[daddythreepointoh]

Originally Posted by kazoopilot

Tim Allen does not have an accent. None. At least none that I can hear. He sounds nothing like a "pirate with a head cold." Is that really what Michiganders sound like to those not from here? Arrrrgh *cough*!

Also, I know many people from Western NY, and they don't have an accent as far as I can tell.

Lol, Tim Allen DOES have an accent. Being from California I've heard it for years...it's the typical mitten Michigan accent...it sounds nasaly to me.

I hear a few different lower Michigan accents. Detroiters have their own, and and then there is the rest of lower Mi. There is a nasely one and a non-nasel, Fargo-ee sounding one. I read once that the lower mitten sounds like a combo of Ontario, Fargo, and Chicago all mixed together. I gotta say it kinda fits, IMHO.

Michiganders tend to say there A's really hard, and say their R's really hard as well. In California we tend to get lazy with our vowels and substitute a soft O sound instead of a hard A, so when I say "grass" it sounds almost like "grahs" (but not quite so English sounding, more of the "a" sound mixed in); Michiganders, on the other hand, lean very heavily on the proper "a" sound in the word, so hard that it almost sounds like "gra-iss" (soft "a" sound).

My wife and I crack up because we grew up in California and our little kids are growing up in Michigan, and although they mimick our speech patterns now, the older they are getting and making friends, the more they are sounding like little Michiganders! My six year old says already...."Oh Jeez, Oh Pete's!"

What the heck!

[northstar22]

Originally Posted by daddythreepointoh

Lol, Tim Allen DOES have an accent. Being from California . . .

That explains it! California has a vowel shift pretty much in the opposite direction of Michigan. I can tell a California accent (or as people from CA pronounce it "Collifornia occent") in two seconds. You are the one with the distinct regional accent.

I've heard it for years...it's the typical mitten Michigan accent...it sounds nasaly to me.

Michiganders don't sound like Californians, but we have less of an accent than you guys do. The California accent is very distinct and sounds flat to me.

I hear a few different lower Michigan accents. Detroiters have their own, and and then there is the rest of lower Mi. There is a nasely one and a non-nasel, Fargo-ee sounding one. I read once that the lower mitten sounds like a combo of Ontario, Fargo, and Chicago all mixed together. I gotta say it kinda fits, IMHO.

The "Fargo" accent is the Yooper one, only heard in the UP. Chicago sounds similar to Michigan. I can always tell a Canadian, they sound similar to Californians.

Michiganders tend to say there A's really hard, and say their R's really hard as well. In California we tend to get lazy with our vowels and substitute a soft O sound instead of a hard A, so when I say "grass" it sounds almost like "grahs" (but not quite so English sounding, more of the "a" sound mixed in); Michiganders, on the other hand, lean very heavily on the proper "a" sound in the word, so hard that it almost sounds like "gra-iss" (soft "a" sound).

This is true. Californians pronounce A's as O's, so "grass" becomes "grahs," "back" is "bock," and "rack" is "rock." Also, O's become the AU sound in words like audio. Calfornians use "baudy waush" instead of body wash. The way Michiganders pronounce A's is closer to standard American.

[daddythreepointoh]

Originally Posted by kazoopilot

That explains it! California has a vowel shift pretty much in the opposite direction of Michigan. I can tell a California accent (or as people from CA pronounce it "Collifornia occent") in two seconds. You are the one with the distinct regional accent.



Michiganders don't sound like Californians, but we have less of an accent than you guys do. The California accent is very distinct and sounds flat to me.



The "Fargo" accent is the Yooper one, only heard in the UP. Chicago sounds similar to Michigan. I can always tell a Canadian, they sound similar to Californians.



This is true. Californians pronounce A's as O's, so "grass" becomes "grahs," "back" is "bock," and "rack" is "rock." Also, O's become the AU sound in words like audio. Calfornians use "baudy waush" instead of body wash. The way Michiganders pronounce A's is closer to standard American.

Well I don't want to argue but standard American sounds more midwest (think Iowa, Kansas) then Michigan or California. Although alot of people in California don't speak "surfer" at all, and sound just like midwesterners.

Trust me, Michigan definately has a regional accent. If you're from here, then you can't hear it as much. I've also lived in a few other states, including the south, and the Michigan/northern accent is much more noticable than a Californian accent to people in other regions.

The Michigan A is much "harder" than a standard American pronunciation, and the accent is slightly more rhotic as well.

The Yooper thing can and is heard in the lower peninsula as well. It's not as widespread or pronounced but I definately hear it in certain words and pronunciations.

And Canadians sounding like Californians? That's the first time I've ever heard that one! There are some simular pronunciations on certain words, but in general they sound nothing alike. Having lived in California, and now living near Canada and having Canadian co-workers, they don't sound like what I heard around me for years in Cali!

[michigan83]

This is my favorite thread ever.

[MI-Roger]

Originally Posted by michigan83

This is my favorite thread ever.

I find it borderline offensive.

I know that we Michiganders pronounce our R's very hard, and that we drink "pop" rather than "soda" or "coke", but I would never start a thread in a Southern state (or New England, or California) blog deriding the local citizens for not recognizing the uniqueness of their local speech patterns.

[Tiger Beer]

Iggy Pop has the coolest accent...

I'm also a Michigan native...and didn't think I had an accent...lived outside of Michigan for 17 years...but have been asked occassionally where is my accent from, as they don't recognize it. I always blew it off, not really understanding the question, and told them I lived all over the place, so I probably picked up all kinds of 'accents'.

I was just watching Iggy Pop stuff tonight on youtube...and now that I'm paying attention, he does have an accent different than the mainstream American person.

[lilbear]

Being from MI and now living in the deep south, it's made me appreciate more to not be so nose up about some of the southerners ways of speaking. I've always liked it to an extent, some of their ways still get to me but I keep it to myself. No need to start a battle over little things.

It's interesting to see others takes on how we speak, as long as they're not mean about it. Everywhere is different in their own special way.

[dutchinnd]

Having lived in GR for my first 22 years, and in Fargo for the last 20, I have to disagree w/ this one:

I hear a few different lower Michigan accents. Detroiters have their own, and and then there is the rest of lower Mi. There is a nasely one and a non-nasel, Fargo-ee sounding one. I read once that the lower mitten sounds like a combo of Ontario, Fargo, and Chicago all mixed together. I gotta say it kinda fits, IMHO.

I guess I haven't picked up enough of the Fargo accent, because after I speak to someone local I often get in reply, "You aren't from around here, are you?" The Fargo long "o" is quite different than what is heard in the LP, but the UP is similar. Michigan has a much broader (flatter?) nasal "a" sound than ND, MN or Canada.

[madpie]

I moved to Nebraska 7+ years ago and was told I have an accent. I didn't believe it until I started telling people my name which is John. It is heard out here as Jim, Jack, and Chad. Jim and Jack I get but Chad?

[allbusiness]

Michigan and northern Illinois (Chicago area), for the past 50 years, have been breeding grounds of talent for radio and TV careers do to the lack of a regional accent. Supposedly we have the "purest' way of speaking -- especially when compared to the northeast and the south. You never heard a southern accent on mainstream pop or talk radio in the south or even in New York. It was always someone who spoke clearly and without a noticible accent. Detroit and Chicago, especially, produced hundreds of america's top radio and TV talents since world war II.