Minnesota Accent (Minneapolis, Duluth, Rochester: house, school, restaurant)

[CLfan1977]

I guess we all have accents whether we realize it or not. Growing up outside of Minneapolis, I moved to Florida in high school. Other students made fun of my accent. Later on, 40 years in Chicagoland left me with a different accent that some can identify. Linguistics is fascinating.

[Natnasci]

Originally Posted by jennifat

I don't understand why so many Americans think Canadians speak like Upper Midwesterners. It just isn't a thing. I don't get it.

My experience is that Canadians west of Kenora, Ontario have West Coast accents (similar to California), while those from Southern Ontario have completely unique "stereotypical" accents (which can be extremely subtle) that sound nothing like Upper Midwestern accents at all. It's usually only certain words that give most Canadians away, like "about" (only in eastern Canada), "sorry", "pasta", "process", "against", etc.

I agree with most of this. I'm always scratching my head when I hear Americans say that Minnesotans sound Canadian.

[Pincho-toot]

Originally Posted by ColdLover27

Forgive me if there's already a thread on this but...does the Minnesota accent really exist (in a non-stereotyping context)? If so, is it mainly concentrated in the rural areas of the state or can you find it easily enough in the larger cities?

Yes, and you definitely find it in the city. Though not like what you hear in "Fargo," but the vowel sounds come out strong. Listen to words like "snow" and "flag" and "box."


Little anecdotes, but I remember once my coworker said "Stagg" and I misheard it as "steak." He also said "Scotch" and I asked "What's 'scatch'?" Being from the South, I probably notice it more than people from the North.

[Pincho-toot]

Originally Posted by LeTraveler

Not to me. It's just one of those things.



If you lived there in your formative years, maybe. Some Minnesotans have basically no accent or have managed to get rid of it. However, that long "o", (like in "go") always seems to make an appearance, especially when they are relaxed.

I recently moved in with a neighbour for a few months, (so she's no longer a neighbour? lol) and her mother is a Puerto Rican woman who also lived in Cuba, New York and Massachusetts between the 1940s and 1950s. She came to MN in 1957 at the age of 17, and in her late 70s... she has a super thick Minnesota accent. Yet again, in Florida, I had high school teachers from places like Chicago or California, who came as young adults and developed a notable southern twang. Nowadays, I don't think people's accents morph at later ages as back then because society is more transient, but even myself at age 24 (having moved here in 2017 at age 23) catch myself saying the Minnesota "o". Its kinda contagious, doooncha knooow?

[Pincho-toot]

Originally Posted by jennifat

I don't understand why so many Americans think Canadians speak like Upper Midwesterners. It just isn't a thing. I don't get it.

My experience is that Canadians west of Kenora, Ontario have West Coast accents (similar to California), while those from Southern Ontario have completely unique "stereotypical" accents (which can be extremely subtle) that sound nothing like Upper Midwestern accents at all. It's usually only certain words that give most Canadians away, like "about" (only in eastern Canada), "sorry", "pasta", "process", "against", etc.

Depends where in Canada, maybe? I had a customer at work once, middle aged man. Really outdoorsy, he was talking about fishing. Really thick accent with long Os. I thought "What a thick Minnesota accent." He dropped a bomb when he mentioned he was visiting the cities from "Manitoooba."

[2x3x29x41]

Originally Posted by BadgerFilms

Depends where in Canada, maybe? I had a customer at work once, middle aged man. Really outdoorsy, he was talking about fishing. Really thick accent with long Os. I thought "What a thick Minnesota accent." He dropped a bomb when he mentioned he was visiting the cities from "Manitoooba."

Exactly.

Accents don't stop at borders, especially borders that are easy to physically cross and which see a great deal of cross-border cultural interaction. Accents along the U.S.-Canadian border do tend to be very similar in pronunciation. Not identical but very similar. Where they tend to diverge most noticeably is in vocabulary. Many Canadianisms are not found in American English. The reverse is not true to the same degree, as Canadians consume far more American media than Americans consume Canadian media, for several reasons.

[Natnasci]

Originally Posted by 2x3x29x41

Exactly.

Accents don't stop at borders, especially borders that are easy to physically cross and which see a great deal of cross-border cultural interaction. Accents along the U.S.-Canadian border do tend to be very similar in pronunciation. Not identical but very similar. Where they tend to diverge most noticeably is in vocabulary. Many Canadianisms are not found in American English. The reverse is not true to the same degree, as Canadians consume far more American media than Americans consume Canadian media, for several reasons.

There is a definite accent change when crossing into the US near Vancouver.

[RbccL]

Originally Posted by Ghengis

Born and raised in Bloomington.

I recall my accent being pointed out by the booth girl at a mini-golf in Saratoga, Wyoming who of course assumed we were from Canada. A phone call to a hotel reservation desk in California once brought a similar response. A company function in Atlanta found me surrounded by Southern Belles who treated me as if I was there as part of a Coen Bros film, all laughing and yammering...Minn-EE-Sooooo-Duh, Minn-EE-Sooooo-Duh. I shouted praises to the Honorable William Tecumseh Sherman and lit my lighter for effect.

I've been mistaken for Canadian all over the south and west as well. "You Canuck?"

"Can I have a bag, please?"

Baaa-a-a-a-ag? you mean sack? Pop?! you mean soda? go-do-tha-show? you mean see a movie? canada ay? OOOfdah?

I find people who point out or correct others just because they pronounce things differently, to be really obnoxious. I don't do that when I meet people... what do you think causes that?

[katrenco]

I've lived my whole life in West Central MN and have a full Scandinavian heritage; Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish. About 15 yrs ago, I met a woman from Colorado on a doll forum who shared my passion for Barbie make-overs. She had never before met or known anyone from MN, and likewise with me previously knowing anyone from Colorado. We became friends, and after 8-9 months of online chatting, we finally spoke over the phone one Saturday evening. She was more experienced (and gifted) in the hobby than I was and was advising and instructing me on a doll I was working on. I put the phone on speaker to free up my hands, and about 10 minutes into our conversation, she started to giggle and said, "I'm sorry, but you sound just like 'Fargo' ", to which I responded, "Oh yea?" That sent my husband into beer-snorting hysteria since he's always claimed that I have a thick MN accent, whereas he has none. I doubt the accuracy of either of his claims, but then, again, I didn't believe there was such a thing as a MN accent until that phone conversation with my Colorado friend (who, by the way, had what I thought sounded much like an eastern U.S. accent).

[Good Red Road]

I had to live out of state for most of a decade before I could even hear the Minnesota accent. Once you hear it you can’t Un-Hear it.