Indiana stereotypes? (South Bend, Mishawaka, Bremen: appointed, countertops, mall)

[Bobbamboo]

Indiana has a lot of combinations of influence, from E. Ky and the south, and Great lakes people with no sense of a vowel, and sort of native farmers, who mostly were Quakers drifting in from NY state and Ohio, some Amish and Mennonites and plain ol' hillbillies. All great people. Some people twang, some say "warsh the deeshes" and some people are pretty standard. I used to say "sweeper" too, but I thought it was just me. If you say "where's the sweeper" in California, you get a blank look. ( Dude, that's totally awesome. That S**t Rocks!). I'm not sure about the comment regarding traffic circles, but Indianapolis was built around a traffic circle, and it used to be called "the traffic circle". i think 'roundabout" is just a trendy term these days.

[babyjeep21]

There are plenty of stereotypes here... but the accent wasn't one that I really encountered until I lived and worked in Manhattan after college.

I'm from central Indiana and speak quite properly. Everyone in NJ and NY thought I was southern. *shrug*

[j33]

Originally Posted by babyjeep21

There are plenty of stereotypes here... but the accent wasn't one that I really encountered until I lived and worked in Manhattan after college.

I'm from central Indiana and speak quite properly. Everyone in NJ and NY thought I was southern. *shrug*

It has been my experience that central Indiana does have a bit of a 'southern' sound. It is subtle, but it is there. I have some good friends from Indianapolis, and none of them realized this, but it was something that I heard when they spoke too. Obviously, since I do not judge people based on accents, I thought nothing of it when I discovered that, other than 'wow, I didn't realize this about central Indiana until now'.

[swisher712]

how rude! give people a break. You guys need to start traveling and broaden your minds. Diversity enriches people and country, and it is beautiful!

[swisher712]

Secondly, I am planing on moving to Indianapolis soon, yeeeee

[artemis]

**Great lakes people with no sense of a vowel**

????

[Ghostgecko]

Man I am enjoying this post...FUNNY! To the guy who called everyone hicks...dude, we have CITIES too...I know, not a lot...Sorry your experiences were bad though...There's a little redneck in all of us, and Indiana has it's share too...

We also have some flair and taste of Chicago in the NE part of the state, where I am from, but people from Chicago still sound different to me, and talk a lot more refined than us simpl peepl from Fort WAYYNE.
We only have 250,000 people in that area...

Can't speak much for the groups up in the NW, but in the south, much like N. Florida, it comes out...fer sure. Indianapolis is a nice city, with people from everywhere, rated under Vegas in a recent list about a year ago! Just under Vegas, think it was towns for singles to live...

Always was funny to see the difference between 10 miles out on 30 or 69, and how quickly the city falls away and the TOWN comes out...

Here's one to make the Country folks smile...When you are lost on Indiana's Rural Route system, just drive towards the glow of lights to find your way back to the highway and city! At night of course, during the day it's easier to see further...FLATLAND!

I seriously am enjoying this...but I am allowed. I spent 22 years in that city...was born in Whitley County Memorial Hospital in the blizzard of 78...took my Mom to the hospital on a snow mobile! Got my rights you know!

I am from Fort Wayne, and I must say that the warsh thing was one thing that got me into trouble when joining the Navy, meeting people from everywhere...

To the East Coast person...the reason we assume you all are in the mob is cause you ALL claim to have connections...we know this guy...Joey...He'll take care of it for ya...You are aggressive according to us Midwesterners...work with a girl who scares me talking in a good mood, from central Jersey. Also met great people from that state as well, who didn't mark me for death...

The funny thing is, I don't notice much a difference from Indiana people to the ones from Kansas, or Missourra either (emphasis on purpose!) It's funny, but we are a sort. I have lived in Hawaii 4 years and Key West 3, but when a family from Indiana comes into the office, it's like...You guys are from IN aren't you...They are always SHOCKED I can tell...

You know, it's funny, but people in the Midwest are built in with some kind of power to identify people from their area. I ran into, literally a group of people in Honolulu all from my town. In fact, they knew someone I knew. It was cool...

Oh yeah, here's another one...

Ya'll (sorry couldn't resist) missed an EASY ONE!!!

Growing up, soda was POP! Man, living down south, that drove them NUTS it was always a Coke...I just sorta latched onto Soda from my travels, and when I go home, they are always getting mad at me for saying Soda...

In fact, the other funny one is people in the South especially don't say a flavor, but a color. What kind of Koolaid you want? Purple? What does that taste like? I have heard of grape!!!

There are worse places than Indiana to live for sure, but I am glad to be from there more than live there. Some backwards thinkers, for sure. Especially in the smaller towns...wow! Always shocked with that one.

There are people who have never left, that's true. And some of them will die and be buried in their rubarb patch in the back... or under the Lilac bush...

