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I've noticed that people from the Midwest and West Coast say they don't have accents(When they obviously do, even tough its less distinct than Southern/Northeastern accents), but most Southerners and Northeasterners know they have one, and are proud of their accents. It seems that Americans from West of the Mississippi think they speak in the same general accent, compared to Americans from East of the Mississippi who recognize thier own accents.
A lot of people in the northeast speak like people in the midwest. My cousins (from the Midwest) and my parents (from the northeast) speak relatively the same. There are only a few subtle differences like when my cousins say "pop" instead of soda.
I, on the other hand, have a strong accent that is very noticeable, but I know I've always had it because my parents would tease me about it.
I grew up in the south and I have a noticeably thick accent...the Bostonian that I sit three desks down from has a noticeably thick accent as well.....however we both work in Nebraska which has a very neutral American accent. More often than not we don't really notice our accent until someone from outside our bubble brings it up.
A lot of people in the northeast speak like people in the midwest. My cousins (from the Midwest) and my parents (from the northeast) speak relatively the same. There are only a few subtle differences like when my cousins say "pop" instead of soda.
I, on the other hand, have a strong accent that is very noticeable, but I know I've always had it because my parents would tease me about it.
Interior northeastern accents (Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Rochester, cities in Vermont etc) sound similar to Midwestern accents but coastal northeastern accents (Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York and to a lesser extent Boston, which has a nasal sound to the accent that is kind of similar to some Midwestern accents) sounds very different from Midwestern accents
You would never hear someone from the Midwest sound like this
A lot of people in the northeast speak like people in the midwest. My cousins (from the Midwest) and my parents (from the northeast) speak relatively the same. There are only a few subtle differences like when my cousins say "pop" instead of soda.
I, on the other hand, have a strong accent that is very noticeable, but I know I've always had it because my parents would tease me about it.
We're I'm at now, there's a twang or something, not a stereotypcial NY accent (as I think of it, LI'ish or NY'ish). Just a kind of a drawn- out- vowels accent w/ a Midwest twang. Hard to describe, but there!
California is neutral, never heard it! Zonies either, flat, neutral.
I think it is easier for Northeasterners to identify other Northeastern accents than it is for us to identify Southern. For example, if I meet a Bostonian, or a Pittsburghian or someone from upstate NY I can identify where they are from but Southern to me, I know it is Southern but I wouldn't be able to identify if they were from GA or SC or AL etc etc. BTW I don't consider people from Miami to have a Southern accent. Their accents are actually more similar to those of the Northeast.
I've noticed that people from the Midwest and West Coast say they don't have accents(When they obviously do, even tough its less distinct than Southern/Northeastern accents), but most Southerners and Northeasterners know they have one, and are proud of their accents. It seems that Americans from West of the Mississippi think they speak in the same general accent, compared to Americans from East of the Mississippi who recognize thier own accents.
Texans, Louisianans, Arkansans, and Oklahomans are west of the Mississippi, and I'm sure they all clearly recognize their accents.
Yes, we know that Greater New Orleans and Baton Rouge technically straddle the Mississippi, but, regardless of population, the majority of the state's land and its cultural regions are west of the river and identify more with the states on this side.
My point is that the Mississippi River is no longer an adequate measurement of any cultural barriers, and shouldn't be used as such.
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