Any parts of the country that have a big accent change over a small area? (live in, suburban)
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There is a noticeable accent change once crossing the Ohio River from Cincinnati into Northern Kentucky. It only takes about 20 miles or so around Dry Ridge and Williamstown, KY until you really pick up on the thick Kentucky accent, but there is almost no Southern accent in Cincinnati and the cities directly across from it such as Newport and Covington.
I just mentioned in another thread how some of the rural parts of South Jersey can be kind of rednecky. It's very different from North Jersey.
Also, North Jersey can be different from North Jersey. My friend from Kearny in Hudson County said Yuhs as a plural of you and pronounced Newark as Nork and Stewarts as Storts. I grew up maybe 25 miles away in a more suburban area, and we sounded very different.
Re South Jersey--there is a hilarious map on the Internet breaking down NJ into different sections, and the southwestern portion of NJ is labeled "pretty much Alabama".
The deep Southern drawl fades pretty quickly in Oklahoma going from east to west. People in central and western Oklahoma speak with a twang, but its notably different than far eastern Oklahoma and Arkansas. Same deal in Missouri once you get north of the southern third of the state.
In South Carolina you have a ton of accents within a small distance. In metro Charleston, you have a south of Broad accent, as locals pronounce things different from others. We say "COOP-r" instead of "KEW-per," and "HUGEE" instead of "Hew-Ger."
Suburban Charleston doesn't have the southern accent as much anymore because of all t he transplants, but as soon as you get past Summerville, the southern accent is dominant. Myrtle Beach has some New York accents with all the transplants from there.
Also, the Upstate and the Midlands have different accents depending on where you are.
The accent of Eastern Massachusetts is quite different from that of Rhode Island, and the change in accents is very apparent once you cross the state line. People in Attleboro, MA, for example, speak with an accent that is distinct from people in neighboring Pawtucket, RI. Ditto Seekonk, MA and neighboring East Providence, RI.
In the Northeastern Connecticut towns clustered around I-395 and north of US Route 6, people tend to speak with an accent that more closely resembles a Boston/Eastern Massachusetts accent than a Providence/Rhode Island accent. This area has more economical ties to Worcester and, to a lesser extent, Boston than either Hartford or Providence. However, in the Eastern Connecticut towns between Route 6 and I-95, people tend to speak with a Rhode Island accent -- and, in some cases, a very heavy one.
South of I-95, in the area of Southeastern Connecticut that spans from Pawcatuck on the RI state line to New London, you're likely to hear either a mild Rhode Island accent or the lower common denominator Western New England accent, which is largely centered on the Connecticut River Valley. However, once you hit Waterford, any traces of the Rhode Island accent largely dissipate.
From Waterford to Guilford, people tend to speak with an accent that's similar to what one might hear in Northampton, MA. This is ground-zero for the Western England accent. Once you hit Branford, though, you will begin to observe hints of the New York City accent. That's where it starts to get muddy, IMO.
Last edited by Bert_from_back_East; 05-17-2017 at 07:37 PM..
I have to say I just moved to the Omaha area and it is really surprising after living in the West that they have very northern accents.
I forgot how many Omahans have a stereotypical northern accent almost as strong as those in Cleveland, Chicago and the Great Lakes region.
It's certainly not all of Omaha as many Omahans have flat English but many, many people have a Northern accent and could be mistaken for a more northern city.
They sound polar opposite from those in Kansas City and even Denver. Denver has no trace of a northern accent at all.
I just had a co-worker for example tell me how Omahans have no accent but the person speaks in a way that could seen as Minnesotan by someone not from the Midwest.
Nebraska in general area very flat on accent, but I notice Omahans in particular speak like people in Northern Iowa.
Same have known Iowans from Mason City that sounded just like people in Minnesota and the Dakotas.
Kansas City shockingly has a very southern twang to the accent.
I knew people from Wichita who certainly had a little bit of an almost Oklahoman style accent.
I notice Rock Rort, Missouri which about two hours from both Omaha and Kansas City they have a very standard, flat accent.
Thanks for mentioning the Southern accent in Kansas City. When I visited KC I was shocked to hear it as well. For some reason many people on C-D deny this, particularly those from Missouri.
Yes. Even north jersey and south jersey are very different which is probably the biggest change in a short distance I've heard. Someone mentioned Boston and Providence but they both sound quite similar but Prov has more of a NYC influence I guess you could say?. North jersey (around NYC area) sounds basically like the NYC accent most people know but south jersey is where you can start hearing the southern accent coming into play which took me by complete surprise when I lived there for a year.
North jersey accents sound like NYC accents... And South Jersey accents sound like Philly/Delaware accents, I dont know where you get southern
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