What accent do you really hate? and which one you love?

Right, I now know something about North Dakota. I guess it's not much different from South Dakota. What are the origins of the name? I did a quick search in limited time and all I could discover was that dakota was some sort of aircraft. I shouldn't think there is any link....is there or not?

All that empty space and so few people! Could be nice......could be purgatory.....depends on how sociable or misanthropic a mood you're in I reckon. I'd like to go there if only to hear the local accent.....an American accent with a Norwegian tinge to it sounds intriguing.

Based on the info given if I should ever go there it wouldn't be in winter! Edinburgh winters are pretty tame in comparison but cold enough for me.

*PORTUGAL*PORTUGAL*PORTUGAL*PORTUGAL*PORTUGAL*PORTUGAL*

Portugal -- now you're talkin'!

If you want to hear the weird sing-song Scandinavian-American accent, just rent Fargo or listen to A Prairie Home Companion (now a Robert Altman movie, by the way). Dakota is an Indian word, similar to Lakota (a tribe of Sioux). I would imagine the aircraft is named after the state, not the other way around. We like to name military things after states and Indian terms -- like the USS Arizona and the Tomahawk missile.

<<What are the origins of the name?>>

"Dakota" is an indigenous Native American name for the tribes natively residing in that region.

<<I guess it's not much different from South Dakota.>>

Well, South Dakota is actually the more interesting one (sorry North Dakotans, but you know it's true). It has Mt. Rushmore and more varied scenery. In different places South Dakota has flat plains, fertile agricultural land, glacial lakes, and canyons and mountains. I enjoyed visiting South Dakota when my family went there when I was a kid. I haven't been to North Dakota but I tend to think of it as mostly flat and with not as much geographical variation as South Dakota.

<<I'd like to go there if only to hear the local accent.....an American accent with a Norwegian tinge to it sounds intriguing. >>

You'd probably enjoy listening to much of the Upper Midwest, then. Scandinavians left their mark on the local accents of English even long after everyone stopped speaking the "Old Country" languages (much like Irish English has a clear substratum influence from Gaelic even tho the majority of the population no longer speaks Gaelic natively). In fact, different immigrant groups have always left their mark on North American English and they continue to do so today (Chicano English is a more recent phenomenon--it's English spoken with a clear Spanish substratum, which some, but certainly not all, Mexican Americans who are native speakers of English may speak).

If you want to hear the weird sing-song Scandinavian-American accent, just rent Fargo

Um please don't rent Fargo and think that's how ALL North Dakotans talk! That's one of our biggest pet peeves. To say that the characters accent is over-exaggerated would be an understatement. No one has that much of a pronounced mid-western accent in my town, nor in Fargo. The funny thing, is that the accent portrayed in the movie Fargo, is more accurate to describe Minnesotans, and no one ever gives them flak! haha. Just because it's set in Fargo, most people associate that accent with North Dakota. When in fact, the only thing separating Fargo from MN is a dang river. So, please don't watch Fargo and think that's how we all talk. That is an EXTREME overexaggeration of what the Coen brothers think the midwestern accent is like. But it's an interesting movie nonetheless.

since the majority of North Dakota is not of Native American descent the largest subtratum influence is likely from Norwegian due to large-scale historical Norwegian immigration.

True, there are many descendants of Norwegians in this state (I, being one of them!). Even though the majority of ND isn't of Native American descent, we have MANY Indian Reservations in this state. One of the larger ones is just an hour away from my city. Trust me, Native Americans are abundant in this region, and have a direct influence on other's accents. Especially in the upper half of ND. One thing I find interesting is Canadian accents and terminology for things. Being 90 miles from the Canadian border and going to a University with 30% Canadian students, I'm exposed to Canadian peeps all the time. I even find myself saying the occasional "aboot." Is anyone else familiar with the difference in Canadians vs Americans?

Thank you KIRK and URIEL for giving me such insight into the Dakotas. If you discount the current excess of dross in this Forum, you really do learn some interesting stuff from the genuine posts.

