Chicago Accents (car, east coast, African American)

[j33]

[quote=chicagocubs;8517840]wow..someone has given this a lot of thought!!


What do you mean?

[chitown2pa]

Originally Posted by andrew61

As a transplant, I've noticed that some native Chicagoans have a very thick Chicago accent, while other natives don't seem to have an accent at all and sound very "standard American". Some seem to pass down the accent intact from generation to generation, whereas for others it seems to have gotten lost at some point generationally. Blame TV, I suppose.

I even know two brothers who grew up here, where one has a very thick Chicago accent and the other doesn't. Their mom grew up on Chicago's South Side, but their dad is from Ohio.

Also, I've noticed the Chicago accent itself varies. The thickest, of course, is the "Sout' Side" version with its "dese, dem, and dose"... but I've also noticed that there's a more "refined" version, if you will, that's still Midwestern nasal and flat, with some overexaggeration of vowel sounds, but not as coarse.

Actually, I used to think TV had an influence on accents, but it doesn't. Studies have shown that television has little to no effect on how accents are handed down from generation to generation. Rather, it's face-to-face interaction that does it. So if Junior spends more time with his friends than with Ma and Pops, he's going to talk more like them.

[coldwine]

Originally Posted by chitown2pa

Actually, I used to think TV had an influence on accents, but it doesn't. Studies have shown that television has little to no effect on how accents are handed down from generation to generation. Rather, it's face-to-face interaction that does it. So if Junior spends more time with his friends than with Ma and Pops, he's going to talk more like them.

My parents and family are all from Milan. Born and raised. And they sound English, with crisp English accents. I don't understand it at all.

I myself have a very standard American accent. I do tend to be very strong on my r's, which especially now that I'm in another nation reveals to me that there is such a thing as a midwestern accent. It's just so very hard to discern.

[aragx6]

I think people tend to think there's no Midwestern accent because "that's how the people on the TV talk" Of course that doesn't mean you don't have an accent though.

For all you young Midwesterners out there, if you want to be a broadcast journalist or an actor you're in a heck of a lot better position to do so than someone from Atlanta or Boston.

[Chi-town Native]

This is an excellent read (tho I've never seen the videos):

Amazon.com: The Story of English: Third Revised Edition: Robert McCrum, Robert MacNeil, William Cran: Books

[posh londoner]

i love the new york accent. i prefer it to chicago. im from london and people always tell me how posh i sound which i thinks weird.

[Avengerfire]

^ With a written phrase "which I thinks weird" you just may speak cockney. ^

[mas23]

Originally Posted by posh londoner

i love the new york accent. i prefer it to chicago. im from london and people always tell me how posh i sound which i thinks weird.

good for you

[FREPORT79]

So right I say cah instead of car.Gabige (garbage) and im AA from the uptown area.I lived in the twin cities MN and I thought I was in canada but I could tell who was from chicago. It's where your from who you hang with for long periods I try to keep my accent, alot of people I know sound southern and it sticks at times.

[KJAnsia]

Chi-caw-go.

That is all.