Minnesotan Accents (midwest usa)

hello, how does accents in mid-west united states sound? does it have a distint accent or not?

I wouldn't call a Minnesota accent midwestern. I'd say Chicago has the definitive midwestern accent. Minnesota has a different "Northern" accent.

I have never been to Minnesota, but I know that there is a heavy Scandinavian influence on the English language there.

I would call the accent "Northern Midwestern," as it is in the north of the Midwest.

Minnesotans sound like the people in the movie "Fargo" except the accent isn't as strong as it is in the movie. That's probably what people in northern Minnesota around the Canadian border sound like. The people I know from Minneapolis sound somewhat like that but more like what you would hear on the national news. The Minnesota "o" is the strongest accent marker.

Ryan

Sure, the Minnesotan accent is distinct. The Midwest one is too. They'd be distinct from each other but I don't know if I'd be able to tell them apart, not being North American and all.

The Minnesotan accent sounds similar to the Canadian accent for obvious reasons. Jesse Ventura has a very typical Minnesotan accent to my NJ ears.

All of the accents along the Great Lakes, from Milwaukee to Rochester, New York, have a common sound to them. Chicago has some distinctive traits as well. Most Americans are deaf to slight accent differences like those in the north, but everyone can tell a Minnesota accent.

"Midwest" is a large area. Kansas and Missouri are considered the Midwest, but people here sound almost southern to me. I work with university-educated people here in Kansas that sound like hicks to a northerner like me.

Ryan

Ryan,
Where in Kansas do you live?

I really don't hear midwestern accents, but i do hear new yorkers accents, and southern accents easily.

I am from Minnesota (born in Fargo). About half of the people have the accent you see in the movie Fargo. Some have traces of it (I suppose I do, but you can't tell on the web).

In the more rural areas people have the accent you hear in Fargo. Although, the accent the cop lady has sounds more Wisconsin than Minnesota.

It is a Scandinavian influenced accent. Old people always say "Uf-Da" in place of "oh shit!" I guess it's a Norwegian word. But, I have a feeling any Norwegian on this forum would tell me it's not. I guess Uf-Da is the closest thing to culture Minnesota and the Eastern part of North Dakota have.

I live in Des Moines, Iowa, now. The Southern-tinged accent begins with people about 20 miles South of here (i.e: Bridges of Madison County; a whole other subject in the realm of cinema bullshit).

Has anyone heard of Husker DU?

Here is a site all about "uff da:"

http://www.lawzone.com/half-nor/uffda.htm

Apparently, it is not a swear word, but just an expression. It can mean "ouch" or "good grief" and other expressions like these. It is not considered ill form to use these in formal situations.

Er "Husker DU" dansk ? Her er en web site som er på Dansk:

http://www.husker-du.dk/

Lana, I live in Lawrence, KS, but I'm originally from cold northern Michigan.

Ryan

Ryan,
Howdy neighbor from Topeka. I moved back here from cold Montana lol.

Lana, when people here say "pen" it sounds like "pin" to us northerners. The accent has a different rhythm to it too. Obviously Kansans are just as intelligent as people from other areas of the country, it's just the slight twang makes me think "hick" unconsciously. The Brits are always making fun of each other's accents so don't be offended. By the way, my Michigan accent sounds slightly nasal to Kansans.

American accent differences aren't as strong as British ones, though. I think accent tends to get stronger with time spent living in a place, and us Americans haven't been here too long yet. Did you notice a difference in accent in Montana?

Ryan