the stopfordian accent work it out
What accent do you really hate? and which one you love?
Thought this was funny:
Issued by the North Dakota Tourism Bureau to ALL visiting Californians and Northeastern Urbanites:
Don't order filet mignon or pasta primavera at Kroll's Kitchen. It's a diner. They serve breakfast 24 hours a day. Let them cook something they know. If you upset the ladies in the kitchen, they'll kick your ass.
Don't laugh at the names of our little towns (Minnewauken, Rolla, Gackle, Osnabrock, Cando, Walhalla, Zap, etc.) or we will just HAVE to kick your ass.
Don't order a bottle or a can of soda here. Up here it's called pop. Accept it. Doing otherwise can lead to an ass kicking.
We know our heritage. Most of us are more literate than you. We are also better educated and generally a lot nicer. Don't refer to us as a bunch of hicks or we'll kick your ass.
We have plenty of business sense. You have to to make a living up here. Naturally, we do sometimes have small lapses in judgment from time to time, but we are not dumb enough to let someone move to our state in order to run for the Senate. If someone tried to do that, we would kick their ass.
Don't laugh at our giant fiberglass cows and our turtles made out of car parts. Anything that inspires tourists to buy 50,000 postcards can't be bad. When you're in Jamestown, don't point at the genitalia on the giant buffalo or we'll kick your ass.
We are fully aware of how cold it gets here in the winter, so shut the hell up. Just spend your money and get the hell out of here or we'll kick your ass.
Don't order the vegetarian special at the local diner. Everyone will instantly know that you're a tourist. Eat your steak well-done like God intended and have some potatoes with that, for heaven's sake! Also, don't ask what a hot dish is or we'll kick your ass.
Don't try to fake a NoDak accent. We don't have an accent. Do NOT mention the movie "Fargo" as that will incite a riot and you will get your ass kicked.
Don't talk about how much better things are at home because we know better. Many of us have visited big-city hell-holes like Detroit, New York, and LA, and we have the scars to prove it. If you don't like it here, Northwest Airlines is ready when you are. Move your ass on home before it gets kicked.
Yes, we know that ice fishing is "not your thing." We don't care. If you don't understand the beauty of being out on a lake when it's 10 degrees then you should go home and try fishing in New York Harbor. Also, don't hog the heater in the fish house or we'll kick your ass.
Don't complain that North Dakota is flat and that there aren't enough trees. If you whine about OUR scenic beauty we'll kick your ass all the way back to Cleveland.
Don't ridicule our mannerisms. We only speak when spoken to. We hold doors open for others. We offer our seats to old folks because such things are expected of civilized people. Behave yourselves around our sweet, little grey-haired grandmothers or they will kick some manners into your ass just like they did ours.
So you think we're quaint or losers because most of us live on the prairie? That's because we have enough sense to not live in filthy, smelly, crime-infested cesspools like New York or LA. Make fun of our fresh air and we'll kick your ass.
Last, but not least, DO NOT DARE to come out here and tell us how the prairie should "go back to the buffalo." This will get your ass shot (right after it is kicked). Just mention this once and you will go home in a pine box. Minus your ass.
Enjoy your visit in the Peace Garden State!
Issued by the North Dakota Tourism Bureau to ALL visiting Californians and Northeastern Urbanites:
Don't order filet mignon or pasta primavera at Kroll's Kitchen. It's a diner. They serve breakfast 24 hours a day. Let them cook something they know. If you upset the ladies in the kitchen, they'll kick your ass.
Don't laugh at the names of our little towns (Minnewauken, Rolla, Gackle, Osnabrock, Cando, Walhalla, Zap, etc.) or we will just HAVE to kick your ass.
Don't order a bottle or a can of soda here. Up here it's called pop. Accept it. Doing otherwise can lead to an ass kicking.
We know our heritage. Most of us are more literate than you. We are also better educated and generally a lot nicer. Don't refer to us as a bunch of hicks or we'll kick your ass.
We have plenty of business sense. You have to to make a living up here. Naturally, we do sometimes have small lapses in judgment from time to time, but we are not dumb enough to let someone move to our state in order to run for the Senate. If someone tried to do that, we would kick their ass.
Don't laugh at our giant fiberglass cows and our turtles made out of car parts. Anything that inspires tourists to buy 50,000 postcards can't be bad. When you're in Jamestown, don't point at the genitalia on the giant buffalo or we'll kick your ass.
We are fully aware of how cold it gets here in the winter, so shut the hell up. Just spend your money and get the hell out of here or we'll kick your ass.
