Do us Minnesotans have an accent?

[Sonata36]

Originally Posted by VelcroQueen

Bad? It is Beautiful! Embrace it! Appreciate it! Seriously!

Subjective, I guess!

[Mav031984]

Hmmmm... I'm really starting to think that most of the people who have posted on this blog live on the Canadian border. I've lived in the northern urban area of the cities my whole life, and I've poked fun at people with the Fargoooooooo accent. Lol. Even though I've only met 1. I've taken trips to Boston, Miami, Denver, and Phoenix, where I've gotten to know locals, and party with them.. And.. It takes them a LONG time to even guess where I am from, but they definitely know I'm a tourist.. Because I don't roll my O's, and I don't elongate my A's, like the traditional stereotype. In fact, it seemed that whenever I was in a Southern state, the locals DEFINITELY elongate those dang A's! Lol.. Don't get me wrong, that dialect has it's moments, but they start to sound like sheep if they make sentences with too many AAAAAA's in them. For example "Baaaaaaaaaaeeeeeeeehhhhg" You know? BAG? Or almost like they are on a roller coaster going up and down saying CrAAAaaaaaaAAAAaaaaaAAAAAAAHHHHP! Lol! I got a group of Florida locals with that one good after I told them where I was from, and they started to roll their O's, even though I hadn't even dun it, and they knew it. Hehe, good times.

[light_shimmer]

I'm originally from International Falls, right on the canadian border, and now live more towards central MN in the Bemidji area. It's amazing how much more I notice my own accent just living 100 miles south. I've lived in California and Texas both for very short times and got nothing but crap about the way I talked. I've always kind of liked it though ..... Have to note also, after reading through most of this thread, as I'm typing I can actually hear myself saying the words in my head. lol, it's a pretty heavy MN accent! yeppers, you betcha I say Oh, fer all the time. Oh fer petes sakes, oh fer cryin out loud, oh fer dumb...... pretty much anytime I'm annoyed with something I'll attached it to the beginning of an irritable statement.

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by light_shimmer

...as I'm typing I can actually hear myself saying the words in my head. lol, it's a pretty heavy MN accent! yeppers, you betcha I say Oh, fer all the time. Oh fer petes sakes, oh fer cryin out loud, oh fer dumb...... pretty much anytime I'm annoyed with something I'll attached it to the beginning of an irritable statement.

LOL!!! Yep, all my Norwegian relatives do the same thing! I probably do too, if I paid attention to what I say!

[OurNextAdventure]

Yes, yall do have accents. I have spent quite a bit of time up there over the past 3 1/2 years, and there is a strong one. Not all of you, but quite a bit.

My theory is the cold, and I found this out because I started speaking like that too, when my chin had frozen when I went pheasant hunting around Christmas 2008. Yall spend more time frozen over than not, so they way you talk comes natural, all year round.

My grandparents retired to Arizona in 78, and my grandma still spoke with the accent 28 years later until she died.

My family lives up in Baudette, and they talk with it. I have friends further south and they don't. My inlaw's live in Melrose, (St Cloud area,) and some do, some dont.

They don't agree with my theory, they are kind of offended by it, I think it is just an excuse for me not to talk about how cold it is all the time.

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by AzDesertRat86

My theory is the cold, and I found this out because I started speaking like that too, when my chin had frozen when I went pheasant hunting around Christmas 2008. Yall spend more time frozen over than not, so they way you talk comes natural, all year round.

LOL!!!

Actually there's something to that... go outside, suck ice, whatever it takes to get your mouth good and cold. Now try saying "Other". It's liable to come out "Ot'er" -- the TH sound is hard to make with a cold mouth! (Or, how anyone can sound like a Norwegian!)

I discovered this when I lived in Montana, and had a dog named "Othric" (which is a made-up word; it's what happens when a puppy is called "the other one" for a long time). Turns out "Othric" is just about impossible to say with a cold mouth!

[ILdÐÆMcº³]

It's not a very strong accent in southern MN, I can't distinguish it from a lot of other state's accents. I travel all over the country quite a bit and I've never had anyone correctly identify where I'm from originally. Yes, I have heard the accent but it's not widespread among the population of southern MN.

[audadvnc]

Love your screen name! How'd you do that?

[slamont61]

Originally Posted by AzDesertRat86

Yes, yall do have accents.

My theory is the cold,

I don't think it has anything do to with cold or lack there of. The local accent has more to do with our exposure to the migrated Nordic and Finnish population.