PEOPLE FROM CONNECTICUT, USA

RINA   Sun May 07, 2006 6:26 am GMT
Hello

I have a question.

Is it true that People from Connecticut speak english at a SLOWER pace than americans from other states in the U.S.?

I know this might be a silly question but i'm just curious.

Thanks for any comments..
Rick Johnson   Sun May 07, 2006 6:58 am GMT
Try listening to Georgie Bush- he's from Connecticut.
D6078AC   Sun May 07, 2006 9:45 am GMT
I think President Bush is likely to be a poor model for studying the Connecticut/New England accent; he has very much inculcated a Texas drawl to his speech.
Guest   Sun May 07, 2006 1:31 pm GMT
Georgine la Bush is from Mejico. She's my next door neighbor.
Uriel   Sun May 07, 2006 3:37 pm GMT
Well, David Letterman lives in Connecticut. I don't hear him talking any slower than anyone else. I've never heard of Connecticut having any stand-out features like that.
Lazar   Sun May 07, 2006 4:44 pm GMT
<<Well, David Letterman lives in Connecticut. I don't hear him talking any slower than anyone else. I've never heard of Connecticut having any stand-out features like that.>>

But he was born and raised in Indiana, so he wouldn't be a good example of a native Connecticut accent.
Uriel   Mon May 08, 2006 9:53 am GMT
Ah, true. But I've still never heard of anything distinguishing people from Connecticut, like a slower pace. Perhaps you, as a Mass. native, might know them better?
Lazar   Mon May 08, 2006 11:58 pm GMT
No, I really can't say that I've noticed anything distinctive about how people in Connecticut speak. From what I've heard and read, the Connecticut dialect appears to be remarkably close to General American (Mary-merry-marry merged, entirely rhotic) when compared with neighboring accents in the Boston, Worcester, Providence, and NYC areas.
Jo   Mon May 22, 2006 4:49 pm GMT
If you mean *who* lives in Connecticut, well, many wealthy people do, including

Leona Helmsley, real estate maven who lives in Greenwich, Connecticut
Martha Stewart, domestic diva who lives in Westport, Connecticut
Paul Newman, salad dressing guru and actor who lives in Westport, Connecticut
David Letterman, late night talk show host with ties to New Canaan, Connecticut
Phil Donahue, former talk show host who lives in Westport, Connecticut
Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of State who lives in Kent, Connecticut
Ivan Lendl, former tennis pro who maintains a residence in Litchfield, Connecticut
50 Cent, rapper who maintains a residence in Farmington, Connecticut
Rivers Cuomo, lead singer of Weezer, attended high school in Storrs, Connecticut
John Mayer, singer, native of Fairfield, Connecticut
Ralph Nader, consumer advocate and former U.S. presidential candidate, native of Winsted, Connecticut
Diana Ross, singer, maintains a residence in Belle Haven, Greenwich, Connecticut
Vince McMahon, Chairman of the WWF/WWE, also lives in Greenwich, Connecticut
Keith Richards, member of The Rolling stones who lives in Weston, Connecticut
Patty Hearst, member of the Hearst media empire who lives in Westport, Connecticut
Tebucky Jones, who currently plays for the New England Patriots of the NFL, lives in Farmington, Connecticut
Bruce Willis, actor in several movies, has a home in Bethel, Connecticut.
Ant_222   Mon May 22, 2006 7:19 pm GMT
FYI, in provincial regions of Russia (small towns, villages) people do speak slower than in central regions and big cities.

They often interrupt a Muscovite and say:
«Stop! Say slower, please: I don't perceive you.»

That's connectet with a much calmer lifestyle.
Guest   Mon May 22, 2006 11:21 pm GMT
People from the Hartford, CT speak pretty fast, in my opinion. But that's probably because a lot of them work in NYC.
Paul   Tue May 23, 2006 4:54 am GMT
To paraphrase an old David Letterman joke (actually much older than that): What do you call residents of Connecticut?

Commuters.
Dave C.   Tue Jun 20, 2006 7:51 pm GMT
Depends where you live in the state. Being from CT, I've over the years picked out a few regional variations in the accent in the dialect. Around certain cities closer to New York, esp. Bridgeport, New Haven (where I live) there is a somewhat of a New York accent, with a clear Italian-American accent. Here people tend to speak QUICKLY. In the eastern part of the state, esp. near Mass, there is somewhat of a New England accent. In most parts of the state its hard to detect any real kind of accent though.
CT Girl   Tue Dec 11, 2007 8:47 pm GMT
I was born in northwestern CT and still live here. I can assure you that we don't speak any slower than the rest of the country. In fact, I think we speak quite fast. We are part of New England and neighbors to New York after all.

I too think CT diction is basic to general American. It is true however, that a few people in certain parts of the state have a slight accent. I've also noticed that people in the southwest of MA sound the same as people in CT, which changes the further northeast you go.

I've also been told by a friend that we CT natives don't say our T's at the end of a word. Very true, but I've never heard a native from another state say a T at the end of a word either, it seems to get cut off in most American dialects.