[Clemenza]

As I said upthread, the Anglo Californian accent is bet typified by former governor Pete Wilson. Its an amalgam of the interior west and the lower midwest (lots of Iowans moved to CA in the 19th and early 20th centuries).

I'm still wondering were "like, oh my god!" comes from. I also wonder why Californians say "THE 405" or "THE I-5" instead of simply "I-5" like us normal people do.

[fr_freak]

I'm still wondering were "like, oh my god!" comes from. I also wonder why Californians say "THE 405" or "THE I-5" instead of simply "I-5" like us normal people do.

I can't say where the "like, ohmigod!" stuff came from, other than to say that it was the original San Fernando valley girl thing, but calling the freeways "the 5" or "the 101" is a So Cal thing only. Those of us in Nor Cal do not do that - and that includes the SF Bay Area. It's actually one way to tell what part of California a person grew up in.