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Old 04-08-2011, 12:24 AM
 
33 posts, read 248,556 times
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If you hear someone speak do you think, "they have to be from CA" or something along those lines? THanks just curious
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Old 04-08-2011, 12:41 AM
 
Location: Columbia, California
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Well, no one thinks they have a accent. It will always appear to be the natural where ever you are.
I think what we have in CA is a absence of accent. Most of the actors on TV shows will remove their accent to act on shows.
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Old 04-08-2011, 12:42 AM
 
Location: Texas
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Well, I moved to Cali from overseas. I lived there four years. I moved to Texas and was immediately told I had a Cali accent.

I don't think it's an accent...just word usage. Even today, I use expressions like 'dude.' I also use words like 'y'all,' and I really throw people off when I say 'eh' and 'oy vey' (thanks to my jewish and canadian pals in high school).
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Old 04-08-2011, 12:54 AM
 
Location: Declezville, CA
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I can always tell, but don't ask me what it is. I suppose I have the native's ear, and it never fails me.
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Old 04-08-2011, 12:58 AM
 
Location: Dalton Gardens
2,855 posts, read 6,456,361 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fontucky View Post
I can always tell, but don't ask me what it is. I suppose I have the native's ear, and it never fails me.
Yep, same here. I am pretty good at pinpointing which area of CA someone comes from as well, LOL!

Do we have an accent? Well, while living in England many people asked if I was from Ireland! Go figure!
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Old 04-08-2011, 01:21 AM
 
Location: San Diego, California Republic
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cyanna View Post
Yep, same here. I am pretty good at pinpointing which area of CA someone comes from as well, LOL!

Do we have an accent? Well, while living in England many people asked if I was from Ireland! Go figure!
I'm told that we have an accent. Almost Canadian sounding to some as we clip our vowels more than most other Americans I guess. Never got the Irish thing though. Some people can sometimes tell I'm from Northern Ca. My girlfriend talks about my speech all the time like how my short I's and E's sound the same and how I stress the 1st syllable in words like San Diego and San Francisco. I think she's crazy but oh well lol
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Old 04-08-2011, 01:37 AM
 
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I can always tell.
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Old 04-08-2011, 01:56 AM
 
Location: Coachella Valley, California
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We don't have accents - everyone else does!
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Old 04-08-2011, 03:05 AM
 
Location: Sacramento, Placerville
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Every region has their own dialect.

I think there are about three or four general California dialects that have a noticeable difference in pronunciation. Northern California, Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley. The differences are subtle in most cases, to very obvious in some parts of the San Joaquin Valley. There are several others where the main difference is in the use of vocabulary or slang. They usually appear to belong to metro areas specifically. One of the classic ones is how highways are addressed. Here in Sacramento it is usually, "I-5, US-50, Hwy-99." People from Los Angeles invariably say, "the-5, the-50, the-99." I hear freeways in the Bay Area often addressed with just the number. "one-oh-one, six-eighty," and so on. In Fresno they quite often add the preposition "on" in front of the number. "On 41, on 168, on, niney-nine ." A lot of people in Fresno drop the pronunciation of t. I should also note, that dialect in the San Joaquin Valley is the result of the Okies who came during the depression. The degree of the dialect ranges from imperceptible in the cities to very noticeable in some rural towns.

There are quite a few maps of American dialects.

American English Dialects

This one shows the San Joaquin Valley as having a dialect. It also shows the Bay Area as having a dialect similar to the "Midland America" dialect. I've seen other maps which show the same dialect extending through the Sacramento Valley to Portland. I've also seen maps showing this dialect followed the railroads to the West. The same article mentioned Sacramento and Portland sharing some of the characteristics found in Philadelphia.

FAST-US-1 Intro to American English Reference File

The second map shows a difference between Northern and Southern California, but a difference between Northern California and Oregon. I think the people in the Sacramento Valley up through the Portland Metro area speak the same.

Last edited by KC6ZLV; 04-08-2011 at 03:19 AM..
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Old 04-08-2011, 03:25 AM
 
Location: Columbia, California
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stan4 View Post
Well, I moved to Cali from overseas. I lived there four years. I moved to Texas and was immediately told I had a Cali accent.,,
I would think they spoke spanish in Cali, Columbia.
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