We got tornadoes, and no...there's no need to open windows to equalize the pressure...the tornado will do that for you...

As for the KKK comment, yeah, okay, we have a bad history, if I am not mistaken about half the country does, but one claim to fame that Indiana has is the historical mark on the northern side of the state for the house that was a stop on the UNDERGROUND RAILROAD...

Good and bad people are everywhere. As they say, back home in Indiana...It's a place, it's where I am from, even with 8 years under my belt, a gecko tattoo on my arm (no geckos in IN) and a tan, I am still a hoosier...no deny'n it...

Did somebody say basketball....I had a court in my backyard, and still love watching HOOSIERS!

[Ghostgecko]

sack, sweeper, and oh, you didn't forget the POP thing, Sorry I posted that earlier. I am RMFAO right now remembering these things, and people really did think I was wrong for saying them, but yet THEY KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN...

Okay, I gotta say this...Been all over Cali...What makes you think your s%&* don't stink...seriously...YOU DON'T come to a place like Indiana to experience diversity and culture. It's the Midwest...Sheesh. Try Chicago...

Don't get me wrong, I love California, just not that stuck up attitude that comes with it... You do realize things are simpler in the Midwest right?!? I mean, if you are smarter and educated and California blood, you shouldn't be sticking your head in the barn to look for a house...

You know I love ya'll though...just a quick check! Don't get upset. I also notice a lot of against IN from people that live in IN. That's the way I was till I left. Do I want to go back? Nope, but tell you what, the people there are really nice...You'll realize that when you leave!

[Vansan]

I was born in Indy, Raised in Fort Wayne (Northeast), went to college in Lafayette, currently live in Nashville, IN (South), have family all over this state, and I must tell you... there are all kinds that live here.

First of all, the concept of "Hoosier hospitality" is something I hear about alot from "outsiders." I know my dad, for example, hates New Jersey simply because he says everyone there is "rude," which of course isn't true, but he's grown up in a place where essentially treating everyone like your friend is not uncommon. Just the other day a woman came into my place of work from California and said she couldn't believe how polite everyone here is. Stereotype? Perhaps, but it sticks none the less.

In Fort Wayne, my sister and I grew up in actually a pretty rough part of town and school system where we (being Caucasian) were a minority.
Even within the larger cities like Indy and Fort Wayne, there is variation with the Hoosier twang. I had never noticed it until someone from out of state pointed that out to me. Yes, Indiana has always had the stereotypes of "corn... that's it, folks," or being country bunks and hillbillies. In reality, it depends where you are. If you get lost in Indiana, you're more than likely not going to end up in the urban areas where gang activity is problemsome and the podunk accent is not AS obvious because Indy, Fort Wayne, Evansville, and South Bend are pretty spread out. More than likely, you will be stuck out on a country road or in a tiny town where this country accent is quite prevalent no matter if you're far up north or way down south.

Despite variation within the state of Indiana, that Hoosier Hospitality is something that cannot be denied. I recently got a flat tire in small town Delphi, Indiana during a bad snow episode. I stopped in a local gas station to wait on some friends, and sitting at a couple tables away from me was a local woman around 75 to 80 yrs old. She picked up on my frustration after overhearing a cellphone conversation of mine and struck up a conversation. I learned more about her life than I knew of my own friends. Later, she insisted on helping me with my flat tire. Now, I'm a fit 22 yr old woman and I was not for the life of me able to get those nuts to budge. After she left, I was simply amazed by the kindness shown by this woman, and later on, a local couple who entered the station moments later. I'm tellin you people, hoosier hospitality.

[Candy T]

Well, I'm all mixed up! I was born in Massachusetts but we moved to California when I was two. My dad, also born in Massachusetts, had that distinctive New England accent. I grew up in California and moved to Indiana when I married.

My husband was born in NY state but grew up here in NW Indiana. His step mom was from Tennessee. She said "warsh", "orle" (oil) and "sweeper".

In California we said "freeways", here we say "expressways". My older daughter married a man from down state Indiana and he says "borrow" instead of "lend", so my daughter says that now, too, "We borrowed him our mower", and they live up here in NW Indiana.

My younger daughter is married and living in Australia. She says "put the trolley in the trolley bay" which means put the shopping cart in the cart corral. I never heard anyone call their grandparents Me-maw and Pe-paw except my younger daughter and none of us ever knew how she came up with that because no one else in the family ever did. We figured she made it up.

I have been told I have an accent from somewhere else, outside of Indiana, but people can't pinpoint it. My husband says I have a bit of my dad's accent.

By the way, it is next to impossible to get Indiana news up here. All our news is from Chicago. What I remember most when I first came here was someone interviewed on the Chicago news said "hay-und" for hand and "hay-ed" for head.