Most annoying US accent (home, live in, food)

[workaholics]

I know this is all just a matter of opinion, but I'm curious to find out what you all think is the most annoying or grating regional accent in America.

My nominees for the worst

Northern cities vowel shift- you find this accent from Buffalo to Minneapolis and I really can't stand it. I just realized this when I heard a guy on food network (Michael Symon I think) talking. And I also just found out that he's from Cleveland which would make sense. The way the "a" in the middle of words like 'man' and 'panda' is tortured just gets to me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KV2JFpfeLp0

Upland Southern- the accent is initially charming in all its Appalachian novelty, but it gets old quick. I love a southern accent but only when it's non rhotic, and the hard "r's" of this dialect are about as rhotic as you can get. It's harsh and rapid and just stresses me the f*** out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03iwAY4KlIU

Boston accent- The accent itself doesn't really annoy me that much, it's just how overplayed it is. Seriously, you watch Good Will Hunting or The Departed and you'd think that absolutely everybody in Massachusetts talks like that, which just isn't true. Give it up Marky Mark!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbK4cL3QSc0

Places with no accent- I'm talking to you Orlando, Phoenix, Vegas and Seattle. An accent is a huge part of your culture! Maybe in time you'll get one but you'd better pick up the pace before you become "any city USA" forever. (Maybe there are accents in these cities? Let me know)


p.s. I realize I said I didn't like the upper Midwest accent, but Fargo is still my favorite movie. Maybe Northern Minnesota is different linguistically.

[Mightyqueen801]

I can't think of a specific accent that grates on me EXCEPT a vowel issue that seems to be both southern and midwestern, wherein people pronounce words like "Pin" and "Pen" the same. In other words, they use the short "i" sound in both words and no "eh" sound appears in words like pen.

I even notice this on electronic voices! When I check my email at work, I hear "Inter your ID code." And I hear it in anchorpeople on television talking about "Look for this on the Tin O'clock news."

I wonder how it came to be that so many people lost the short "e" sound.

The Philly/South Jersey accent can be annoying to hear, but that's probably because the person I know who uses it the most is an annoying person, lol.

By the way, OP, I didn't hear any weird sound in the first guy's A in the middle of words, so I suspect it's because that's how we say it here in NJ!

[workaholics]

Originally Posted by Mightyqueen801

I can't think of a specific accent that grates on me EXCEPT a vowel issue that seems to be both southern and midwestern, wherein people pronounce words like "Pin" and "Pen" the same. In other words, they use the short "i" sound in both words and no "eh" sound appears in words like pen.

I even notice this on electronic voices! When I check my email at work, I hear "Inter your ID code." And I hear it in anchorpeople on television talking about "Look for this on the Tin O'clock news."

I wonder how it came to be that so many people lost the short "e" sound.

The Philly/South Jersey accent can be annoying to hear, but that's probably because the person I know who uses it the most is an annoying person, lol.

By the way, OP, I didn't hear any weird sound in the first guy's A in the middle of words, so I suspect it's because that's how we say it here in NJ!

Ahh yes, the pin/pen merger. It's very common across the south. I was reading a linguist's blog once and she said that this was a surefire way to spot a southerner. A lot of us southerners don't think we have accents but this usually sticks out. She says that whenever she meets someone who says something like "Hi, I'm Bin (ben)" she says she'll automatically ask where in the south they're from and she's always right!

[ja1myn]

Southern accents bug me.

[1greatcity]

Like, I don't know if it's an "accent" or not....but, like, OMG, I am like so totally OVER people who talk in like "Val Speak", you know, like So Cal teens did in like the 1980's. Like, make 'em stop fer shur!

[ja1myn]

Originally Posted by 1greatcity

Like, I don't know if it's an "accent" or not....but, like, OMG, I am like so totally OVER people who talk in like "Val Speak", you know, like So Cal teens did in like the 1980's. Like, make 'em stop fer shur!

Lol my cousin from PA talks like that and I can't stand it either. Mad annoying.

[picklejuice]

Southern accents and New Jersey accents are the worst!

[Wartrace]

I am originally from Rochester, New York and live in Tennessee now. I like southern accents, I went back to Rochester one time and overheard a couple of women with "bad" Rochester accents and I was taken aback by how awful they sounded.

Count me in for "southern accents".

[LindavG]

Originally Posted by workaholics

Ahh yes, the pin/pen merger. It's very common across the south. I was reading a linguist's blog once and she said that this was a surefire way to spot a southerner. A lot of us southerners don't think we have accents but this usually sticks out. She says that whenever she meets someone who says something like "Hi, I'm Bin (ben)" she says she'll automatically ask where in the south they're from and she's always right!

Reminds me of this (handwritten note by Michael Jackson)

Originally Posted by 1greatcity

Like, I don't know if it's an "accent" or not....but, like, OMG, I am like so totally OVER people who talk in like "Val Speak", you know, like So Cal teens did in like the 1980's. Like, make 'em stop fer shur!

There is nothing more annoying than girls who have to drop the word "like" five times in a sentence and end every sentence with "you know". It just sounds so anti-intellectual

[Charles]

new york and boston accents bug me the most. Only because when I hear them here in California, there's a good chance I am hearing it from someone who moved from there and is now making the traffic worse on my freeway and there's a good chance they'll wear their yankee or red sox cap at my Dodger Stadium or Angel Stadium while rooting against my home team.