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I noticed that to me at least, distinct accents in the US are not that much of a thing.
I'm a native New Yorker, and nobody here talks like Andrew Dice Clay besides older, white, non-immigrant blue collar people. Even my Irish-American grandfather who was a cab driver and born in the 40s, never spoke with a stereotypical sounding New York accent unless it was tongue in cheek. Most white people have a generic American accent and most black people have the black Northeastern accent that is shared with North Jersey and New England. There are some small differences (regarding the former), such as us pronouncing coffee like "coffee", but other than that I hardly think we sound much different from Midwesterners or West Coast people. I'll post a recording of my voice later if anyone is interested.
Whenever I meet white people from the South, they almost never have Southern sounding accents unless they're from rural areas. Every white person I meet from the urban South has more of a generic American sounding accent.
Black people do seem to have regional accents still (black people from the Northeast sound much different from the South), however that may be fading too.
Outside of the South, regional accents are strongest amongst working-class whites.
That may true of people 45 and up, but I find that the distinct accent is gone with people my age (at least in New York). For example, a neighborhood like Bay Ridge, if you go into a bar with older people you might hear the stereotypical rough sounding Brooklyn accent, but at a bar with younger people you'll just hear regular white accents.
That may true of people 45 and up, but I find that the distinct accent is gone with people my age (at least in New York). For example, a neighborhood like Bay Ridge, if you go into a bar with older people you might hear the stereotypical rough sounding Brooklyn accent, but at a bar with younger people you'll just hear regular white accents.
Younger white people in Bay Ridge are more likely to be college-educated professionals, though.
Younger white people in Bay Ridge are more likely to be college-educated professionals, though.
True, but even the young white Native New Yokers I know without college education don't have the stereotypical accent either. It would strike me as unusual if a 25 year old spoke to me like that.
Here is a little recording I made. I read a random thing off my desk, then spoke a few of my own sentences.
You actually do sound perceptibly New York to me. You pronounce the r's at the end of words, but some of your vowels still sound distinct.
I agree that regional accents are fading out in most parts of the country, though. I've met young white New Yorkers who really did sound like they could be from California.
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