What Kind of American Accent Do You Have?

The Economic Policy Journal ^ | 11-24-2011 | By Xavier Kun

[blam]

What Kind of American Accent Do You Have?

November 24, 2011
Xavier Kun

To most Americans, an accent is something that only other people have, those other people usually being in New York, Boston, and the South. And of those other people, half of the ones you meet will swear they "don't have an accent."

Well, strictly speaking, the only way to not have an accent is to not speak. If you're from anywhere in the USA you have an accent (which may or may not be the accent of the place you're from). Go through this short quiz and you'll find out just which accent that is.

1. What is your age? Under 18 Years Old 18 to 24 Years Old 25 to 30 Years Old 31 to 40 Years Old 41 to 50 Years Old 51 to 60 Years Old Over 60 Years Old 2. What is your gender? Male Female

3. We're going to start with two ordinary words, "cot" and "caught." Do you think those words sound the same or different? Same Different Same, no wait I mean different, well, I don't know...

4. What about "don" and "dawn"? Same Different Same...ish. Maybe a little different.

5. OK, what about "stock" and "stalk"? Same Different Almost, but not quite, the same

6. Now then how do "collar" and "caller" sound? Same Different Almost, but not quite, the same

7. Do you think the word "on" rhymes with "dawn" or with "don"? dawn don Well, I don't think don and dawn sound any different in the first place so on would obviously rhyme with both

8. Moving on, what do you think about "Mary," "merry," and "marry"? All 3 sound different Mary and merry sound the same but marry is different from them All 3 sound the same

9. Our next word is "horrible." How does that first vowel sound? It's just like in the word "whore." It's the same "o" sound as in "hot." Neither one

10. Now for "pen" and "pin." Don't worry about what others say is correct, just tell us how they come out in an ordinary conversation. Same Different Close. Pen sounds almost, but not quite, like pin.

11. What about "feel" and "fill"? Same Different Well, I think they're different even though they sound very, very similar almost to the point of being the same

12. When you say "about," does the "ou" sound like the "ou" in "loud"? No Yes

13. Last question. When you say "bag" does it rhyme with "vague"? Yes No

[abb]

The South, by gum, and damn proud of it!! And it’s a “coke,” not a soda or, heaven forbid, a pop...

[wvguy]

Said my accent is from the West.

The farthest west I’ve ever been is Cincinnati Ohio. I speak Pittsburgh-ese fer cryin’ out loud!

[Fresh Wind]

It says my accent is Philadelphia.

No.

You mean you don't talk like this?

[Revolting cat!]

II

[Cyber Liberty]

When I was a kid I liked going over that. After seeing a couple of documentaries on Discovery, my wife won’t go near it. Oh well, not likely to try it since we live in AZ...lol

[TurkeyLurkey]

My dad was born in Michigan, my mother was born in Indiana, I was born in Ohio. Parents moved to Texas when I was 18 mos. old, lived in Wichita Falls for half my life, in Houston area other half—the quiz says I have a “Midland accent.” I wonder how I got that. :)

[Catphish]

Got mine correct:

“Judging by how you talk you are probably from north Jersey, New York City, Connecticut or Rhode Island.”

[cripplecreek]

Its definitely a sight to behold.

[Sporke]

Screw that, it’s easier to tell what kind a person is by how they order a “coke”.

A waitress asks what you would like to drink....you should say “coke” then she should asks what kind, you say “dr. pepper” or whatever. :)

[buccaneer81]

The Midland accent.

Born and raised in Massachusetts and have lived in Central Ohio for the past 20 years. I must have adapted.

[Right Wing Assault]

"You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.

Actually, Northern Ohio.

They first told me, "If you're from anywhere in the USA you have an accent" then they tell me, "you don't have an accent."

OK. I agree.

[radiohead]

Very interesting! I am from DC and have lived all over, but my score showed a Philadelphia accent, where I lived for 10 years, but that was over 15 years ago!

I can spot a Philly accent, but don’t think I have one - I’m sure if I did my Midwest students would be asking where I’m from - though maybe they just think it’s a Northeast accent.

[beaversmom]

The Great Pop vs. Soda Controversy

http://popvssoda.com/

[Right Wing Assault]

Pop or soda or something different?

http://www.penceland.com/ne_dialect.html

Here is a fun survey of US dialects.

http://www4.uwm.edu/FLL/linguistics/dialect/maps.html

[buccaneer81]

Basically, the way God would talk.

No way. God sounds like...

[beaversmom]

My mom got the same thing when she would visit England. She came here in her early twenties. Her relatives thought she had an American accent. A lot of people here in America can detect that she’s from England though even though she’s lived here for over 50 years. My relatives in England thought/think that all Americans have a southern accent. They think we all say y’all over here. Also, when I visited as a little girl and someone said “thank you”, they thought it was funny that I said “you’re welcome”. Not sure if they use a different term or don’t say anything when someone says thank you.

[visualops]

It's pretty interesting though when you see the top references that both get the same end result. I hadn't thought about the proximity of MD to Philly, but for instance my mother is French and my father is from OK (but doesn't have an accent) and I never had a MD accent but my sister does, although I'd say that is the influence of her having a lot of local friends(public school) while I went to a small school with kids from other states from age 11 on. I started spending time in NYC in my teens and moved there at 17, and I think that had the most profound influence on my speaking style, and is the accent I tend to fall back into the easiest (hubby says when I get mad it always comes out lol).

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland
Philadelphia
The Inland North
The South
The Northeast
The West
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

[deweyfrank]

Wilmington/Baltimore, they were right on.

[j_tull]

What American accent do you have?

Your Result: The Inland North

 

You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."

Guily as charged.

[Charles Henrickson]

Well, they got me right on the button. I grew up on the north side of the city of Chicago, and I guess I must sound like it.

Your Result: The Inland North
You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."

I live in St. Louis now, but I do not speak like a St. Louisan. Whenever I go back to Chicago, especially when I'm battling traffic there, my wife says my Chicago accent gets worse.