the California accent (Los Angeles, Palmdale, Barstow: eat, farmers, dinner)

[BayAreaHillbilly]

If you exhibit the "pin-pen" characteristic you are a Native if not you are a Greenhorn.

Spoken like someone born prior to about 1970 in Landers or Barstow:

"There's a conflict" he said
"A conflict between land and people
and people have to go
They come all the way out here to make mining claims
to do automobile body work
To gamble, to take pictures
To not have to do laundry
To own a mini bike
To have their own CB radios and air conditioning
Good plumbing for sure
And to sell Time/Life books and to work in a deli
To have a little chili every morning
And maybe ... maybe own their own gas stations again
And to take drugs
Have some crazy se_
But above all, above all, to have a fair shake
To get a piece of the rock and a slice of the pie
And spit out of the window of your car and not have the wind blow it back in your face!"

- S. Ridgway / Wall of Voodoo - "The Call of the West" 1981

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

Spoken like someone born prior to about 1970 in Landers or Barstow:

"There's a conflict" he said
"A conflict between land and people
and people have to go
They come all the way out here to make mining claims
to do automobile body work
To gamble, to take pictures
To not have to do laundry
To own a mini bike
To have their own CB radios and air conditioning
Good plumbing for sure
And to sell Time/Life books and to work in a deli
To have a little chili every morning
And maybe ... maybe own their own gas stations again
And to take drugs
Have some crazy se_
But above all, above all, to have a fair shake
To get a piece of the rock and a slice of the pie
And spit out of the window of your car and not have the wind blow it back in your face!"

- S. Ridgway / Wall of Voodoo - "The Call of the West" 1981

My dad's, dad's dad owned and operated a Texaco station/garage in Barstow in the 1930s.

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by CA4Now

Who knew? I always thought it was a word used exclusively by people in their young twenties.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hella_(word)

I know this is an old thread, and I probably already commented, but...hella is not a "young person thing", although adults who say it probably said it as a kid.

Originally Posted by Snort

Now that I'm in NorCal, people have pointed out to me that I say "the" before freeways. I suppose that's a SoCal thing to do.

Yup.

Originally Posted by KC6ZLV

There was a website from one of the college or university linguistics departments that discussed the etymology of hella. The best guess is it appears to have originated in one of the colleges in the Chico or Sacramento areas, as determined by written accounts back to 1979 on a homework assignment and gained fairly widespread popularity in the colleges in Sacramento and Chico through the 80s, and in particular, becoming very common among the snowboarders, spreading it into the Lake Tahoe area, thus it came into frequent use in Reno due to proximity. It came into some use in the colleges/universities in the Bay Area dating in the early 90s, probably due to students transferring, but not used near as much as it was in the Sacramento Valley due to the stigma attached to the use of the word as an indication you were from Sacramento.

Then one evening it was used on the Simpson's and using it whenever possible suddenly became cool.

Yes, someone in the linguistics department somewhere was really bored and decided to trace the origin of "hella."

I read something about it coming from the black neighborhoods in the Bay Area, but it appears to be used almost exclusively by middle-class white, and middle-class Asians, in a more or less middle-class setting. It is seldom used by these groups when other groups are around, which is kind of unusual.

I'm from Sacto, and always thought of it as more of a Nor Cal thing in whole, but believed it originated in the East Bay. It is also a word used by...practically everyone. It is definitely not a black, white, poor, ghetto, or wt, thing. It is also used in front of everyone. I have not lived in California for some time and I still say it.

Originally Posted by hipcat

Spencer Pratt sounds like someone from So Cal. He got the whole surfer-douchebag thing going on.


Spencer Pratt on Letterman - YouTube

This is from shortening the pronunciation of vowels, which gives the appearance of elongating the pronunciation of consonants. Kinda gives a drawl. Probably why people think of Californians as being laid back. I used to call it a stoner drawl back in the day.

[bigdumbgod]

[quote]

Originally Posted by K-Luv

I know this is an old thread, and I probably already commented, but...hella is not a "young person thing", although adults who say it probably said it as a kid.

Some adults use "LOL", but that's silly, too.

[ragnarkar]

Dunno that it's a "California" accent, but get out in the Central and Sacto Valleys, and you can still hear some real strong "twangs" here, reminiscent of Arkansas, Oklahoma and N. TX!

Though frankly, I'd much rather hear that than stuff like "hella" (sheesh, gag me with a spoon)!!

Originally Posted by JDN77

Many people in California have a very slight southern accent, they just don't want to admit it.

I noticed it a bit when I lived in Davis, especially whenever I went to the neighboring cities like Woodland or Dixon where you don't get as many transplants as, say, Sacramento or SF.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

I'm gunna git sum ape-rih-cots then head on down tuh thuh buildin' store an git sum CON-crete.

[Count David]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

I'm gunna git sum ape-rih-cots then head on down tuh thuh buildin' store an git sum CON-crete.

Will you be signing that credit card receipt with a pin or a pen?

[ragnarkar]

This sounds more like the "classic" California accent heard outside of LA, SD, SF, and Sac (video was taken in Palmdale even though the title says "Los Angeles"):


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNr388uUUFc

[NextStage]

Originally Posted by ragnarkar

This sounds more like the "classic" California accent heard outside of LA, SD, SF, and Sac (video was taken in Palmdale even though the title says "Los Angeles"):


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNr388uUUFc

I know that's an old video and the purpose was to show accents. I had to crack up watching a bit of it though. You'd have thought he was crossing Donner Summit in 15" of snow wearing tennis shoes. I didn't watch the whole thing but if there was 4" on the ground I'd be surprised.

[Electrician4you]

Originally Posted by Twinkle Toes

So ... you'd spank me if I said "Cowabunga, Dude!!!"???

Only if you agree on a safe word beforehand.