What American accent do you have?

Guy   Wed May 30, 2007 4:48 pm GMT
Dear North Americans out there,

I came across this website and found it interesting.

http://www.youthink.com/quiz.asp?action=take&quiz_id=9827

I was born in California and brought up in Colorado, and this one said I have a Midland accent. Well, I guess it's quite close enough.

How accurate is this?
Josh Lalonde   Wed May 30, 2007 5:07 pm GMT
The quiz got me as Canadian, but you could get that based on just the two questions on Canadian Raising, the one on hawk/hock, and the one about 'pasta'.
Lazar   Wed May 30, 2007 5:18 pm GMT
The quiz correctly identified my accent as Northeast New England.
windy city   Wed May 30, 2007 5:28 pm GMT
It was correct:

"You have a Northern accent. That could either be the Chicago/Detroit/Cleveland/Buffalo accent (easily recognizable) or the Western New England accent that news networks go for."

I'm a native Chicagoan.
Travis   Wed May 30, 2007 5:35 pm GMT
It for me also said:

"You have a Northern accent. That could either be the Chicago/Detroit/Cleveland/Buffalo accent (easily recognizable) or the Western New England accent that news networks go for."

It was pretty close (Milwaukee isn't too far from Chicago) for me; of course, the parts where my dialect gets rather weird were things that did not affect this particular quiz.
Guest   Wed May 30, 2007 5:43 pm GMT
I am a non-native speaker. It has suggested me to have a Midland accent. Sounds funny. I normally try to imitate pronunciation of words from watching American news channels and sitcoms.

===
("Midland" is not necessarily the same thing as "Midwest") The default, lowest-common-denominator American accent that newscasters try to imitate. Since it's a neutral accent, just because you have a Midland accent doesn't mean you're from the Midland.
AnnieJP   Wed May 30, 2007 5:48 pm GMT
"North Central

What people call the "Minnesota accent." Sounds almost Canadian. You may have even been asked if you were from Canada before."

I'm actually from Alberta. Tee hee.
Liz   Wed May 30, 2007 5:54 pm GMT
I'm also a non-native speaker who speaks with a British accent, but I had a try just out of curiosity. It identified my accent as Northeastern. Here's what it says:

"Most people don't know it but this is actually what dictionaries are based on. If you don't believe me, pick up any American dictionary and look up "source" and "sauce" and you'll see they are written with the same vowel pronunciation."

LOL! I thought it would identify my accent as AAVE! :-)
Jasper   Wed May 30, 2007 6:00 pm GMT
Mine says "Midland" accent.

I don't know; I was born and raised in TN, but have spent the last 27 years on the West Coast.

I guess that's the problem with these kinds of tests; they don't take into account hybrids.
Jasper   Wed May 30, 2007 6:02 pm GMT
Travis:

You're from Milwaukee? Oh, my God; I thought you were Californian.

Travis, I believe some of my opinions might have offended you. I apologize for that; among all the forummates on this board, I respect you the most for your vast font of knowledge in linguistics.

I never learn! Strong opinions should be kept to oneself.
Travis   Wed May 30, 2007 6:38 pm GMT
>>You're from Milwaukee? Oh, my God; I thought you were Californian.<<

Heh - this is probably the first time I've been confused with a Californian, despite having been confused with a non-native speaker a whole number of times. The big thing is that I have the NCVS, which is not very Californian at al...

>>Travis, I believe some of my opinions might have offended you. I apologize for that; among all the forummates on this board, I respect you the most for your vast font of knowledge in linguistics.<<

Oh, you haven't offended me one bit here, really. Actually, you have been one of the better newer users, unlike the obnoxious sorts that are unfortunately endemic here (whose names do not need mentioning).

>>I never learn! Strong opinions should be kept to oneself.<<

I disagree - I would rather have people have strong views and to defend them well rather than to have people avoid anything that could be potentially controversial or "offensive" to anyone, which would greatly water down discussion as a whole. Of course, though, that is different from being controversial or offensive for its own sake (aka trolling).
Brian   Wed May 30, 2007 7:26 pm GMT
Midland, which is pretty accurate.
Jasper   Wed May 30, 2007 7:39 pm GMT
Travis:

I think I'd mistaken you for one of the other posters, who posted a link to his California speech, illustrating the rising intonation at the end of a sentence...

Travis, by the way--have you ever heard Yooper? If so, what are some of its characteristics?
Travis   Wed May 30, 2007 8:46 pm GMT
>>Travis, by the way--have you ever heard Yooper? If so, what are some of its characteristics?<<

"Yooper" is basically the dialect spoken on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It is basically an extreme North Central American English dialect, with features such as interdental hardening (and not just in word-initial position, unlike here), highly rounded middle and high back vowels, the use of word "yah", and, in older people, the merger of /w/ and /v/. However, I am not really familiar enough with it to give many details beyond that. My impression of it, though, is that it really is not all that different from the dialect here, except that it is much more extreme overall.
Delia   Wed May 30, 2007 11:03 pm GMT
The quiz said I have a Midland accent. I'm from California.