So Mt Rushmore is in South Dakota! Wow! Those faces carved out of the mountainside are amazing. I can't ever, ever in my most horrible of nightmares imagine the face of Tony Blair being carved out of any mountain here in the UK. He's part Scottish for goodness sake.....what would it do for the Scottish tourist trade if we had to endure seeing his image permanently grinning down at us from Ben Nevis?...... :O!

I wish something could be done to instantly eliminate all the obscene crapito in this Forum nowadays.....och well, ne'er mind. Worse things happen in China.....

Yes, Uriel: Portugal! My money will be on them BEATING England next weekend! :-) Pretty safe one I reckon after Sassenachland only just scraped through against Ecuador with a very lack lustre performance.

Portugal - I've never been there but will do soon I reckon. Been to Espana a couple of times but never to Portugal. You can get mega cheap economy fares down to the Algarve, right in the south of Portugal. I think I saw one return bargain break flight Edinburgh to Faro for just £55! People go there for weekend breaks from the UK, and I read that Lisbon is becoming yet another destination for stag/hen party weekends from the UK. Poor old Lisbonites having that thrust upon them! :-) What do you properly call a person from Lisbon anyway?

It's funny how Spain and Portugal appear to be quite distinctly different countries stuck there on the Iberian Peninsula, with quite a pronounced difference in the two Languages. They look a lot different. But there again, Spain itself is made up of regions all quite different from each other in so many ways, including Language and culture.

Spain is physically a very large country, but Portugal looks quite compact down there in the south west. Before she was married my mother told me that she went with some friends on a cruise down the coast of Portugal on route to Gibraltar and then on to Malta, then back to the UK. She said it looked so beautiful with white sandy beaches in the distance and dolphins following the ship and flying fishes all over the place, and the mountains of Portugal green against the deep blue sky. Sounds really cool.

*PORTUIGAL*PORTUGAL*PORTUGAL*PORTUGAL*PORTUGAL*PORTUGAL*

I don't speak Portuguese myself, but I'm the only one in my family that doesn't -- I remember it sounding vaguely French, since it has a lot of -zh sounds that you don't hear so much in Spanish. And Spanish-speakers here say it sounds like Spanish spoken through a mouthful of marbles!

Like the rest of the Black Hills, Mt. Rushmore is actually sacred to the Sioux, and they don't much appreciate having had its side dynamited into the likenesses of four dead white dudes -- but that all happened in 1927, long before people were sensitive to such issues.

And now that we've gleefully offended all twelve residents of the 39th state, and thoroughly maligned the land that they call home, here's a little taste of what North Dakota (state motto: "People -- never had 'em, never will!") actually looks like:

http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/instruct/walla/justnd.htm

Dakota looks really nice.....but where do you go for the clubbing, pubbing, shopping, theatres, multi-plexes, cultural stuff and all the funtime places? Doesn't look as if you can get a bus at the bottom of the road every five minutes either! I reckon I'll hold back my visit to Dakota until I'm in a spirituallly reflective mood and feel a strong urge to commune with nature.

I've been caught in a Cairngorm blizzard...that was enough for me. LOL

Sorry......Dakota looks really cool...literally. No wonder the Norwegians settled down so well there! :-)

To Damian,
the best way to piss of a North or South Dakotan, call it "DAKOTA." Hi, there is a difference!!! :)
As for where to go for clubbing, http://www.oneo1minot.com/
pubbing - there are TONS of bars here. Why do you think we LEAD THE NATION in binge drinking? It's true, look it up.
Shopping = yes we have malls. With actual stores in them, imagine that!!
As for theaters, we have a brand new stadium seating movie theater, and if you are talking about actual plays, our cultural scene is abundant. http://www.minotstateu.edu/theatre/ Summer theatre produces 4 musicals each summer that are awesome! Cultural stuff = take your pick! My town hosts the worlds largest Scandinavian Festival every October http://www.hostfest.com/ AND the State Fair, which brings in many national and international stars. http://www.ndstatefair.com/
And for "funtime" places check these out! http://www.ragingriverswaterpark.com/
http://www.rpzoo.com/
http://www.shopdakotasquare.com/mall/index_home.aspx

As an art major at our local University, I am always going to cultural things, so I assure you we have no shortage of that. Please don't be so quick to judge and think everyone here is a hick. Yes, I want to leave, but it's because I want to get away from the ACCENTS and beliefs of the locals. Not because of lack of things to do. Cheers!

