Does Cleveland have a distinctive accent? (Columbus, Mentor: living, summer, American)

[PhillytoCincy]

Originally Posted by chicken.or.the.nugget

true
thanks for the info!!!
....how far is buffalo from cleveland? 2-3 hours?

I would say maybe more like 4 hours.

[CortlandGirl79]

It's closer to 3 hours.

[BelieveInCleve]

Someone said that a Cleveland accent is similar to a Canadian one, but they dont sound anything alike to me.

Although its right across the lake (which is still around 80+ miles), it takes about 3 hours to drive to Canada from here.

[Azhure]

Yeah I get told all the time that I sound like I am from Canada although I have that typical Youngstown thing going. Personally I think those from Cleveland have a distinctive accent but I can't hear anything different in those from Pittsburgh. However, like someone already pointed out, I am on the south side of Youngstown and pick up more of the Pittsburgh lingo than the Cleveland lingo so I likely pick up on the Cleveland accent easier.
While I was living in Boston and while I was visiting Ireland, most people thought I was from Chicago. The thing that amuses me the most is that when I am in Cleveland, people pick up that I have a Youngstown accent. I suppose we all have an accent but since the news often cites the Mid-west as the "acceptable" accent, those from Northeast Ohio tend not to think we have any accent at all.

[LuckyGem]

I moved away from Cleveland over 20 years ago and when I went back for a visit I could really hear the accent!

It does sound Canadian with some words and nasal Michigan in others.

Words with long "a" sound more nasal than others - like "car", "Parma".

It's no where nearly as nasal as come Chicago accents but it's definitely in there.

[solibs]

I'm an avid evening news watcher and at one point or another i've been a regular viewer in NYC, Philly, Richmond, Raleigh, Charlotte, Atlanta, Columbia, Charleston, LA, St. Louis, Buffalo and Rochester . . . in all of those places the newscasters all had subtle but noticeable accents. In most cases they were from the area but, for instance, Philadelphia has two prominent weather personalities, one from Minnesota and the other from New York, both of their accents are very noticeable.

Newscasters all have a certain way of speaking but you shouldn't confuse delivery with accent. A lot of them try hard to cover up their accent but no one is perfect at it. I think because the local newscasters usually have a subtle accent of the local variety people think they don't have an accent if they sound like the people on the news.

Accents don't bother me as much as the way newscasters butcher the language. A few of my pet peeves are "Pennsavania", "acrosst" and "expecially". If you get paid a lot of money to talk you should, at the very least, do it well.

[Ohioan58]

I'm from Dayton. Some friends and I took a road trip to Put-In-Bay back in the 80s. At a gas station we stopped at around Sandusky, everyone in the car was making note of the gas station attendant asking us if we wanted our winders woishied.

[citydudeallover]

What a silly and fun post , Because when I was young , I had so many
Ear Infections , I almost lost my hearing , and had to go to speech class , turns out
the teacher was from Boston , So I am offfin asked it I am froom Bosston
Good Day ,

[FireMedic46]

I was born and raised just about an hour south of Cleveland (Massillon, OH) and I will tell you that Clevelanders definitely have a regional accent.

The Cleveland accent or the "Cleveland A" is quite noticeable among Ohioans. Folks from the Cleveland metro area (Parma, North Olmsted, Garfield Heights, Euclid, Mayfield) tend to draw out their 'a"s, such as the name "Anne" may be pronounced "eeyan" or "cat" as "caat". To linguists this dialect is known as the "Northern Cities Vowel Shift"

Northern cities vowel shift - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As far as Drew Carey having an accent? I would say he definitely does have a regional Cleveland accent, but he tries to hide it as much as he can. If you watch the "Price Is Right" or episodes of "The Drew Carey Show" when Drew gets excited or raises his voice sometimes he will slip up.

Finally, I would like to say to all of you located in NE Ohio who may or may not have the "Cleveland A", I think that your/our accent is wonderful! It defines you and makes you unique among Americans and even Ohians!

[J'aimeDesVilles]

I was born and raised in the Cleveland area but have lived in southeast Michigan for the last 20+ years.
Yeah, Cleveland definitely has a distinct accent and it sounds nothing like a Canadian one (as if there were only one Canadian accent. LOL).
But what I think is more noticible is not so much the accent but the speed that Clevelanders talk. They tend to talk fast. I suppose it is the New England influence that is prominent and entrenched in northeastern Ohio.
At any rate it beats the overlaying "Ohio" accent (think Columbus). I find that one mildly annoying.