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Apr. 20th, 2007

09:25 pm - Spotted on the LJ of orv...

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I don't usually care for quizzes, but this one was interesting.


</form>
What American accent do you have?
Created by Xavier on Memegen.net

Midland. The Midland (please don't confuse with "Midwest") itself is the neutral zone between the North and South. But just because you have a Midland accent doesn't mean you're from there. Since it is considered a neutral, default, "non-regional" accent you could easily be from someplace without its own accent, like Florida, or a big city in the South like Dallas, Houston, or Atlanta.

Take this quiz now - it's easy!
We're going to start with "cot" and "caught." When you say those words do they sound the same or different?






Yes, I do live in a big city in the South (Houston), but I don't talk like Houstonians. Honestly, the white people around here sound like Texans. (The black people sound, well, black. Very strongly black. I guess that's a Deep South accent?)

I talk like my mom, who's from Cincinnati. So, this quiz was spot on! (Well, multi-state-region on.)

(9 comments | Leave a comment)

Comments:

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From:wbwolf
Date:April 21st, 2007 04:40 am (UTC)
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I managed to break the quiz. The result it returned was Western/Eastern New England/Midland. Western/Midland I understand, given my family background... but Eastern New England? I don't sound like a Bostonian or Mainer.
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From:varro
Date:April 21st, 2007 08:31 am (UTC)
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It's interesting that some people I know (#watertower people) who were raised in certain areas picked up the accents of the region, not their parents' accents. (captain18 and icecat - Cap and Natte are the most obvious examples.)

Since my family didn't move around, I ended up with a Pittsburgh accent, which is distinctive, but it's easier to tell from famous people who have it. Mr. Rogers had it, but he isn't really a good example of the accent because he was so soft-spoken.
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From:kinkyturtle
Date:April 21st, 2007 08:50 am (UTC)

OMG KT is elitist!!!!!!!

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I guess I've just always preferred the way my mom talks to the speech of the local yokels. :}
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From:octan
Date:April 21st, 2007 03:33 pm (UTC)
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Funny thing. I took this quiz and it gave me "The West," which it also says is a non-accent. So... what's the difference, anyway?
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From:wbwolf
Date:April 21st, 2007 03:45 pm (UTC)
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West (which can be subdivided into Pacific Northwest, California, Interior West and Western Canada, each with slight variations) is a "neutral" accent, much like Midland in that it doesn't feature particularly unique pronunciations and dialect features. I think the main difference between Midland and West has to do with vocabulary and some slight variations in speech (for example, the "r" intrusion in "wash" is more common in Midland compared with the West).
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From:kinkyturtle
Date:April 21st, 2007 09:20 pm (UTC)
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What he said.

Or maybe the difference hinges on whether or not you are an ornery galoot.
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From:qaianna
Date:April 22nd, 2007 12:55 am (UTC)
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All this time I'd asked what kind of accent I have, and just about everyone has said I have ... none to speek of. Now I can add this meme to that list--it put me down as a mix of midland and northern, both pretty neutral (the northern one was considered a baseline for comparison--how neutral can you get?). And the maps at least converge on where I (and my father) live currently; he's from here, tho I'm California-born.
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From:kit_ping
Date:April 22nd, 2007 10:16 pm (UTC)
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(The black people sound, well, black. Very strongly black. I guess that's a Deep South accent?)

[linguistics geekery]

Black English (aka AAVE, or African-American Vernacular English) is its own dialect of American English, and holds the singular honor of being the only such dialect not tied to a certain geographical area. While it more in common with some dialects than others (such as Southern), it is its own thing.

[/linguistics geekery]

:)
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From:kinkyturtle
Date:April 22nd, 2007 11:19 pm (UTC)
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Aha, I see!

And aha seeing is half the battle. (Eek! Battle? I didn't sign up for this! How do I get outta this outfit?!)
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