Minnesota Accent (live, stations, radio)

[wamer27]

Originally Posted by ColdLover27

It's already been touched on a little, but another question. Do Minnesotans also actually say "don'tcha know" "you betcha" "you know" "oh for cute" etc?

I’ve heard it straight like this in NE MN in Beaver, Silver Bay, Finland area. I thought of Fargo the entire time. It was also the most caring accent, person was a very genuine outgoing nice person.

[demtion35]

I hear Minnestoan Talk, everyday. You are able to pick up on it in an instant.

[slowlane3]

The referenced map shows the "Inland South" accent - pink shaded area - extending from central and Eastern Texas, through Georgia, then all the way to the Pennsylvania line almost to Pittsburgh? Sorry, that's clearly wrong and ridiculous.

[Lodestar]

When I was growing up in the fifties and sixties in very southern MN people still spoke Norwegian on the streets. And the Norwegian accented English was very strong in all the nearby towns. And even then some stood out as distinctly having an accent. About them we said they sounded like "dey yoost got offa da b-oh-t."

The joke was on us. We weren't exempt. When I finally moved away from the Midwest to the Pacific Northwest people repeatedly asked me if I was from Norway.

Farther north of us, between the Twin Cities and us, the people spoke with German and Czech accents. If one was visiting locally you knew they were "different." That might call for a, "Where are yew from, den?" in the café.

We're lots more diverse in my little hometown now but still if I go back for a visit I notice the Ole and Lena coming out in my speech.

[Izzie1213]

Originally Posted by ColdLover27

It's already been touched on a little, but another question. Do Minnesotans also actually say "don'tcha know" "you betcha" "you know" "oh for cute" etc?

You betcha is more a Canadian thing. Ya know, heard in more rural areas. As for you betcha and for cute, no one really says that. North Central Minnesota definitely has their own accent. Can't put my finger on it but when you hear it you know.

Maybe some Scandinavian and German leftovers. But recent years it's kind of fading, some of the regional accents, I think. Someone once mentioned our sentence structure is different in Minnesota. Do you want to go to ___? Or , Do you want to come with? How we ask questions I've been told is different. My brothers wife and family from California mentioned it.

Can you say Minnie-soda.

Just saw lodestars, yep, Ole and Lena. Where are yew from den? My grandfather spoke some German but he never did in front of anyone, his parents were from Germany. He did however swear in German. He thought he was hiding his swear words doing this. I can cuss in fluent German.

[wamer27]

A good friend is from Sicily and I was at his pizza shop last week when his cousin (who was born here) was there. They started a sentence in Sicilian and then finished it in English. Was weird and I called him out, he laughed. When he’s mad, he only speaks Sicilian

I only pick up the Fargo accents in older folks, I bet it’s a dying accent.

[Citykid3785]

It absolutely exists. Just watch the news, they seem to find the most extreme ones, haha. But having just moved away from the Twin Cities, whenever I have a phone call to a friend back home, it's the first thing I notice, and very prevalent. Obviously not everyone does, but it does exist in the Twin Cities

[Citykid3785]

Originally Posted by slowlane3

The referenced map shows the "Inland South" accent - pink shaded area - extending from central and Eastern Texas, through Georgia, then all the way to the Pennsylvania line almost to Pittsburgh? Sorry, that's clearly wrong and ridiculous.

Pittsburgh definitely has it's own strong accent and dialect, but I wouldn't call it southern (even though locals call the area Pennsyltucky). Its fun for me to go to my family reunion in Pittsburgh, I always learn new words, at times I question my relatives are actually speaking English, haha

[Citykid3785]

I do hear You betcha a lot. Also the pronunciation of words like roof/root/route stands out to me. My MN friends also say "bag"-el instead of "bay"-gle (Bagel), as well as "melk" instead of "milk", "pellow" instead of "pillow," etc. Not making fun, as I was born elsewhere and still say some words funny.

I know of someone from the Hutchinson area that literally ends every sentence with "and then" in a trailing off voice. Ex "I went down to the store to get gas, and then."

My step father in-law starts most sentences with "I says." Ex. "I says, it's -20 outside, you need a coat (cooooaaaattt)!"

[Glenfield]

Originally Posted by Citykid3785

Pittsburgh definitely has it's own strong accent and dialect, but I wouldn't call it southern (even though locals call the area Pennsyltucky). Its fun for me to go to my family reunion in Pittsburgh, I always learn new words, at times I question my relatives are actually speaking English, haha

That’s why Pittsburgh is part of the Midland area accent, not Southern. The map notes that Pittsburgh has its own sub-dialect.