Don't order the vegetarian special at the local diner. Everyone will instantly know that you're a tourist. Eat your steak well-done like God intended and have some potatoes with that, for heaven's sake! Also, don't ask what a hot dish is or we'll kick your ass.
Don't try to fake a NoDak accent. We don't have an accent. Do NOT mention the movie "Fargo" as that will incite a riot and you will get your ass kicked.
Don't talk about how much better things are at home because we know better. Many of us have visited big-city hell-holes like Detroit, New York, and LA, and we have the scars to prove it. If you don't like it here, Northwest Airlines is ready when you are. Move your ass on home before it gets kicked.
Yes, we know that ice fishing is "not your thing." We don't care. If you don't understand the beauty of being out on a lake when it's 10 degrees then you should go home and try fishing in New York Harbor. Also, don't hog the heater in the fish house or we'll kick your ass.
Don't complain that North Dakota is flat and that there aren't enough trees. If you whine about OUR scenic beauty we'll kick your ass all the way back to Cleveland.
Don't ridicule our mannerisms. We only speak when spoken to. We hold doors open for others. We offer our seats to old folks because such things are expected of civilized people. Behave yourselves around our sweet, little grey-haired grandmothers or they will kick some manners into your ass just like they did ours.
So you think we're quaint or losers because most of us live on the prairie? That's because we have enough sense to not live in filthy, smelly, crime-infested cesspools like New York or LA. Make fun of our fresh air and we'll kick your ass.
Last, but not least, DO NOT DARE to come out here and tell us how the prairie should "go back to the buffalo." This will get your ass shot (right after it is kicked). Just mention this once and you will go home in a pine box. Minus your ass.
Enjoy your visit in the Peace Garden State!
When i hera an accent I think of it as a patch in the quilt of our history and culture. I ma facinated by the thought of tracing the accent to its origin - and all the life-stories you would hear at every step. It is a thought that fills me with facination - nothing else!
- Phil from Bristowe "Brissle"
- Phil from Bristowe "Brissle"
I'm American, but hate any American accents (Southern and "gangsta" are the worst). I love British accents so much. London is my favorite, but North East ones are good, too. Irish accents are so cute.
-Phil
-Phil
i'm from boston (the city) and my mother is from ireland and my father is italian/american. i have a typical boston accent, which actually is looked upon as "lower class" regardless of your educational level; i suspect the same thing exists also for people with traditional new york/new jersey or southern accents. in america, if you're "educated" and so-called "middle-class" you're expected to speak so-called standardized american english, which sounds to me like small town midwestern. how the idea that people who sound like they come from a small town in wisconsin speak more superior english than someone from say new york or boston is a mystery to me, but that's the way it is. i've always had the impression that most people from small town america,especially the midwest and south, think they're more "american" and more "morally upright" (LOL) than people from say new york or boston.this is funny coming from people who routinely accuse people from boston of being "snobs" LOL. i don't have a favorite american (or any other) accent but i like some southern (appalachian, and georgia; i know they're different), but not others (coastal carolina/virgina sounds really snotty to me, and i dislike the sterotypical texas drawl, to me it makes the speaker sound like a smartass trying to pull something over on you.)i tolerate boston,eastern new england,new york/new jersey accents but i think they are harsh and probably sound grating to alot of people. west coast accents are barely noticable, california is big and there are many accents, but aside from the stereotypical mexican/chicano accent, none stand out. pacific northwest sounds somewhat like a muted new england accent. my least favorite accents are by far upper midwest,excluding chicago (minnesota,wisconsin.)i find the particular accents traditionally spoken there really unpleasant, and i almost feel like blocking my ears when i hear it. a southern accent can be really strong but very sexy and a northeastern (new york/boston) accent can make you sound hard,even if you aren't, but a upper midwest accent has no redeeming value as far as i can tell. i'm not commenting on people from there, just the accent. canadian accents vary like american but in general i like the newfie,find the quebec odd almost foreign sounding,and the toronto/southern ontarian sounds american except for a few noticable vowel shifts and phrases (aboot,hoose, really stand out to non-canadians.) the western canadin sounds even more american, west coast sounds like american west coast except for a few phrases. i like some irish accents but not all; the dublin is ok and i've got no problem with the northern accents but they're very different from the southern like my moms. i love scottish accents (i know there're many.) i also realize there're many english accents so i'll make it simple, based on my experience. i think cockney accents are The Shit. i love them,very cool,and yes i know they're considered so-called "lower class" and some people exaggerate or fake them. excuse my ignorance, but the so-called (in america) "upper-class" english accent sucks. very snotty and in my opinion un-sexy. sounds like you're constipated, like an upper midwest american accent. no offense.
