Colorado Accent (Denver, Pueblo, Boulder: versus, place, Hispanic)

[jazzlover]

Coloradans, unless they are transplanted Texans or Southerners, do not have a "Southern" accent. If they have an accent, it is more of a "Western drawl." There is a distinct difference, and Rocky Mountain region natives and long-time residents can tell the difference between the two accents quite readily. The only place in Colorado that you may regularly hear a "Texas" drawl (other than at the resorts that they frequent or areas that they have transplanted to) is in the far southern and southeastern parts of Colorado abutting the Oklahoma panhandle. Even there, it may not be pronounced. I have known a fair number of people over the years native to the Texas Panhandle, and they themselves frequently have more of a Western drawl than Texas accent.

As to that "wannabe valley girl" crap, you can thank cable TV and a jillion California transplants for that one.

[hivoltage]

Coloradans, unless they are transplanted Texans or Southerners, do not have a "Southern" accent. If they have an accent, it is more of a "Western drawl." There is a distinct difference, and Rocky Mountain region natives and long-time residents can tell the difference between the two accents quite readily. The only place in Colorado that you may regularly hear a "Texas" drawl (other than at the resorts that they frequent or areas that they have transplanted to) is in the far southern and southeastern parts of Colorado abutting the Oklahoma panhandle. Even there, it may not be pronounced. I have known a fair number of people over the years native to the Texas Panhandle, and they themselves frequently have more of a Western drawl than Texas accent.

I kinda maybe agree ,But Native Colorado folks do have a definite accent. If I could compare I would say it is close to west Texas or Arkansas maybe Oklahoma I would know. I went to Upstate NY when I was a teenager they all asked if I was from Alabama or something. The thing you have to consider is how many people do you come in contact with on a daily basis are from Colorado? Probably not many. I have met folks from California with a drawl like Bakersfield home of Merle and Buck.Colorado is alot like Florida in my opinion you do not come across many folks that live there that are from there.What one can do is listen how do people pronounce certain words? Take for instance i upstate NY if I ask someone for a pen they think I want a pin.Also how we say things Take for instance if a Yankee asks me what time it is I will tell him it is 5 till 4 He will look bewildered and not understand. If I ask him what time it is he will say 5 of 4 and I will be confused. I have lived all my adult life in the great state of Mississippi and these folks talk alot more like folks from Colorado than say folks from Maine.When I first moved here everyone always asked " You from Texas or Oklahoma ? not once did I get called a Yankee like the folks from the midwest or northeast.I got one for you talk to some Coonasses from south Lousiana if you did not know better you would think they had a Bronx NY accent thnk about it.....Peace.

[SergeGainsbourg]

I was born in Colordo springs and have lived all over the state. It's funny because growing up everyone I knew boasted that there was no Colorado accent. A teacher described the colorado accent as "mumbling" compared to the rest of the nation.

Over the years though I have noticed some things. I really think that Colorado springs people have a distinct accent (I have it too). Let me see if I can describe it: a lot of us speak with a somewhat nasal tone (think Kermit the frog...)... it sort of reminds me also of the Minnesota accent but not quite at the same time. But definately a lot the people I know who like me were born in Colorado springs have a distinct accent, definately different than what you'd find with people born and raised in Fort Collins fort instance (at least in my opinion).

[jazzlover]

I lived all over Colorado over the years. There has been so much influx of outsiders--from the beginning of the state, but especially in the last 30 years or so--that saying there is a distinct Colorado accent is difficult. The eastern half of the state, including the Front Range can have a Midwestern cast, because so many residents of that area are from the Midwest. The Western Slope and a lot of southern Colorado has a more Western accent among the natives--of which, quite frankly, there are relatively few. Western Coloradans generally do not sound much different than folks from rural Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, etc. Southern Colorado natives, unlike many residents of other parts of the state, generally do not butcher Spanish pronunciations because they have lived among a Hispanic population all of their lives, or are Hispanic themselves.

What separates many native rural Coloradans from urban Coloradans and transplants is not accent, but use of colloquialisms related to the historical occupations of farming, ranching, and mining. For example, some of my friends from old-line mining families still use the term "high-grading" for stealing something (the term for the practice of miners stealing high-grade ore from a mine by hiding it their clothing, etc.)--i.e., "Hey, did you high-grade that pencil off of my desk?" Or, "Jeezo, Pete. What's she got a burr under her saddle about?" You will hear these in the metro areas, too--simply because so many rural Coloradans have had to move to metro areas to work over the years. Among many Colorado natives, you also will hear fluency in Spanish cuss words--swearing bi-lingually is pretty common.

Many of the people I have worked with over the years in both Colorado and Wyoming--many highly educated folks like accountants, attorneys, engineers, etc.--were only one generation removed from ranching, farming, mining, or railroading backgrounds. Their language was liberally sprinkled with terms from those occupations--and informal language was often pretty coarse. Though the recent influx of outsiders has diluted it a lot, there is a good deal of the Old West still lurking under the surface in a lot of Coloradans--this is still a pretty young state historically.

[jodyr]

I think there is an accent here, although it's a subtle one that grows stronger in the rural communities. But maybe we should ask someone from Byoonie Vista.

[vegaspilgrim]

It's not just about insiders vs outsiders, it's a generational difference too, old vs young people.

[synchro]

I came to S/W Colorado in my early teens with a plains, western Kansas backround and English
and Germanic roots. That was in 1969. In the Southwest, Spanish tends to insinuate itself
and you sort of get "Rural Midwestern Hippie with included Spanish words,
phrases and pronunciations".
That is what sounds like local Colorado to me.

Excuse me, could ya score us dos mas cervesas, por favor?

[zenkonami]

Rural Midwestern Hippie with included Spanish words, phrases and pronunciations

Throw in some farmer / rancher (maybe a given under "Midwestern) and the occasional west coast suburbanite into that mix and that pretty accurately summarizes my perception of Colorado as a whole.

[synchro]

That was the "Rural Midwestern". and Yes to the West Coast -
But then we have to bring in the Tejano.
And the "Rocky Mountain High / Way"

[Ticky909]

When I get told I have a "Colorado accent" by people I think it's more the space between words that counts versus the actual pronunciation of the word itself, and various 'terms' are thrown in here and there.