Do us Minnesotans have an accent? (Moorhead: 2009, cars, kitchen)

[MaxxMe]

I lived in MN until I was 36 and never thought I had an accent. My friends and I even discussed this after the movie Fargo and thought it was so overstated, which it was in the movie, and came to the conclusion that we sounded just like everyone else without an accent on TV. Wrong!

I moved to VA and I swear no one could understand me, nor could I understand them many times. This went on for weeks. We're in NC now, and even though my accent has lessened over the past 10 years I still get called out on it! It's the O's...they'll getcha every time. And the 'wanna come with', pop vs. soda, root-roof as others mentioned.

When I go back now to visit family or talk on the phone with them, listening to those with thicker MN accents makes me smile. Some have it much more intense than others and those are the ones I love listening to.

My husband, from southern VA, teases me when he catches me saying something uniquely MN (hot dish comes to mind - his whole family laughs at me for that one). He can't talk. He told me once his Mom was 'making pickle (singular)'. She was canning sweet pickles and that cracked me up so hard I was laughing on and off for days about it!

Be proud of that MN accent, people! I wish I still had it as strong as I used to!

And knke I totally believe that. When I was a young girl in the mid to late 60s, my grandparents would visit us and English was not spoken at all while they were there. I'm sure the adults did it on purpose so we couldn't understand what they were saying lol

[stevie_2]

My family is from nortern Minnesota, ya know. When ever I spend any time with them I come away wit that accent. It usually sticks for about a week or so, don't ya know.
And I smile also when I here that so distinctive Scandinavian twang.
If you watch Ice Road Truckers, you will not be quite so home sick for the accent.

[BorderGirl]

Originally Posted by stevie_2

My family is from nortern Minnesota, ya know. When ever I spend any time with them I come away wit that accent. It usually sticks for about a week or so, don't ya know.
And I smile also when I here that so distinctive Scandinavian twang.
If you watch Ice Road Truckers, you will not be quite so home sick for the accent.

I'm so guilty of the Ice Road Truckers thing. I just like hearing a familiar sounding voice.

I miss choppers so much. You can't get them out here in Utah. My mom will probably have to mail me some this year before the snow comes. For me, choppers are mittens that are made out of deer hide and have a soft, fluffy wool inside. So warm! Great for ice fishing but then you can't hold onto things properly. I came out here with a pair of choppers but they were stolen by a friend.

[acrylic]

So I was told that I draw my o out a little more than normal when I'm angry. Does that count?

[babz12]

I've been to most states and no one catches that I'm, nor anyone in my immediate family, from MN until we go to restaurants and ask what kind of pop they have. Then they like to ask us what part of the midwest we're from. That always bothered me as a kid so I started saying "soda" instead. I'm a bad Minnesotan.

I was recently in Duluth (I reside in the cities) for a cousin's wedding, and noticed, along with my other cousin who is from California, how thick of a MN accent my cousin had.

I still think I could have an accent and people just haven't heard me say certain things, such as 'boat' or 'about.' Although I have asked others if I had an accent and no one has ever said I do. Of course most of them are from the midwest themselves, the furthest away was someone from Chicago and I still don't know if that counts...

[knke0402]

Originally Posted by babz12

I've been to most states and no one catches that I'm, nor anyone in my immediate family, from MN until we go to restaurants and ask what kind of pop they have. Then they like to ask us what part of the midwest we're from. That always bothered me as a kid so I started saying "soda" instead. I'm a bad Minnesotan.

I was recently in Duluth (I reside in the cities) for a cousin's wedding, and noticed, along with my other cousin who is from California, how thick of a MN accent my cousin had.

I still think I could have an accent and people just haven't heard me say certain things, such as 'boat' or 'about.' Although I have asked others if I had an accent and no one has ever said I do. Of course most of them are from the midwest themselves, the furthest away was someone from Chicago and I still don't know if that counts...

I just moved to Duluth from the Twin Cities metro, well, im from the TC metro, but went to school in St Cloud for 4 years before moving to Duluth, but wow, you can definitly tell the accent among people up here compared to TC and SC

[Haakon]

If you want to hear a good example of a MN accent (at least a northern MN accent) watch Dirty Jobs this week, the leech trappers they go out with have a very typical 'outstate' accent.

[santos]

Eh! Was at a friends this morning. She showed me something she had just bought and I caught myself saying "for CUTE". Thought of you peeps immediately.

[summer grace]

Yes, there's an accent. The vague and bag thing is a good test- I pronounce them alike. I live in Iowa now, but grew up in MN in part, was born there, family origins there. Somebody told me I had a MN accent once, it was in Iowa, but not sure where they were from- I said Burr Oak, and they said something about how the way I was pronouncing it like '' broke'' indicated MN accent- but I was surprised so I didn't pay close attention to what the person said. I was surprised because I thought everybody in the midwest had this generic non accent, but I was pretty young. I just took a fun quiz- you can find it online '' what american accent do you have''? They got me right- Great Lakes, midwest..

[TravisW]

I definitely have an accent, although I grew up in central ND. When I moved to the Fargo-Moorhead, I got a lot of crap for my "Minnesota accent".