miami accent ?

[penquin]

Born and raised in the 50's lived southwest miami Coral Way Bird Rd area.Left in 1971 and joined military. Nobody could figure out where I was from. parents from NY state and Detroit .I used to tease people and tell them I was from the Deep South. They couldn't determine my origin. But anybody else from Miami hearing me would catch on real quick.

[ddez29]

Originally Posted by money23

what you think of miami accent and other south cites and other cites

The speech used in the urban and coastal areas of Central and South Florida (everything south of and including Orlando) is noticeable for not being a typical southern accent, because a large proportion of the inhabitants are non-natives of the area. In fact, many residents in Orlando, for example, speak with what could be described as a General American accent with a slight southern drawl (to varying degrees). Others may speak with a Northeast accent (specifically New York-New Jersey English) or an accent belonging to that of Spanish speakers (predominantly from Cuba.) The accents heard in some parts of this region, especially in older communities such as Aventura, Boca Raton, or West Palm Beach, are that of the typical New Yorker. However a mild southern dialect is still predominantly spoken in the rural and inland areas of Central and South Florida.
In Miami, a unique accent, commonly called the "Miami accent", is widely spoken. It developed by second- or third-generation Hispanics whose first language was English. It is very similar to accents in the Northeast, but contains a rhythm and pronunciation heavily influenced by Spanish. However, a Miami accent is not Spanish-accented English, as many Miami residents who are not Hispanic or do not speak Spanish speak with the Miami accent as well. Although many Miami natives will deny that they have an accent, those outside South Florida will identify a unique accent spoken by Miami residents.

I was talking about this with my husband the other day. Most cities have one like Boston has their accent, New Jersey(the sopranos), New York and so on!

[Augie]

Last year I hired two young Floridians to re-screen my lanai. They gave me a great price, showed up when they said they would, and did very nice work. I gave them a good tip and thanked them as we walked to their truck after the job was finished. I told them I was surprised that things went so well.

The one kid told me that, as they were walking out of my house on the day they gave me the original estimate, his buddy said that I did not sound like someone to "F*** With". Now, get this. I'm 64 years old, fat and bald, and have a bad back (definitely not a tough guy ), so I was a little confused until they told me they were big Soprano fans. Guess after hearing my Joisey accent, they didn't want to chance a good bada-binging (also called "a hop in the hole", in Jersey) if they didn't do a nice job!

[bamba_boy]

Originally Posted by Loggerhead Shrike

I used to work with a girl I swore was Cuban (had a spanish last name but looked very anglo) because she had the Miami Accent. She eventually told me she was 100% gringa but was raised here and was married to a Cuban American. I also have friends born and raised here that swore they had no accent but were immediately told they had one when leaving Miami to study elsewehere. They were quite shocked. The entonation is definitely from Cuban Spanish but anyone born and raised here and exposed to it speaks it. I believe the NY or N. Jersey pronunciation is influenced from Italians and/or Jews and the Minnesota Accent (Fargo?) is influenced from Scandinavian languages also. BTW I have meet non-hispanics from El Paso, Texas who speak with a Mex-American accent.

That's true about Tex/Mex border area. I've got several friends from the Rio Grande Valley (Harlingen/Brownsville) and have visited several times. Even people who can only speak English speak it with a kind of sing-songy (I think from puting strong Spanish accents on English words) lilt. It's actually quite pleasing but absolutely a dead give-away to somebody from The Valley (gringo or TexMex).

The Valley is starting to feel a lot like South Florida. Town like Laredo and McAllen are probably 80-90% Mexican or Mexican-American. It's not a problem being English-only, though. Even in northern Mexico now I've found that most middle and upper class Mexicans speak pretty good English and in the US border cities it's even higher %. Remember too that many hispanic-looking families aren't Mexican but "Texican" ie originally living in Texas already at the time of the independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico, thus American families since 1835. They're a lot more American than myself (come over from across the Atlantic much more recently) and , of course, speak perfect English (well, urr - Texan, you-all).

[angelo7221]

I find this accent phenomenon amusing....perhaps I'm in no man's land...I spent all my life in West Kendall, grew up and went to school (Riviera Day School) with hispanic kids in Coral Gables before Kendall experienced its latinization, a few years later I graduated from Sunset High...which was bleeding spanglish in 1994....and yet to many I have a northern city or New York accent. My parents came here from a dynamic city during a golden era (Brooklyn in the 50's and 60's). My father was one who did not shed his Brooklyn image that fast and had a way with dealing with people at mechanic's shops and other finer establishments that would lead one to believe he was overbearing yet when examined closer he was only staying true to his new york grit.....it seemed as though he lived and applied it with every breath...even in the hospital room when he was dying he didn't want people to see him near the throes of death....in like fashion I have no desire to shed myself of my NY roots..my mother is a christian scientist and wants my children to deny their judaism but I want to teach them where they came from.....though I never lived in Brooklyn my heart and mind has always been there and can talk to family members forever about their mishaps there (my mother's brother lived there during a different era, but after the Bronx had burned long enough he was gone)...I love the city but it will always be a manhattan that seems to have been bulldozed over and replaced with a different one..Starbucks, Inc. Now I kid people about having a dual citizenship here....because when I go to aventura or hollywood I can talk dr brown's this..and russian bars and russian girls that.. get the kishka and deli slices for my grandmother or else I'd forever be force behind her death of starvation (ironically she died reaching for food, when she never thought she had enough)....or mention the corner of the universe that my poor grandmother lived on, in flatlands for half a century...2020 e 41 st #1J...a block away from a baptist church which was one of the butcher shops for murder, inc....or go to a music store and find and talk real music...but at the same time I know spanish pretty damn ok and can order at a cafeteria or behind a hot food glass at Navarro's without the icy stare and the backdoor treatment and though I sometimes curse Miami to death behind a guinness and knappogue........ the following late afternoon at dante fascall park under the tree I can say I'm getting along quite nicely with my recession-proof process serving job and accent-imitation knick knack..but you of course would never catch me dead saying "PERO THAT'S SO RUDE BRO"....but Cuidate!!...I always say that to people on the way out in downtown....and Fox's...no other town has a place quite like Fox's.

[jbravo]

Originally Posted by Augie

Last year I hired two young Floridians to re-screen my lanai. They gave me a great price, showed up when they said they would, and did very nice work. I gave them a good tip and thanked them as we walked to their truck after the job was finished. I told them I was surprised that things went so well.

The one kid told me that, as they were walking out of my house on the day they gave me the original estimate, his buddy said that I did not sound like someone to "F*** With". Now, get this. I'm 64 years old, fat and bald, and have a bad back (definitely not a tough guy ), so I was a little confused until they told me they were big Soprano fans. Guess after hearing my Joisey accent, they didn't want to chance a good bada-binging (also called "a hop in the hole", in Jersey) if they didn't do a nice job!

Funny story!
thx