[Clemenza]

As I said upthread, the Anglo Californian accent is best 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.

[NathanR]

Sorry, don't recall Wilson's accent. Was it “Midland” as well?

First of all it is “The 5”, not “The I5”. Actually “The 5” was called either “The Santa Ana freeway” or “The Golden State Freeway” before the Imnn nomenclature was even thought of by Washington. We even had the first freeway called the Pasadena Freeway, built before WWII, so we can call freeways whatever we want.