Chicano influences in California English

>> And ''move'' is something like ''meuve''...
Californian pronunciation of ''cool'' can be found in ''kewl'' spelling ;)
And ''noo'' (new) is ''nyoo'' again ;) Mom is mawm ;) and not mahm <<

In move, the /u/ sound is pronounced in the front of the mouth. Same for "new", so that can make it sound like "nyoo", even though many don't restore the yod. Californians are cot-caught vowel merged, so "mom" can be spelled "mahm" or "mawm", and Californians wouldn't be able to perceive or make a difference between them. So, if they saw "mahm" on the page, they would pronounce it "mawm", even though it's spelt "mahm". This is almost universal throughout the entire Western US however, so it's nothing peculiar about the California dialect.

<<<<<...Trust me...The California dialect sounds to one degree or another like Valley Girl or Surfer Dude... >>>>>

Beg pardon? I'm to trust a Texan on his word that I sound like a preppy little snob as opposed to listening my own voice?

Yes, perhaps .5% of Californians speak like that. They are stereotyped, sheltered wusses who quiver at the sight of a bug. The vast majority of us DO NOT TALK LIKE "VALLEY GIRLS" OR "SURFER DUDES!" We sound the same as any resident of the West Coast. And I am not saying this because I'm used to the way Californians speak--our accent is much the same as those I've heard from the North-East Coast.

<<<<<I'm from Texas but I'm been going to SDSU for almost four years>>>>>

Oh, goodie-good for you--you've been to San Diego. What about Northern California, hmm? Sacramento? San Francisco? Lake Tahoe?

<<<<<And you mention the O.C....listen to how those folks talk... >>>>

I don't actually WATCH the O.C. I just know that it leads many to believe false images about Californians.

Please don't get upset Sarcastic but I have also a question. Is there big difference from Northern and Southern Californian when we are talking?. It look like you shouting at Texas man and I am being learning English for only a little time. So I watch O.C but sometimes the words are too quick. Sometimes so I am just read the pictures. Is there the better TV to watch about the Californian people?.

I stopped watching the O.C. after the first episode so I can't tell you how well it represents California, but I think that if you want to know what it's really like somewhere, then you have to actually go there. Anyway, it's kind of funny that most of the O.C. was actually filmed in LA County instead of Orange County because of costs. So I guess the ones who are really misrepresented are the people of Orange County.

What I wonder, though, is whether the O.C. represents California better or worse than, say, That 70's Show represents Wisconsin... heh...

Oh I am so stupid. I thought Sarcastic was a name. My friend notices my mistake just now.

So O.C is now called L.A.C, yes?. :-)

<<<<<Please don't get upset Sarcastic but I have also a question. Is there big difference from Northern and Southern Californian when we are talking?. It look like you shouting at Texas man and I am being learning English for only a little time. So I watch O.C but sometimes the words are too quick. Sometimes so I am just read the pictures. Is there the better TV to watch about the Californian people?.>>>>>

I'm not upset. At least, not at you, Victoria. And no, there is not a major difference between Northern and Southern California accents. There might be a slight hispanic tinge (depending on where the speaker is from) in the South-Californian accent, because our southern border touches Mexico. That is the only major difference I can think of.

Of course, as I mentioned earlier, I'm sure there are a few of the stereotyped "surfers" or "valley girls". Nonetheless, that is not how the rest of California speaks.

As far as concerning any T.V. shows that would be even remotely accurate about Californians, sorry, I can't think of anything off the top of my head. But it's not like we're much different than the rest of the citizens of the US....

<<<<<What I wonder, though, is whether the O.C. represents California better or worse than, say, That 70's Show represents Wisconsin... heh...>>>>>

I've never actually seen the O.C., but from the commercials alone, I can tell it respresents Califorania about as much as the Donkey represents the Republicans.

Yeah, you should probably trust me more than what you hear, because 1) you have a biased opinion of how you speak and 2) because you've lived in California your whole life you probably don't hear it as much as I do.

I didn't think my parents had Texas accents until my friends would come out to visit and tell me.

Calm down dude...lol There's a lot of people from NorCal here saying hella this and hecka that and they don't sound much different aside from those two words.

By the way, there are people all across America who speak Valley Girl or Surfer Dude, especially in large cities like Dallas (where I'm from), but I don't know any linguistics who would dispute that that is predominantly California-based... And unless you're from El Centro or Bakersfield or somewhere else not along the coast, then 4 times out of 5 you're gonna sound like a VG or SD.

lol If you think your dialect stereotype portrays your neighbours in a negative light or makes them out to be idiots, talk to someone from the South...

>> We [Californians] sound the same as any resident of the West Coast <<

Yeah, right. You guys don't sound anything like us Pacific Northwesterners. We don't have the California vowel shift here. We (most of us at least) say tomohrow and not tomahrow. "bag" and "bad" have different vowels. "Dull" and "dole" do not sound the same. We don't front /u/ and /o/. Some of us do say "hella" however. We can spot a Californian accent a mile away.

<<<<<Yeah, you should probably trust me more than what you hear, because 1) you have a biased opinion of how you speak....>>>>>

Who are you to say that? Able to see inside my mind? Wow, now THAT's something...

Excuse my sarcasm; I'm unable to deny it's screeches. And yes, maybe I AM a bit swayed towards my opinions of my speech. There. I said it. Don't expect me to admit anything else. Ever.

<<<<<....and 2) because you've lived in California your whole life you probably don't hear it as much as I do. >>>>>

...I mentioned something earlier about that. Skipped over it, perhaps? Read back on it.

<<<<<Calm down dude...lol There's a lot of people from NorCal here saying hella this and hecka that and they don't sound much different aside from those two words.>>>>>

Could you verify that statement? It's unclear to me whether you mean that we Northerners sound just like valley girls and surfers, save "hella" and "hecka"...or if you mean that we sound like other accents.

<<<<<Yeah, right. You guys don't sound anything like us Pacific Northwesterners. We don't have the California vowel shift here. We (most of us at least) say tomohrow and not tomahrow. "bag" and "bad" have different vowels. "Dull" and "dole" do not sound the same. We don't front /u/ and /o/. Some of us do say "hella" however. We can spot a Californian accent a mile away. >>>>>

Hm, where are you from? And how would you pronounce "bag" and "bad"?

I have multiple friends from Oregon and one from Washington, and they seem to sound the same as I do...


Welcome to the Sarcastic Club, by the way--we have jackets.

>> Hm, where are you from? And how would you pronounce "bag" and "bad"? <<

Well, Californians with the California vowel shift would say [bag] and [bad]. The more conservative speakers would say [b{g] and [b{d]. We pronounce "bag" closer to how we pronounce "beg" [beg] than bad [b{d]. Even the people with the Canadian vowel shift (it has some influence here), bad would be [bad], but "bag" still sounds almost the same as "beg". Some people actually merge the too--I do, but I know it's not universal. So, a [begr=] at a store, could be either a "bagger" or a "begger".

>> I have multiple friends from Oregon and one from Washington, and they seem to sound the same as I do...
<<

We don't have the Californian vowel shift. A few speakers have the Canadian vowel shift, but it is much less extensive than the California vowel shift. /u/ and /o/ are much more rounded as well. Most of us say "tomorrow" with an "o" not an "ah". So, there are certainly some differences.


>>
Welcome to the Sarcastic Club, by the way--we have jackets.<<

cool

<<
Well, Californians with the California vowel shift would say [bag] and [bad].>>

How come I've lived in California all my life and I've never heard anyone pronounce them like that? I've only ever heard [b{g] and [b{d].