being from massachusetts, which has i believe the largest concentrations of portugese and brazilians in america, i can attest the portugese language, whoever is speaking it, sounds really unique, nothing like spanish. when i first heard it, i didn't know what to make of it. and i forgot to mention australian vs english (england) english; i'm laughing at some of the stuff some english posters wrote, i can spot an australian accent a mile away. they're unique, sort of a mix of english and american english, and certainly don't sound "british." but, i have confused australian with south african. finally, a english poster commented about his father visiting florida and that americans are ignorant of the outside world and other cultures,etc., obviously, this dude or dudette knows nothing about america and has spent little or no time here. america (and canada) of course are among the most diverse multi-cultural nations on earth. most americans and canadians are of mixed ethnic backgrounds and i can guarantee you new york,chicago,toronto or boston and montreal, as examples, are far more diverse than say liverpool or manchester. get with the program man.
>>i'm from boston (the city) and my mother is from ireland and my father is italian/american. i have a typical boston accent, which actually is looked upon as "lower class" regardless of your educational level; i suspect the same thing exists also for people with traditional new york/new jersey or southern accents. in america, if you're "educated" and so-called "middle-class" you're expected to speak so-called standardized american english, which sounds to me like small town midwestern. how the idea that people who sound like they come from a small town in wisconsin speak more superior english than someone from say new york or boston is a mystery to me, but that's the way it is.<<
For starters, we here in Wisconsin don't speak General American (which is what you are describing) - at all. Apparently, my own speech is even further from such than I previously assumed, at least from reactions I've gotten from speech samples posted by myself. General American lacks a whole range of phonological features present here in Milwaukee, such as the Northern Cities Vowel Shift, Canadian Raising (at least for /aI/, sometimes weakly for /aU/ also), tense vowel monophthongization, final devoicing, interdental hardening, lateral vocalization, using [e] and [o] rather than [E] and [O] for the results of the Mary-merry-marry and hoarse-horse mergers, and has syntactic differences pertaining to things like the usage of "then", "there", "yeah"/"ja" (for those who have "ja"), "though", "by", and so on. And that's the dialect here in Milwaukee - apparently in other parts of the state (that is, the rural north of the state) you can hear much more marked interdental hardening and stronger substratum features than here.
General American is actually based off the speech of the southern and western end of the Midwest circa 1930-1950, and is in not based off the speech of the *real* Upper Midwest (that is, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and the northern extremes of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio), especially since the emergence of the Northern Cities Vowel Shift (but it never included substratum or "Canadian" influences either). It in general sounds rather marked here, especially in conservative forms, and one way or another sounds more like something you would hear in the media than in Real Life here.
>>my least favorite accents are by far upper midwest,excluding chicago (minnesota,wisconsin.)i find the particular accents traditionally spoken there really unpleasant, and i almost feel like blocking my ears when i hear it. a southern accent can be really strong but very sexy and a northeastern (new york/boston) accent can make you sound hard,even if you aren't, but a upper midwest accent has no redeeming value as far as i can tell.<<
You do realize that the speech in Chicago is not all that different from here in Milwaukee (that is, southeastern Wisconsin), do you? There is plenty enough difference for the dialect here in Milwaukee to be perceived as weird by individuals from Chicago, but they still definitely have things like the Northern Cities Vowel Shift, Canadian Raising (at least of /aI/), final devoicing (of one sort or another), and interdental hardening (to some extent) in common. Think "da bearsss".
That said, you give no good reasons for your seemingly arbitrary assessments of the dialects in this general area, which are shown to be more arbitrary by your comment about Chicago above. Just why do you think such, besides "just because"?
>>sounds like you're constipated, like an upper midwest american accent.<<
"Constipated". Now just how did you come to that particular conclusion there?
>>i'm not commenting on people from there, just the accent.<<
However, people often identify rather strongly with speech varieties in their given areas,
For starters, we here in Wisconsin don't speak General American (which is what you are describing) - at all. Apparently, my own speech is even further from such than I previously assumed, at least from reactions I've gotten from speech samples posted by myself. General American lacks a whole range of phonological features present here in Milwaukee, such as the Northern Cities Vowel Shift, Canadian Raising (at least for /aI/, sometimes weakly for /aU/ also), tense vowel monophthongization, final devoicing, interdental hardening, lateral vocalization, using [e] and [o] rather than [E] and [O] for the results of the Mary-merry-marry and hoarse-horse mergers, and has syntactic differences pertaining to things like the usage of "then", "there", "yeah"/"ja" (for those who have "ja"), "though", "by", and so on. And that's the dialect here in Milwaukee - apparently in other parts of the state (that is, the rural north of the state) you can hear much more marked interdental hardening and stronger substratum features than here.
