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Old 07-06-2012, 08:42 PM
 
Location: Atlanta & NYC
6,616 posts, read 13,774,738 times
Reputation: 6662

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Quote:
Originally Posted by RS085 View Post
Why are people so surprised by NYers that dont have accents?

Its extremely possible these days.
So true. I went to high school upstate and no one had the accent. Even people in areas of Manhattan don't.
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Old 07-07-2012, 10:06 AM
 
770 posts, read 1,173,538 times
Reputation: 1464
Which American accent do you have?

My Results:


"Neutral You`re not Northern, Southern, or Western, you`re just plain -American-. Your national identity is more important than your local identity, because you don`t really have a local identity. You might be from the region in that map, which is defined by this kind of accent, but you could easily not be. Or maybe you just moved around a lot growing up."

WRONG. I'm a New Yorker. I say caw-fee, tawk, dawg etc. Most people can tell exactly where I'm from when I start talking.
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Old 07-07-2012, 10:21 AM
 
Location: Atlanta & NYC
6,616 posts, read 13,774,738 times
Reputation: 6662
Pretty accurate. Says I have a Northern accent.

I'm gonna go get my cawfee now.
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Old 07-07-2012, 12:03 PM
 
451 posts, read 692,122 times
Reputation: 148
Quote:
Originally Posted by ja1myn View Post
So true. I went to high school upstate and no one had the accent. Even people in areas of Manhattan don't.

Im talking more about the city but yeah, you are right.

Western NY has more Midwestern/Northern Vowel Shift Accent.

Eastern Upstate is more New Englandy/NYC, especially these days, since so many people move from the city to upstate for COL.


There are tons of people from LI and the 5 boros that do not have accents. More educated types? Perhaps.
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Old 07-07-2012, 12:42 PM
 
Location: Atlanta & NYC
6,616 posts, read 13,774,738 times
Reputation: 6662
Quote:
Originally Posted by RS085 View Post
There are tons of people from LI and the 5 boros that do not have accents. More educated types? Perhaps.
Bingo. That's what I've concluded as well. I notice that people who didn't go to college normally don't have too many of the noticeable elements of the accent. My mother's friend is from the NYC and has the accent. She's 54. She ended her educational career at high school. However, her sister went on to college at NYU and doesn't have much of the accent at all. She's 56.

I didn't go any further than one semester at college and I still have the accent.

What I also notice about the new generations is that they are able to turn off their accent like a light switch. I am also one of those people, but sometimes, even when I'm trying to tune it down, it still slips out lol.
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Old 07-07-2012, 07:06 PM
 
451 posts, read 692,122 times
Reputation: 148
I think over time it will definitely fade. I think these days its basically half and half, or probably 60/40 with the accent.
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Old 08-22-2012, 12:03 AM
 
Location: Branson, Missouri
620 posts, read 1,222,512 times
Reputation: 466
Hmm I took the accent test and it said "western." Thing is I live 10 minutes above the missouri/arkansas border, and believe I have a southern accent, and I have been told this by tourists before. Oh well
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Old 08-22-2012, 05:07 AM
 
Location: The heart of Cascadia
1,328 posts, read 3,165,788 times
Reputation: 848
Quote:
Originally Posted by imbored198824 View Post
Hmm I took the accent test and it said "western." Thing is I live 10 minutes above the missouri/arkansas border, and believe I have a southern accent, and I have been told this by tourists before. Oh well
Maybe you answered based on how you think you talk and how people on TV talk and not by how you actually talk.
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Old 08-22-2012, 07:15 AM
 
Location: DC/Brooklyn, NY/Miami, FL
1,178 posts, read 2,942,088 times
Reputation: 391
I was born in 1990 and got neutral

Which American accent do you have?

My Results:


Neutral You`re not Northern, Southern, or Western, you`re just plain -American-. Your national identity is more important than your local identity, because you don`t really have a local identity. You might be from the region in that map, which is defined by this kind of accent, but you could easily not be. Or maybe you just moved around a lot growing up.
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Old 08-22-2012, 07:19 AM
 
Location: The heart of Cascadia
1,328 posts, read 3,165,788 times
Reputation: 848
I was born in 1990 and I got western. I think what makes a Western accent distinct is how 'mergy' it is - a lot of vowels tend to sound the same. The Spanish influence, perhaps?
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