Does Cleveland have a distinctive accent? (Toledo, Dayton: wealthy, car, rating)

[SonnyDaze]

A good portion of Clevelanders have a distinct Great Lakes accent; some don't. The same way that many Cincinnatians have a mild southern accent while others are practically neutral.

[levinbravo]

I'm a native of Southern Appalachia who lived in the Cleveland area (Shaker, then Lakewood) for about ten years (both of my kids were born in Westlake). One of the things I absolutley HATED about Clevelanders was the glee with which they would make fun of and belittle ANYONE who had even a hint of a southern or appalachian accent. I'd never been called "hillbilly", "hilljack", or "white trash" in my life until I moved to Cleveland. The best part was the indignant denial and defensiveness I would get when I pointed out that the "Great Lakes accent" was as ridiculous as they were saying mine was. I heard that bulls*#^t about "we sound like TV announcers" countless times from mullet-wearing cretins almost every day.

Any Clevelander who thinks that the south has a lock on white trash hasn't driven down Lorain avenue lately.

Perfect example of the Cleveland Accent: Buddy from "Buddy's Carpet" commercial fame.

***** Cleveland.

[citydudeallover]

While it is hard for me not to be alittle mad at the folks poking fun of
your aksent , I feel you .
Tell a little story here , yes northern folks tell stories too (northern Ohioans) Many years ago when Donnie & Marie were a little country and
a little rock and roll , they were to perform at the Ohio State Fair
As soon as I got of the bus with my dad , if that is not hillybilly
(drove down in less time then taking the bus )
As soon as we reached the fairs gates and was asked for our teekit,
I asked my dad if we were still in ohio , ya zon why? I said where did
all these hillybilly folks come from . Well let me tell you once my
Dad was lossing his English Words and talking German to me , I knew to
shutup . I learned a lesson that day Never make fun of people in front of your folks ! Years latter me and my dad got on talking about things,
while he was mad at me for my comment , he did not want
to tell the people around him , he was sorry in his broken english,
That he taught me better ! Funny thing is I raise my son to be kind
to all . A lesson learned without words from my DAD.


Any Clevelander who thinks that the south has a lock on white trash hasn't driven down Lorain avenue lately.

Perfect example of the Cleveland Accent: Buddy from "Buddy's Carpet" commercial fame.

***** Cleveland.[/quote]

[Rodeno]

Every region has an accent, you just don't believe it until you get out of the bubble! haha, I have friends in Canton who think that I have an accent, friends in Pittsburgh that say I do (at least we don't say Zinz, or don ton (downtown), friends in New York think that everyone should sound like them...). haha

[Na zdrowie]

Originally Posted by Rodeno

Every region has an accent, you just don't believe it until you get out of the bubble! haha, I have friends in Canton who think that I have an accent, friends in Pittsburgh that say I do (at least we don't say Zinz, or don ton (downtown), friends in New York think that everyone should sound like them...). haha

It's Yinz/Younz, not Zinz!

BTW, does Canton have an accent? I haven't been there enough to know.

[Rodeno]

haha, I meant yinz! I guess Canton does a little, but nothing I would say is out there. They claim I pronounce 'fired' differently...

[WeSoHood]

Again.. am I the only outsider who moved to Cleveland who notices differences just in the region alone? Areas like Parma, Parma Hts, Middleburg Hts, Seven Hills, Wickliffe, Eastlake, Mentor, etc who have more of a "midwest" accent?

[Na zdrowie]

Originally Posted by WeSoHood

Again.. am I the only outsider who moved to Cleveland who notices differences just in the region alone? Areas like Parma, Parma Hts, Middleburg Hts, Seven Hills, Wickliffe, Eastlake, Mentor, etc who have more of a "midwest" accent?

Just curious - by "midwest" do you mean Great Lakes midwest (Detroit, Chicago, etc.) or Midwest midwest (Indianapolis, Kansas City, etc.)? I'm asking because the accent is a lot different. You could add Upper midwest (Minnesota, Dakotas) as another group too plus a bunch of other subgroups.

[ladycascadia]

Stumbled onto this thread when I googled "do people from Cleveland, Ohio have accents?" I'm a Black woman, age 53, was born and raised in Cleveland. Left Ohio at age 18, have lived out West since 1979. SoCal for 9 years, now in Oregon since 1988. It wasn't until about a year ago I had people asking about my "Cleveland" accent. I was stunned to hear that because I was raised to believe people from Cleveland don't have accents but apparently we do! Now I will say this: Spent my first 8 years of life on the East side in a mixed Czech/Black neighborhood and the next five on the West Side in an Irish neighborhood and my high school years in a small town about a hour away from Youngstown. I caught hell everywhere I went because of how I spoke: my mother insisted on "standard English" and to the Black folks on the East side I was 'talking and acting White' but to the Westsiders I still sounded like an n-word! Some of the school bullies would extend their lips and claimed I spoke wish some sort of mushmouth sound...oh boy did I spend a lot of time in tears in the girl's bathroom! In high school, I caught it for being a 'city kid' who used too many 'big words' but when I'd go back to Cleveland for visits, I was chastised by relatives and old neighbors for talking like a "hillbilly' or Pennsylvania dutch! Crazy, no? I have a BA in Broadcast Journalism where I learned to use the 'standard non-regional American dialect' and so it just blows my mind to realize I spent over $17K only to have to have people asking me about my Cleveland accent!

[Cleverfield]

The Cleveland accent is subtle, but I can almost always catch when someone talking on media is from this area. It's very close to standard English though, and takes a very attuned ear to hear it.

Ladycascadia, I'm sorry to hear about your experiences. That must've been very tough to be made fun of because of your race, how you talked, and where you were from. I hope and believe it's changed a lot for the better in recent years.