General American is actually based off the speech of the southern and western end of the Midwest circa 1930-1950, and is in not based off the speech of the *real* Upper Midwest (that is, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and the northern extremes of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio), especially since the emergence of the Northern Cities Vowel Shift (but it never included substratum or "Canadian" influences either). It in general sounds rather marked here, especially in conservative forms, and one way or another sounds more like something you would hear in the media than in Real Life here.
>>my least favorite accents are by far upper midwest,excluding chicago (minnesota,wisconsin.)i find the particular accents traditionally spoken there really unpleasant, and i almost feel like blocking my ears when i hear it. a southern accent can be really strong but very sexy and a northeastern (new york/boston) accent can make you sound hard,even if you aren't, but a upper midwest accent has no redeeming value as far as i can tell.<<
You do realize that the speech in Chicago is not all that different from here in Milwaukee (that is, southeastern Wisconsin), do you? There is plenty enough difference for the dialect here in Milwaukee to be perceived as weird by individuals from Chicago, but they still definitely have things like the Northern Cities Vowel Shift, Canadian Raising (at least of /aI/), final devoicing (of one sort or another), and interdental hardening (to some extent) in common. Think "da bearsss".
That said, you give no good reasons for your seemingly arbitrary assessments of the dialects in this general area, which are shown to be more arbitrary by your comment about Chicago above. Just why do you think such, besides "just because"?
>>sounds like you're constipated, like an upper midwest american accent.<<
"Constipated". Now just how did you come to that particular conclusion there?
>>i'm not commenting on people from there, just the accent.<<
However, people often identify rather strongly with speech varieties in their given areas,
Did not complete my comment; that last part should be:
>>i'm not commenting on people from there, just the accent.<<
However, people often identify rather strongly with speech varieties in their given areas, and are not necessarily going to say "oh, it's just the accent that they're speaking about, it doesn't matter" - rather, people may very well take such opinions personally, especially since individuals opinions' about speech varieties imply opinions about the speakers of such varieties.
>>i'm not commenting on people from there, just the accent.<<
However, people often identify rather strongly with speech varieties in their given areas, and are not necessarily going to say "oh, it's just the accent that they're speaking about, it doesn't matter" - rather, people may very well take such opinions personally, especially since individuals opinions' about speech varieties imply opinions about the speakers of such varieties.
alright travis, you put me in my place; i admit to some ignorance regarding midwest accents. it's a big ass place. i've always considered the particular accents i dislike being minnesota/wisconsin, probably the rural accents. the accent i'm referring to sounds very stiff and highly articulated, like text-book english so to speak. some of the comments i said sound offensive but i really didn't mean them to be. you should here some of the f***ing smartassed comments i've heard about my accent, even to my face. i stand by my other comment about midwesterners and southerners, primarily rural i suppose, who feel they're more "american",more patriotic and morally superior, than other americans, especially people in say new york city,philadelphia,boston,etc., many americans don't even think of nyc as being american, more like the dark side of the moon or something. this is the absoulute truth,it's pathetic and it's bulls**t. to people who feel this way never forget where the united states of america was created, and never forget that if it wasn't for the huge economic output of literally a handful of large cities/metro areas, the united states of america would have the economy and status of a third world country.
The truth is, there are many different Americas. The America you know, john, is very different than the one I know (I grew up in a town in Minnesota). People need to look at what American actually means--of or from America. We are such a diverse country, that this word has almost no real meaning.
>>alright travis, you put me in my place; i admit to some ignorance regarding midwest accents. it's a big ass place. i've always considered the particular accents i dislike being minnesota/wisconsin, probably the rural accents. the accent i'm referring to sounds very stiff and highly articulated, like text-book english so to speak.<<
I find that funny, as I would say that such most definitely does not describe most everyday English here; only speech that is deliberately formal, such as that used in formal business situations, is like that. What you are thinking of seems more like a stereotype or an incomplete picture shown by only a limited scope of social interaction, which might favor more formal speech than one would normally use if one actually lived here. For example, if went on vacation Up North here and primarily interacted with the locals via local businesses, you would likely hear *far* more formal speech from the employees than the employees would use with each other themselves.
