States with more than one accent (island, population, Cuban)
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I would venture to guess most States would have more than one accent. Some states where it sticks out the most to me, are Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri as the northern parts of these states have either a Great Lakes Accent, or more of a nasal sounding accent. The southern portions of these states have either the general, American standard, almost neutral accent to somewhat of a southern twang near the Ohio River and in Missouri's case, points South of St. Louis. This is just what I have noticed in my travels.
New York is a good example of this with the folks in southern NY around NYC and Long Island having the traditional vowel-warping “goil instead of girl” accent whereas the folks in the northern/western part of the state having the midwestern “every vowel must be an a” accent.
Echoing previously shared sentiments, most states feature more than one accent among their native populations.
Therefore, a better question is: Which states feature the most disparate local accents within their borders?
In that case, states like Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia will likely emerge as winners.
For example, the dichotomy between the local accents heard in Worcester, MA and Northampton, MA or Yonkers, NY and Newburgh, NY is incredible, IMO, especially given the geographical proximity.
One people might not think of is Florida. Much of the state has pretty standard American accents, and the northern part has the Southern twang, but the Cuban-influenced Miami accent (spoken even by white/Asian Miamians) is a little less-known.
New York is a good example of this with the folks in southern NY around NYC and Long Island having the traditional vowel-warping “goil instead of girl” accent whereas the folks in the northern/western part of the state having the midwestern “every vowel must be an a” accent.
Welcome to the SF Bay Area, where we have immigrants from all over the world with that many accents.
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