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Can't remember if someone has posted this before, but it is interesting to listen to the different styles/accents of speech given regional affiliation. I thought it was pretty interesting how different (yet in an odd way similar) the Southern accents were.
If you can make it through all 4 minutes of the video with out dozing off, well done.
The way the guy said "truck" was definitely different than how I would say it....I think it would be a little more drawn out with my Okie twang.
I cracked up at the girl's voice = took me back to the movie Fargo.
Yep, that is West Michigan alright! I don't hear "Fargo" in there though Must be too close to home to catch it. (That video was shot an hour south of me)
This video shows the range of typical Central Upstate NY accents (including the commercial!). One of the women speaking is probably from a little further downstate. The older gentleman talks like many older upstaters with certain ethnic backgrounds do ("HO-tel" for "hotel")
The Central NY accent is quite similar to Michigan's, except it sounds less "Fargo"-ish. (No, Michigan speakers don't sound just like they're from "Fargo," only slightly)
In Western NY they talk just a little different from CNY. A little more like Ohioans.
This is a map of the Northern Cities Vowel Shift, a particular kind of American accent group which shows that people in these areas have many things about their accents in common:
I found it interesting that there was a "General American" accent and then a "Standard". I had never thought about it before, but the accents used in the media 50 years ago are clearly different from the ones used today. When I think of the General American accent, I think of the Standard, not the one used in some of the older movies. I think that shows that our idea of what a "neutral" accent is changes over time.
Welcome to City-Data.com forum! Make sure to register - it's free and very quick! You have to register before you can post and participate in our discussions with 700,000 other registered members. User profiles and some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your free account you will be able to customize many options, you will have the full access to over 15,000 posts/day about local topics and you will see fewer ads. 
Video of Regional Accents....
Must be too close to home to catch it. (That video was shot an hour south of me)
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