I'm curious :p (Tucson, Flagstaff, Prescott: hotels, jobs, hospital)

[Mel22]

Ok this might sound silly to some but I was wondering what kind of accent or dialect is spoken in AZ, what is it compatible to? (since I can’t hear it reading you guys’ posts ..lol). I lived in NJ; they definitely had their own accent, New Yorkers, New England etc. I visited my best friend in Louisiana and they defiantly speak different than people in Jersey … Now I was wondering how natives in Arizona sound.

Also…. Attitudes

New Yorkers are very much like Germans (well where I’m from), very focused, fast paste, mind my own business type deal but once you broke the ice you like em … (that was my experience, I loved NY!)
Jersey was very much the same, different habits and attitudes with different age groups.

Down South, well that was VERY different from what I’m use to ..lol..
I cannot recall that I’ve ever stood in line at a store with 2 people in front of me but yet it took me 30 minutes to pay and get out of the store, due to the clerk chit chatting with everyone and taking her sweet time. The traffic flow was nearly none existent (which drove me insane) and people in general are very friendly and huggy almost. They seem to not be phased by time or stress, I was “almost” jeaouls..lol…

I grew up “work hard, then enjoy”, Europeans are in a lot of ways more laid back than Americans but I can handle that in most cases.
Anyhow…
Now enlighten me

[ejk]

I really have not noticed a dialect.

Things are definitely slower paced than where I'm from (Chicago area). I find that I speak to people in the stores/etc a lot more than back there-- they are a lot friendlier-- but not to the extent you described.

[sablebaby]

We don't really have an accent here, at least the native az people. Occasionally I will say a word that sounds funny to others but I think that's just me and not because I'm from AZ.

You will find all kinds of attitudes here because people are from everywhere. So you will find some really nice people, but many will just come home from work, drive into their garage, shut the door and you won't ever see them.

I don't think you will find many store clerks talking your ear off. Most I come in contact with don't care much about customer service. I think many people don't like their jobs and it shows.

[blueeyz911]

We don't have an accent out here in Arizona. I suppose people from the East coast, down South or Midwest would think we talk different because we do not talk like them. I have been told I sound like I am from California (ya know valley girl accent) but I don't think I sound that severe but maybe to someone from the midwest.

[MotleyCrew]

We are very mixed up here in AZ. I love New Jersey accents and have met quite a few here. Youse guyz are the betz. Attitudes vary depending on how much traffic there is.

[zonababe]

I think the natives (born in Az.) have a soft spoken but monotone sound. Nothing obvious in the way of an accent or dialect.

[carecare7]

Lets see. A lot of Arizonans say "on accident" instead of "by accident." They call it soda instead of pop. They say uh-dolt for adult and tore-ist for tourist, chouldren instead of children and "he goes" or "she goes" instead of "he said" or "she said."

Prescott is pronounced "preskit."

Depending on where you live, some Arizonans have a bit of a Latino accent, others sound like California girls. Most don't have any noticable accent at all.

Also depending on where you are in Arizona, some people are friendly and laid back, others are unfriendly and uptight. Some are nasty and some are dopey. For every five people that move in here, four people move out so Arizona is a transient state. It is also predominently Republican (except for pockets with Democrats like Flagstaff and Tucson) conservative, senior oriented and dead last or almost dead last in education and child well being.

There are lots of illegal immigrants here. Tucson now is like a third world country and finding a clean, well kept hotel or motel there is nearly impossible. Even the well-known chain hotels are not well kept.

Arizona has had government scams (AZSCAM, anyone?) and Governor Mecham, who called Black children "pick a ninny" in public. The MLK holiday fiasco was so bad, many African American businesses, celebrities and famous people stayed away and cancelled concerts over the issue. Retiree communities sometimes fight city annexation because they don't want to have to pay for public schools. That issue got quite nasty.

Did any of these answer your questions?

[Mel22]

Hey all,
Thank you all for your replies, I spoke to quite a few people so far that either lived in AZ or have been there to visit and they all told me similar things to those you’ve described here.
I’m not really worried about it really just curious; I know it will be different than living in Germany. Germany is very diverse in nationalities, languages, dialects and slang’s. General Attitudes are different depending on what area you’re in, i.e. Bavarians are a lot more hospital and friendly than Hessian’s; and have a dialect that to me is not understandable ..lol

Anyhow I enjoyed reading all of your posts and always look forward to reading more

[Magnum Mike]

The dialect is a mixture of east coast and California dialect, which sounds like that... "Ya Know"...New York or Chicago Italian "Hey yoh!... come heah, I gotta tawwk to ya", mixed with the California "hey dude, this is so righteous, I feel like going surfing!!!" dialect.. so imagine that!

[Mel22]

Originally Posted by Magnum Mike

The dialect is a mixture of east coast and California dialect, which sounds like that... "Ya Know"...New York or Chicago Italian "Hey yoh!... come heah, I gotta tawwk to ya", mixed with the California "hey dude, this is so righteous, I feel like going surfing!!!" dialect.. so imagine that!

HA HA I'm loving it... because I sound like I can't decide which dialect to choose from as well (as I was told many times)