Is the Seattle accent similar to the one spoken in the Great Lakes region? (Kirkland: car, area)

[scottyr]

I used to have the impression that people in Seattle all spoke in a neutral "newscaster" generic North American accent. I remember seeing interviews of Kurt Cobain and did'nt notice any accent at all.

However, i have youtubed various videos that take place in Seattle, and many people (especially female) have an accent similar to what im used to in Buffalo, NY or in Chicago....the nasally Great Lakes vowel shift....also kinda simialr to the Fargo/Palin accent


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here's an example above, this lady is supposedly from Seattle, is this typical or is she a transplant?

The accent is not as profound as in Buffalo though, there is a famous commercial here for a car dealership where the guy says "Hi mom!" at the end and it sounds just like "Hey Ma'am!"

[VOC1]

Transplant.



The traditional WA "accent" is no accent, or the generic "news caster" accent. Or, if you want to go back a few decades, a Scandinavian accent.

[The Siobhan]

Or, she could be from the rez.

[Woof]

West Coast women often have a certain ...... well, creaky sound that usually comes in at the end of a sentence. There's a word for it but I forget it now, it was on an NPR segment. It's relatively new, I didn't use to hear it even a decade or two ago.

[scottyr]

Originally Posted by The Siobhan

Or, she could be from the rez.

sorry, what's "the rez"? Are you referring to an Indian Reservation? The woman in the video does'nt look or seem native American to me

[Inkpoe]

I know from my MIL and some of the other older Seattle natives, there is a slight accent... a different way of saying some of the words. Like roof, they say "ruff". If I can think of some more, I'd add it in. But I don't really see that with the new generations.

[Sobefobik]

She doesn't sound like a transplant to me. She sounds like anyone else you would talk to in Washington.

Here's an excellent thread that discusses this very topic.

Does Washington state have a regional accent?

[rmkiefer07]

Being a transplant, two things I've noticed:
1. There is an ever so slight resemblance to the Canadian accent (at least to my Texas ears). Not strong, but there. I'm no linguist but it's something in the vowels.

2. I've heard many a native say "all's" as opposed to "all". Example: "All's I know". I've also heard this in Michigan and Ohio, so maybe there's some Midwestern influence?

[The Siobhan]

Originally Posted by scottyr

sorry, what's "the rez"? Are you referring to an Indian Reservation? The woman in the video does'nt look or seem native American to me

Yes, the reservation. And what does a Native American look like? Brett Favre? Heather Locklear? Bob Barker? Gary Busey? Ananda Lewis? Anita Hill? All of these people are members of a native tribe; Bob was even raised on a reservation.

[Hemlock140]

Over 50% of people in the Seattle area came from another state or country, so if there ever was any regional accent it has become diluted greatly since the mid-80s. Some of us do occasionally drop a word or two that could be considered Canadian, like oot for out but that's just something picked up from watching CBC TV shows on cable.