Twin Cities accent? (Duluth, St. Cloud, Madison: college, living, moving)

[northstar22]

Maybe it's just me, but does anyone else think Twin Cities natives have distinct accents from other Minnesotans? It seems like TC-area natives like Michelle Bachmann and Tom Emmer (I've noticed it in other MSP residents, too) have more of a "Wisconsin" or "Chicago" twang to their voices that you don't hear in outstate residents, especially those from Southwest MN. To me, it sounds like someone from the Twin Cities could easily be from Madison or Chicago or even Detroit (yes, I know I'm from MI, so I have a touch of the accent myself), whereas those from southern and southwestern Minnesota have more of a neutral, newscaster-type accent (or NON accent).

Does anyone else hear this, or am I just crazy?

[StilltheSame]

To me its a long dragged out regional whine. Some people have it worse than others - yesterday I was on a conference call with a particularly bad case.

[uptown_urbanist]

I actually think it's the opposite; generally people in the Twin Cities have less of a distinct accent than those "outstate." I think politicians like Bachmann exaggerate it at times just to seem more "Minnesotan." I think accent depends on many different variables, and presumably origins of parents have an impact, too (Bachmann isn't originally from the Twin Cities, for example, and I assume her parents were born and raised elsewhere, although she did grow up in MN). When I notice a strong MN accent the people tend to be from smaller towns elsewhere in the state, although sometimes Twin Cities native have it, too.

For what it's worth, I don't think anyone has a non-accent. At the very least it will be recognizable as "American."

[audadvnc]

So many people come from out of state (myself included), that any accent you pick up here is either family related or a generic "midwest" dialect that broadcasters emulate. Native Minnesotans from outstate have their own accents, but they aren't as noticeable in town.

[northstar22]

How can a family have its own accent?

[Cruz Azul Guy]

This has been done before....

https://www.city-data.com/forum/minne...es-accent.html

[west336]

Yes. I think I have it a little, especially since much of my family IS FROM Southern Wisconsin and Chicago (and now Cleveland). I do know what you are talking about, but it certainly takes a great ear to distinguish the difference.

One thing I notice I saw a lot is "what's that?". But I don't say it that way at all, I say "wussat?" instead. Kind of like a combination of "puss" with a "w" instead, and "at".

[uptown_urbanist]

Because families come from a variety of places and bring their own backgrounds to the mix. My husband says some things in a way that sounds more like what his Illinois-raised parents (and probably his own early Illinois childhood) say; I have some words that don't sound particularly "Minnesotan" because I picked them up elsewhere. People are always moving around, so even if you find someone who was born in the Twin Cities it's unlikely that both of their parents were, too. It's not like this is an area where people have been living for many, many generations; maybe you can find a few people like that, but this area is still pretty young. Any strong regional accent is by nature going to be pretty diluted and more generic Midwestern. I assume that the accents in smaller towns are generally going to be less diluted just by the nature of demographics and migration patterns.

[Citykid3785]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

I actually think it's the opposite; generally people in the Twin Cities have less of a distinct accent than those "outstate." I think politicians like Bachmann exaggerate it at times just to seem more "Minnesotan." I think accent depends on many different variables, and presumably origins of parents have an impact, too (Bachmann isn't originally from the Twin Cities, for example, and I assume her parents were born and raised elsewhere, although she did grow up in MN). When I notice a strong MN accent the people tend to be from smaller towns elsewhere in the state, although sometimes Twin Cities native have it, too.

For what it's worth, I don't think anyone has a non-accent. At the very least it will be recognizable as "American."

I'll second this. I feel those in the cities tend to have a slightly smaller Minnesotan accent than those in more rural areas.

Has anyone noticed that all the individuals who are interviewed for soundbites by the local news have extreme accents. It's as if the news wants to legitimize the story by have a more "true" Minnesotan or something? I could just be going crazy too.......

[knke0204]

Welcome back West336!

Anyway. I think that the accent is much more prevalent in 'outstate' than the Twin Cities. Growing up in the metro, I heard it, but not to the 'Fargo' extent. When I lived in St. Cloud I never noticed it, mainly because I was in college and was around younger people (who typically don't have the accent) and were from all over the midwest.

I lived in Duluth for 2 years, and in those 2 years I could definitely tell the locals had a much thicker accent. It was very noticable. I still think that middle-aged to elderly women have it the most. Their twangy, high-pitched drawn out OOOOO's make me naucious. And the EEYY sound while saying things like "BAG". Um, it's not BAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYGG, it's BAG. Same with TAKE. It's not TAAAYYYEEK. It's TAKE. Or LAAAYYYEK. Also, combining words. Especially words that end in a D. Instead of saying ""End in a D" it sounds like "endinna D"

"Heeey, let's GOOOOO OOOOUUUT on da BOOOOOOAT and take a spin aroundA LAAAYYYEEK"

Minnesotans have an tendancy of throwing meaningless little garbage words at the end of sentences. "Do you want me to make you a lunch, real quick?"