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i know that the boundaries of the midwest usually correspond to the boundaries of the states of ohio, indiana, illinois, missouri, michigan, minnesota, wisconsin, iowa, the dakotas, kansas and nebraska, but what if states did not exist per say? what if the midwest were defined by characteristics such as archetecture, accent, terrain, race and ancestry?
1)would the great plains states like nebraska and kansas be part of the same region as the great lakes and interior lowland states? or would they be considered part of the "cowboy" west because of all the ranchland and rocky badlands? maybe the line could be drawn somewhere in the middle of the great plains?
2) would the prairie parts of eastern colorado, montana and wyoming be considered midwest?
3) what about the so-called "upper midwest "(north wisconsin, minnesota, the michigan upper peninsula, north dakota, parts of s. dakota and east montana)? can this even be considered part of the same region as chicago/detroit due to its unique scandonavian-influenced culture/accent, its heavily wooded/coniferous areas and its general "plaid-wearing canada-junior" atmosphere?
4)what about erie, pa and buffalo ny? buffalo, while part of ny state, is far from the atlantic ocean and is part of the great lakes port system like chicago and detroit. it even shares the same nasal accent as chicago and detroit. like midwestern cities, buffalo is an industrial center with a history of german and polish immigration.
5)can pittsburgh be considered midwest? it , like buffalo, is also far from the atlantic, has a history of germanic immigration and is a major industrial center although like atlantic cities, it seems to have alot of rowhouses.
6) where does the "south" begin? is all of west virginia and kentucky "southern" what about oklahoma? is it southern, midwestern of a "great plains/western state? or southwestern? maybe it can be divided into differant parts? ive heard that in southern illinois and indiana, people have southern accents?
7) is kansas city more "western" in culture than "midwestern"? does it have more of an evangelical/rodeo texas-infleuenced culture than say indianapolis or chicago?
8) is st louis more "southern" with its jazz and riverboat culture and french archetecture? or is it a "border city"? are the ozarks firmly part of the south? what about the little dixie region of missouri?
9) where does the east coast infleunce begin? is rochester ny eastern? or a hybrid city? i would say oswego ny has that colonial british/new england-ish look that eastern cities have...even lockport ny to some degree
10)if canada suddenly decided to become part of the same country as the usa, what parts of it would become part of the midwest? i would assume southwest ontario, near detroit is very midwestern/german-immigrant-farmer influenced. toronto seems alot like chicago and hamilton, like pittsburgh or buffalo. however i would say, anywhere east of toronto, port hope, kingston, belleville has more of a colonial/british eastern feel. northern ontario and manitoba feel alot like the upper midwest with all the snow, pine trees and plaid-wearing lumberjack hoser stereotypes. saskatchewan is similar to the great plains in topography, but would probably be more similar to the upper midwest in its labor/union-influenced culture
The midwest shall be defined as anywhere where the temps fall to 71 in the middle of August, autumn comes early and the bleak-minded citizens ask, "Why the hell am I still in this hellhole of despair and gray skies?"
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it even shares the same nasal accent as chicago and detroit.
It is not a nasal accent. You want Nasal, go to New York. Accents in Detroit and Chicago are basically just words pronounced correctly.
The midwest shall be defined as anywhere where the temps fall to 71 in the middle of August, autumn comes early and the bleak-minded citizens ask, "Why the hell am I still in this hellhole of despair and gray skies?"
It is not a nasal accent. You want Nasal, go to New York. Accents in Detroit and Chicago are basically just words pronounced correctly.
Nasal? No, you want nasal, go to France. New Yorkers have wise guy (tough guy) accents.
The Midwest goes from Minnesota to the west to Ohio to the east. Missouri is a border state that is half Midwestern and half southern. And Kentucky is not the Midwest--it is the SOUTH.
The Dakotas, Nebraska, and Kansas are the Great Plains and really not part of the Midwest. I mean, the Upper Midwest has way more in common with Upstate New York and Pennsylvania than it does with the Great Plains states where ranches, cowboys, and oil derricks are more common.
Nasal? No, you want nasal, go to France. New Yorkers have wise guy (tough guy) accents.
Hon, I believe the poster was referring to New York state, not New York City. Have you ever been to upstate new york. They are indeed quite nasally sounding. And the 'wise guy accent' certainly doesn't describe how my aunt from Queens sounded (and she definitely had a new york accent).
Hon, I believe the poster was referring to New York state, not New York City. Have you ever been to upstate new york. They are indeed quite nasally sounding. And the 'wise guy accent' certainly doesn't describe how my aunt from Queens sounded (and she definitely had a new york accent).
Yeah, I've been to upstate. I live in Westchester County, if that's what you mean by upstate, and we sound fine. But I did notice a nasal accent up in the Adirondack region, probably because of the proximity to Quebec.
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