However, speaking like that, at least for myself, is rather tiring for any extended period of time and is quite slow in general compared to informal speech. Normally I myself prefer to speak more informally overall, as it is just much *easier* and I can say more in much less time. I primarily speak rather formally in social situations where such would be expected, and when speaking with individuals whom I would not expect to understand my more informal speech (yes, this a factor at times, especially with individuals from without the area and especially non-native English-speakers).
I find that funny, as I would say that such most definitely does not describe most everyday English here; only speech that is deliberately formal, such as that used in formal business situations, is like that. What you are thinking of seems more like a stereotype or an incomplete picture shown by only a limited scope of social interaction, which might favor more formal speech than one would normally use if one actually lived here. For example, if went on vacation Up North here and primarily interacted with the locals via local businesses, you would likely hear *far* more formal speech from the employees than the employees would use with each other themselves.
However, speaking like that, at least for myself, is rather tiring for any extended period of time and is quite slow in general compared to informal speech. Normally I myself prefer to speak more informally overall, as it is just much *easier* and I can say more in much less time. I primarily speak rather formally in social situations where such would be expected, and when speaking with individuals whom I would not expect to understand my more informal speech (yes, this a factor at times, especially with individuals from without the area and especially non-native English-speakers).
you know what really irritates me? in any situation that is remotely formal i'm expected to "lose" my normal (for lack of a better word) accent like it's something "bad" or inferior. it's a fascinating thing to be in the middle of boston and hear no one speaking with a local accent because many have had it drummed into them it's "bad." this is particually true of someone like me with a strong boston (eastern new england,coastal)ny/nj, or southern accent. i sincerely think it's less of a problem for people from the midwest, and i suspect the rehtoric/non-rehtoric thing plays a big part of this. my girlfriend actually had a teacher (a middle-aged woman from wisconsin) seriously try and "correct" her english, she insisted the boston accent wasn't proper. i think most north americans are more comfortable with a rehtoric accent. trust me, i know from broad experience, i can go anywhere outside the northeast in america and my accent stands out like a sore thumb. when i go over-seas many people don't think i'm american at all. in england i get people who think i'm australian or (LOL) canadian. the "american" accent they're used to hearing (the so-called general or standard american english, or whatever the hell it's called) is so unlike mine. i don't know how john kennedy got elected, he must have sounded like he was from outer space to alot of americans. john kerry has no accent at all.
What area and how many people around you talk with a non-rhotic accent?
I think John Kerry changed his accent. I don't know if it was non-rhotic to start with though. And as for JFK, his accent was prestigious in that era.
I think John Kerry changed his accent. I don't know if it was non-rhotic to start with though. And as for JFK, his accent was prestigious in that era.
<<john kerry has no accent at all.>>
Well, not to be too pedantic, but everyone does have an accent. However, if you mean his doesn't sound much like a regional MA one, that might be the case. However, I'm from California and I could tell John Kerry sounded a bit different than me.
<<i don't know how john kennedy got elected, he must have sounded like he was from outer space to alot of americans. john kerry has no accent at all.>>
Well it's often been said that those who listened to the Nixon-JFK presidential debate on the radio thought Nixon would win yet those who watched the same debate on TV said JFK was to win. Accent isn't everything--especially if you look youthful, vigorous and have a charismatic aura about you. In fact the accent can just be seen as part of the overall charm if those characteristics are also present. I think it worked that way for JFK. Plus, America hasn't had a problem electing other people with noticeable regional accents in the past--Jimmy Cahta from Plains Joja got elected. And the current and previous president both had noticeable Southern (altho rhotic Southern) influences in their speech.
Well, not to be too pedantic, but everyone does have an accent. However, if you mean his doesn't sound much like a regional MA one, that might be the case. However, I'm from California and I could tell John Kerry sounded a bit different than me.
<<i don't know how john kennedy got elected, he must have sounded like he was from outer space to alot of americans. john kerry has no accent at all.>>
Well it's often been said that those who listened to the Nixon-JFK presidential debate on the radio thought Nixon would win yet those who watched the same debate on TV said JFK was to win. Accent isn't everything--especially if you look youthful, vigorous and have a charismatic aura about you. In fact the accent can just be seen as part of the overall charm if those characteristics are also present. I think it worked that way for JFK. Plus, America hasn't had a problem electing other people with noticeable regional accents in the past--Jimmy Cahta from Plains Joja got elected. And the current and previous president both had noticeable Southern (altho rhotic Southern) influences in their speech.