the phrase "pert near", anyone know what it means?


*Answer #1:* :um None! Youse (aka yous) has got to be the worst of the bunch. A lot of people in the west (where I'm from, which is out in the suburbs) will say "youse" when referring to two or more people. It makes me shudder.

*Answer #2:* I'm not too sure, but does 'pert near' mean very close? I could be way off... :lol


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