Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'd like to meet whoever they talked to for Cape Girardeau. I've only heard one native family here in my life pronounce pin and pen differently, and they actually are a Scotch-Irish family that speak more of a mountain south dialect than anything.
Hell, maybe they used Rush Limbaugh for their evidence for Cape but I saw several of their maps that made no sense. They are dreaming if they think the pin-pen merger isn't common in Cape.
Location: Jefferson City 4 days a week, St. Louis 3 days a week
2,709 posts, read 5,099,088 times
Reputation: 1028
Quote:
Originally Posted by Smtchll
It makes people sound slightly Southern. It's an overwhelmingly Southern characteristic that happens to spill over into some of the Midwest.
Also, one of the maps puts Northern OK in the same dialect region as KC. My family is from Northern OK and they sound very Southern, so it's not a stretch to say that some people in KC sound a bit Southern.
Well, it also puts it in the same region as Central Illinois and Central indiana, areas which are undisputedly Midwestern. So if the accent spills over as far north as northern Indiana, to use it as a way to claim an accent as southern makes no sense...it's a good guess, but the simple fact is that you could easily guess wrong. Where Oklahoma is concerned, my own experiences suggest to the contrary...have heard numerous thick southern accents throughout all of oklahoma, but I'm not going to say these linguists are wrong. Either way, KC is a Midwestern city, and Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, and Indiana overall all Midwestern states. Oklahoma may not have a southern dialect in all areas, but the culture and demographics attest to it being a best fit for the south. Tulsa and Oklahoma City both struck me as cities that were vibrant and new, with all the characteristics of the New South. I would place these cities with Little Rock, Dallas, and Houston before Kansas City, Omaha, or Des Moines.
I noticed they have the same thing for Little Rock, Arkansas too. Haven't spent any time there but I would think that the merger would be complete there too. Weird.
Wilmington, DE... my generation is half and half... wooder and water, cahmra and caimra.. mahrried and mary'd etc. It seems like it totally falls apart with kids born in the later 80s.
Oh yes definitely I am 17. I live in Western Mass. (and hate it here in the Springfield-Chicopee-Holyoke area) and although it is very uncommon for people out here to have the "New England Accent" I have it to the fullest capacity that one could imagine (since I spend a lot of time in Boston, E. MA, S NH and ME) Yes I pahk cahs and have no idear whats gonna happen in the futchah? But hey to each his own right. I am proud of my accent since it symbolizes me as a New Englander! But as for people as a hole. No regional accents will never go since there will always be people like me who will take from there surroundings.
Yes, they still exist but it's different now. Back in the day, down here everyone had a southern accent. Now adays mostly only people in the ghetto or the country still have them.
I myself took the test and it told me I'm neutral.
Last edited by Razorblade; 04-12-2012 at 08:07 AM..
Yes, I deployed with a guy from Alabama. You could tell over the phone that he was from there! lol
Not really. A lot of younger people (like my 15 y/o nephew) have very mild accents compared to earlier generations, even though they were born and raised here.
I was born after 1990 (I'm 19) and the quiz said my accent was neutral, I found that interesting. I don't normally speak with a general American accent, I can speak with one but it's not my natural way of speaking. I think I have a light NY accent with an "urban" twist. My accent (minus the "urban-ness") probably leans more towards neutral than towards a stereotypical NY accent though.
When I switch to a more "neutral" way of speaking a lot of my regular pronunciations remain, mainly with words like "talk" and "dog", when I hear them being pronounced as "tahk" and "dahg" it sounds weird to me, it stands out way more than the person's accent.
I wish they didn't. Whenever I hear someone with a thick southern accent or northeastern accent it is just so hard for me to take them serious. Thankfully the more educated of both regions drop their improper speech.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
