What does a Montana accent sound like? (Helena: movies, vs)

[Reziac]

Yep, Butte is the only spot in MT where the local accent will sometimes remind a person of New York City -- it's the Irish in 'em

I don't remember a Browning accent, but without hearing it again I'd guess it's the western Indian accent, more of a way of speaking than a different set of sounds.

It would be fun to chart the ancestry of the various local accents.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

I am an Oregonian and deal over the phone with a small company in Lewistown.
I definately hear an accent.

At first it sounds kind of southern, but actually it's more of a slight western drawl.
Not very pronounced, but it's there.

Actually the thing that "bothers" me is the slowness in talking.
The people that I talk to actually wait for you to finish talking and then speak slowly and thoughtfully.
Maybe it's small town, maybe it's Montana, I don't know.

[Threerun]

Why would people waiting for you to finish speaking and then reply in a courteous manner bother you?

Unfortunately the people I work with in Helena don't do that. They will cut you off and overrun your words in a heartbeat. It's very disrespectful and I do not care for folks who do that. It tells me they have no manners or any respect for others.

[lunapath]

What I've heard here that I haven't yet heard anywhere else: 'crick' instead of 'creek' and 'rut' instead of 'root'. Actually, if I think about it, my dad used to say, 'downtacrick'. But when he just said the word 'creek', he didn't say 'crick'.

I've had the opposite experience of some, most people I talk to speak quickly and on top of each other.

Every region seems to claim 'warsh' in their, "You know you're from _____ when..." I've heard 'warsh' from native Southerners, Mid-Westerners and in the West. My mom said 'warsh' and it drove me nuts. I've also noticed that people who do say 'warsh' fervently deny that they do.

(I should note that I was raised in the Mid-West and I apparently can't say 'railroad' correctly.)

[Reziac]

Here's a Handy Map of the officially-recognised regional accents.
National Map (scroll down about halfway)
In my observation the map isn't quite accurate, tho -- what they call "north central" continues as an overlay all the way to the Rockies, and there's another overlay of South across a swath from Texas to eastern MT.

MT is at the cusp of several regional accents, plus has overlays from others, so the "Montana accent" can be any of these alone or in combination.

[jimboburnsy]

I think it sounds a lot like the Weather Channel accent.

[ElkHunter]

Originally Posted by Reziac

Here's a Handy Map of the officially-recognised regional accents.
National Map (scroll down about halfway)
In my observation the map isn't quite accurate, tho -- what they call "north central" continues as an overlay all the way to the Rockies, and there's another overlay of South across a swath from Texas to eastern MT.

MT is at the cusp of several regional accents, plus has overlays from others, so the "Montana accent" can be any of these alone or in combination.

Montana ranchers tend to have a bit of Southern in them, but if you think about it, in the mid to late 1800's, Montana was comprised of two entities. English land barrons, and Texas Cattleman that brought up very large herds of cattle from Texas.

[cumminszhere]

I have lived in Northern California my entire adult life and have spent considerable time in western MT. I own property in the Swan.

Overall I don’t notice a difference in accent between the two states. I do notice that everyone up north says “crik” instead of “creek”.

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by cumminszhere

I do notice that everyone up north says “crik” instead of “creek”.

Might be cuz it rhymes better with the name of that "crik" you go up without a paddle

[callmemaybe]

Originally Posted by ElkHunter

Montana ranchers tend to have a bit of Southern in them, but if you think about it, in the mid to late 1800's, Montana was comprised of two entities. English land barrons, and Texas Cattleman that brought up very large herds of cattle from Texas.

That's what their accent is like a mix of Southern and Canadian then.