Sorry guys, didn't mean for it to turn into a "North Dakota Tourism" post. Just trying to disprove misperceptions. ;)

Erin:

Sorry....I meant North Dakota and South Dakota. It's just that I like saving time and space. No offence (oops..offense) meant.

Thanks for all that info and the cool links. I did no way assume you were all hicks. The pics Uriel sent were really nice but all portrayed very lonely looking places. I'm very much a city lad who wants every convenience close at hand and wide open space remoteness gives me the willies. Cows scare me...they always look so suspicious, and I'm not used to knowing the neighbours too well.

Binge drinking? No way could you teach a Brit anything about that.......:-)

Do you have any hotel reservations vacant in North Dakota right now?

erm..two ?s:

1 What's wrong with the accents then? I was led to believe they were cool with that Scandi touch?

1 Locals' beliefs? Without being to graphic, what would they be then? Go on tell me - I'm mega broad minded.
Suddenly North Dakota sounds even more intriguing...to think that the other day I hadn't a clue where it was. Well, in America yes, but that's about it. Sounds it could be fun after all....

North Dakota is a state I never really thought about except don't they say "warsh" for wash? Off topic I know, but I met a woman from Canada the other day and I thought that she was from Scotland but had lived in America a really long time and had her accent "neutralized" so to speak. She said she gets this allllll the time, but she was really nice about it.

Maybe she came from Nova Scotia, Rene. "New Scotland". I've heard that the Nova Scotians do have a Scottish type Canadian accent. Maybe she resisted any change to her accent in spite of all her years in the USA.

I heard Ruby Wax in the TV a wee while back. She has lived in the UK for ages and ages but still sounds as if she's never left her native USA...I don't know which part. What a laugh if it was one of the Dakotas! Maybe she will have to say "warsh" sometime then we'll know for sure. But she speaks so fast and excitedly it would be difficult to hear the word clearly.

This relates to a thread on the USA section of the British Expats forum:

http://www.britishexpats.com/forum)

Thread:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=381863

Apparently British people living in the USA find it extremely difficult to make genuine friends with Americans generally, the reasons being, from what I can make out, mainly cultural and a different overall attitude and approach.

What I found intriguing was the following short extract betwen two British guys living over there:

Re: Americans' circle of close friends etc.....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quote:

Originally Posted by (name deleted)

Of course there is the other side ...according to some US friend ... is that the English accent makes them believe we are sophisicated and more intelligent than them ..so they are wary of us ...and are nervous of getting too close ...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reply to the above by (name deleted):

Totally agree, I have been told that people feel intimidated by our accent.
===============================================

Is that really true? Ameicans "intimated" by an English accent? Those two guys above are English btw.

What I would like to know is just WHY Americans should feel "intimidated" by an English accent? I think that's weird.

As a Scotsman no way have I ever been intimidated by an English accent...not even that of a pissed up Geordie! :-)

<<Suddenly North Dakota sounds even more intriguing...to think that the other day I hadn't a clue where it was. Well, in America yes, but that's about it.>>

And now you know far more than you ever wanted to.



<<Why do you think we LEAD THE NATION in binge drinking?>>

Because it's too cold to screw, and you're depressed about living so close to Canada? ;P (Sorry, that was uncalled for, but I just couldn't resist...)



<<What's wrong with the accents then? I was led to believe they were cool with that Scandi touch?>>

Not in the US. Here, they provoke giggling.



<<What I would like to know is just WHY Americans should feel "intimidated" by an English accent? I think that's weird.>>

Pesky cultural conditioning. English: city mouse; American: country mouse.

I've had no problems being friendly with English people I've met. Don't know what they're complaining about on that forum. But then, they ARE on the internet, where bitching is de rigeur....