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Old 04-21-2011, 03:24 PM
 
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Yes. Here are some examples I've noticed:

money in CA = "menny", most other regions = "munny"

San Diego in CA = san diegayo (similar to Mid Atlantic Coastal and Southeastern states), other regions = san diego (o pronounced o, not ayo)

robbed in CA = rawbed, other regions = rahbed (harsher, rahhbed in Great Lakes region).

I agree that there are regional variations within CA too. I once met an older San Francisco cop, and he spoke in a very clipped manner, more similar to Northeastern and industrial Midwestern cities.

This is based on my experiences with living in many areas of the country and listening carefully to accents.
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Old 04-21-2011, 03:26 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CAVA1990 View Post
Distinctiveness is pretty subjective. What may sound non-distinctive to a long-time Californian might seem much more distinctive to someone from the deep South or the Northeast.
Exactly.
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Old 04-21-2011, 04:13 PM
 
Location: California
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I can't believe this is even a debate. Put some one from California, Nebraska, Minnesota, New York, Boston, Philly, and East Texas all in the same room, and listen to the different accents and dialects. Why is it that only the Californian is considered to not have an accent? Is it just the pretentious nature of us Californians to believe that the way we speak is the only "normal" and correct way to speak English, and that everything else is an accent? We do realize that out of all of these cultures we were the last to come along right? So wouldn't it be us that is actually speaking English a little differently than it has been traditionally spoken?
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Old 04-21-2011, 04:28 PM
 
Location: San Diego, California Republic
16,580 posts, read 27,294,048 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by UNLV09 View Post
I can't believe this is even a debate. Put some one from California, Nebraska, Minnesota, New York, Boston, Philly, and East Texas all in the same room, and listen to the different accents and dialects. Why is it that only the Californian is considered to not have an accent? Is it just the pretentious nature of us Californians to believe that the way we speak is the only "normal" and correct way to speak English, and that everything else is an accent? We do realize that out of all of these cultures we were the last to come along right? So wouldn't it be us that is actually speaking English a little differently than it has been traditionally spoken?
...and our accent (for god's sakes people it's an accent, get over it!) is still evolving as many have pointed out.
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Old 04-22-2011, 07:27 AM
 
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I like New Yorker and Southern accents the best. I once met this chick from the Bronx, who wanted to "twok" over "cwowfee." Very cool. Also, noticed many people say "WERSHington" instead of Washington. How about Da Bears...pizzehh...ditkehh...chickehgo?
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Old 04-22-2011, 12:28 PM
 
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Originally Posted by SantaTeresaHills View Post
I had a teacher that knew somebody who could place somebody within 50 miles if they grew up in the United States. We were in Fresno and he was able to identify somebody that moved from the Bay Area to Fresno. This was in the mid-70s..
I spent hours in a language lab with earphones clamped over my head to learn such differences. To be able to do it for the whole country (!) is impressive.

And to a linguist, sorry, but it is "dialect". It includes the words you choose to use: Tap vs spigot vs faucet vs fountain as well as the way you pronounce those words.

Kevin Costner does not drink from a spigot. In fact he probably drinks from a "water faucet".
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Old 04-22-2011, 12:32 PM
 
Location: Declezville, CA
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I used to be able to tell what borough a New Yorker was from. Alas, I lost that ability once I had my fill of New Yorkers.
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Old 04-22-2011, 12:35 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NorCal Dude View Post
(Pats self on back.)

I knew immediately this guy wasn't from SoCal. He said California like the "Cal" almost rhymes with cow. Or cauiflower. A SoCal native gives it the Cal rhymes with Hal. Or Cal as in Cal Worthington. (Edit: Someone else on this thread also picked that up. That's what happens when you skip around on the thread. Well done.)

Now I'll just stand back while everybody tells me I'm wrong, lol. (BTW the very fact that I used the word "like" and not "as" helps nail my proudly SoCal dialect.)

I suspect Fontucky and I have dialects that are very similar.
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Old 04-22-2011, 12:41 PM
 
Location: Declezville, CA
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Like, wow man.
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Old 04-22-2011, 01:00 PM
 
Location: SW MO
23,593 posts, read 37,361,284 times
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Although a native, Southern Californian, people have always had trouble placing me. I've absorbed some of my mother's, upper class New York accent, elements of southern accents (Al, NC, VA, KY, GA & TX) from exposure, some Midwest from the same and spent my last 20 CA years in NorCal. Add having spoken four other languages and I'm an amalgam.
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