Is there a South Dakotan accent? (Sioux Falls, Aberdeen: live in, moving, areas)

[Tamsin]

Reading the N.D. forums reminded me of the movie Fargo and the heavy accent everyone had.

Do people in South Dakota have an accent?

Tom Brokaw is from South Dakota isn't he? I don't detect one on him. But since he's a reporter maybe he got rid of it.

[ElkHunter]

Yes there is a South Dakota accent. Minn and ND both have a strong accent but South Dakota's accent you can pick up some of the "Golly Gee, yup".

I never realized it until I was gone from there for 5 years and then went back.

Also, Tom has been in DC or New York for 40 years so he's lost his.

[DannyBanany]

I think that East River South Dakota probably has a stronger accent than West River. They're closer to Minnesota and North Dakota cities where West River is closer to Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region.

I've never been told that I have an accent of any kind, but when I go to Nebraska I notice theirs immediately. It's not really as much of an accent as it is a twang.

[scubashawn68]

When we have visited SD I notice a slight accent from the people there...sort of reminds me of a Minnesota (light) accent.

[Chris19]

Yah, yu bettcha, you know. We gonna goh fishin in the lake to find some wahleye.

I agree that South Dakotans have a light northern accent. Even my friend from Nebraska and my friends and relatives commented on it. I find it amusing that others think that South Dakotans have an accent. I sometimes exaggerate it, especially with those darn Ole and Lena jokes.

My relatives who live in other states think that my parents have a stronger accent as opposed to my siblings and I. I think that the younger people, not just here, but in other parts of the country (such as the South or in the Northeast) often do not exhibit the stronger regional accents as their parents and grandparents due to people moving around and the greater exposure to telecommunications.

I notice more of the accent in East River. To me, as a South Dakotan, I notice it more with those who are from Brookings, Madison, Pierre, Huron, and points further north. I know of people who have it in Aberdeen who have a more noticeable SD accent as opposed to someone who is from Yankton, Mitchell, and points south of Sioux Falls (many in areas south of I-90 sound similar to Nebraskans and Iowans from my observations).

In the Sioux Falls area, ones who have it were from the northeastern parts of South Dakota along with ex-Minnesotans, ex North Daktoans, and people of Norwegian ancestry (especially with middle-aged and older people).

[Jammie]

Ya you betcha. No, I don't think even the people in No. Dak. talk like they did in that movie. Most of us don't have an accent, but someone did tell me once that I have a "Wisconsin accent" and it confused me cause I don't think they have one.

Here's a good one~my co-worker was at a baseball game in another state and the people next to him asked where he is from. He said, "South Dakota." The guy said, "That's funny, you don't have a southern accent." Maybe not that funny, but it's true.

We must talk a lot like Tom Brokaw cause he sounds like we do here. There's also Mary Hart and you may remember Cheryl Ladd. You may have heard Tom Daschle speak, too.

[jazzlover]

I think a lot of folks in the eastern parts of North Dakota and South Dakota tend to have the "Norwegian/Swedish" inflection in their speech, much less so in the western portions. There can be other influences, as well. One of my uncles, who was born and lived his whole life in eastern North Dakota, spent his career working in the cattle and ranching business. He had a Western drawl to his accent, much like natives of Wyoming, Colorado, Montana, etc. have. I was born in and grew up in Colorado, and many people tell me his accent was identical to mine. His kids, however, all have the Minnesota/Swedish/Norwegian accent, even though they all have lived away from the Dakotas since they reached adulthood. Some people tell me that I have a slight "Dakota" accent, even though I never lived there and I have a definite western drawl, mixed in with the fact that I'm also a little bi-lingual in Spanish. All said and done, though, I can generally spot a native of the Dakotas within the first few sentences.

[DannyBanany]

Originally Posted by Jammie

Here's a good one~my co-worker was at a baseball game in another state and the people next to him asked where he is from. He said, "South Dakota." The guy said, "That's funny, you don't have a southern accent." Maybe not that funny, but it's true.

Haha! That reminds me of when I was in New York and someone asked me where I was from. I said South Dakota and they said, "Oh, you must go to Las Vegas a lot with it being so close and all!" Sigh!

[ElkHunter]

I would imagine that to the people from North Dakota, the people from South Dakota sound like they have a southern accent.

[Chris19]

Very possible, ElkHunter. This thought makes me laugh. It makes us sound like we say "howdy y'all", "We're fixin' to have dinner", and "Our wrastling team won state" with more of a nasal to the North Dakotans.

To some South Dakotans, such as I, we think that people in Southern Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and very southern Nebraska have southern accents. The accents or perceptions of accents are all relative. To us South Dakotans, we sound normal and those from different regions sound different and we sound different to those in other regions (while they think they sound normal). Those in Missouri and Kansas, for example, may lump South Dakotans with North Dakotans and Minnesota, despite South Dakotans having a lessened northern accent.

I think it is with how northerners use their vowels. I have heard from others and directly myself about northerns holding on to our O's too long and saying our O's like Oh's.