Question about the St. Louis accent (Chesterfield, Washington: live in, suburbs, radio)

[aragx6]

^ This made me laugh. For a long time.

If you want to hear a true St. Louis accent find a radio broadcast of the Cardinals radio network in 15 minutes when the wild card game starts. Mike Shannon is as St. Louis as it gets.

[Old Trafford]

Originally Posted by 1greatcity

How to speak St. Louis-ese:

Befar we go to the stahr, wouldja warsh dem farks overdare in d'zink? And doya think dis melk is sahr? Far Pete's sake, it's only been in the ice box 'bout fahr days. Guess I'll write melk, flahr, and park steaks on the groshry list. Hey... on ahr way to the stahr, we could drive through Farest Park and lookit the golf carse!

Don't farget yah needa qwaters far da soda masheen - said through a very nasal tone, heard a lot of people talk like this as a kid, not so much these days.

Even when people try to replicate it now they do not do it right. it was highway "fardy" with a short "a" sound, everyone who makes fun of it now says it with a long "a" to sound more like fart. of course it needs to be said "witt da high nasal tone"

"wasent dat gooey butter cake garrjuss"

My father took me to a many south side taverns as a child

[20yrsinBranson]

Originally Posted by ACalifornian

I've been reading up on American accents. It's fascinating how many of them there are and, as I found out recently, St. Louis has its own distinctive dialect. I hardly heard anyone who speaks with such an accent. I'm curious, how common is it, particularly among young people? I know a person on YouTube from St. Louis, and while he speaks with an odd accent I don't think it really sounds like the STL accent.


Blue Point Security - Deny The Unknown? - YouTube

At the beginning of the video, the way he says "antivirus" and "dash" kind of reminds me of the stereotypical Wisconsin accent. Either way, it sounds nothing like the Southern offshoot I was reading about. Is the accent evolving? Has it changed entirely?

I have a very strong ear for accents. From time to time I will hear something that sounds like a hybrid of Chicago and Minnesota. I usually guess Minnesota, but the vowels are not *quite* as long, but many times it has been a St. Louis accent.

20yrsinBRanson

[Amercity]

St.Louis accents are rare even among the old. Ive met people with st.louis accents but its a dying accent as the people with accents die off. Its not like the NYC accent or west coast accent which will exist even 100 years from now.

[Dawn10am]

1greatcity: Exaggerated, but nonetheless hilarious. And not without elements of truth.

[DinsdalePirahna]

Originally Posted by Amercity

St.Louis accents are rare even among the old. Ive met people with st.louis accents but its a dying accent as the people with accents die off. Its not like the NYC accent or west coast accent which will exist even 100 years from now.

As an outsider i disagree. The accent is still there - even with elementary school aged kids.

[DeBaliviere]

Originally Posted by BoomBoxing

It's very slight and only really common among people my parents age (50's) and older. The only major characteristic is the the R in words with "sh" in it such as WARSHINGTON" for Washington and the R sound in words that should have more of a O sound. For example highway FARDY FAR instead of Forty Four, but it's not as blatant as that, it's usually more subtle and said quickly.

Most young people speak with a neutral "news anchor" accent.

I agree. Even among older residents, it's less common (or noticeable) among the educated.

[welshearl]

I think having any sort of "St Louis style" accent is an indicator of education and intelligence. Actually, having any sort of accent based on mispronunciation of words is an indicator. The more knowledge of correct grammar, enunciation, pronunciation -the less accent of any sort one will have.

[jskirwin]

The accent lives. It's most obvious in "or" and "ar" words and the blending of the two. "Former farmer born in a corn barn" tends to sound like "Farmer farmer barn in a carn barn." I visit my hometown every year and hear it among family members and strangers alike. I used to hate it and tried scrubbing it from my diction, but as I've gotten older I've grown to appreciate its charm.

I've often wondered if that particular accent case is the result of the Irish influx into the area from 1840-1870. One can still here "or" pronounced "ar" in contemporary Irish, and it's similar to the accent prevalent around Boston, another place the Irish heavily settled. But it's more abrupt - the sounds don't drag out as long as in Boston - possibly due to the influx of Germans around the same time as the Irish, making it sound very similar to the Wisconsin and Minnesotan accents.

Ask native St. Louisans who have "emigrated" to other areas. They'll tell you whether the locals notice their accents. Several of us who settled in southern California often humored others with our pronunciation of "quarter."

[Smtchll]

Originally Posted by jskirwin

The accent lives. It's most obvious in "or" and "ar" words and the blending of the two. "Former farmer born in a corn barn" tends to sound like "Farmer farmer barn in a carn barn." I visit my hometown every year and hear it among family members and strangers alike. I used to hate it and tried scrubbing it from my diction, but as I've gotten older I've grown to appreciate its charm.

I've often wondered if that particular accent case is the result of the Irish influx into the area from 1840-1870. One can still here "or" pronounced "ar" in contemporary Irish, and it's similar to the accent prevalent around Boston, another place the Irish heavily settled. But it's more abrupt - the sounds don't drag out as long as in Boston - possibly due to the influx of Germans around the same time as the Irish, making it sound very similar to the Wisconsin and Minnesotan accents.

Ask native St. Louisans who have "emigrated" to other areas. They'll tell you whether the locals notice their accents. Several of us who settled in southern California often humored others with our pronunciation of "quarter."

I have a friend who grew up in Memphis and she's only lived in St. Louis for a year. She already says "Farest Park"