Colorado Accent (Denver, Limon: college, live in, metro)

[englewoodmum]

Is there such thing?
I'm from Colorado, I swear people have some kind of regional accent.
I grew up in the south, so maybe it's just me, but I have met lots of Coloradans with Southern accents. I wanna know, do y'all think there's a distinct, dialect forming or that has formed among coloradans?

[vegaspilgrim]

No.

[tfox]

There definitely are some regionalisms in Colorado, although I wouldn't really call it southern. Metro Denver has so few natives that I think it corresponds pretty well to standard American English, but outside of Metro Denver, I do hear some regional accents. I'm not well traveled enough to really place it, but I wonder if some of this might be spillover from some of our plains neighbors to the east.

One thing I hear is the pronunciation of the word "drought." Since we're in the throes of one, it's a word that comes up often among rural Coloradans, and many of them pronounce it something like "drowth", with the "TH" on the end of the word sounding something like the TH in the word "THing". You'd never hear this in Metro Denver, however, nor in most of the rest of the country.

Also, I do often hear the short "e" sound converted into a short "i" when followed by a nasal, so "Denver" becomes "Dinver." Again, you'd never hear this in metro Denver, but you do hear it sometimes in rural parts of the state.

I'm sure Jazz will have some good examples for us on this subject.

[ryanek9freak]

Yes, take for instance alot of people from here say "Colorada"

[formercalifornian]

I don't hear it, but then I live in the 'burbs, and most of my neighbors grew up in the midwest or California, where the dialect is very flat.

For those of you who are interested, here's a great webpage with sound files of regional U.S. dialects. Notice there are no recordings of Coloradoans.

[dynimagelv]

Originally Posted by ryanek9freak

Yes, take for instance alot of people from here say "Colorada"

Colorada seems to mean you were educated in a small town....[like Limon] people from Denver seem to be from ColoradO

[downtownnola]

I've never noticed much of an accent here. I have heard people jokingly say things like, "Colorada" but I don't hear such pronunciations in everyday conversation.

I don't think that native Coloradoans have a very distinguishable accent. Maybe some of the southern accents that you have heard are from people who have transplanted here from the south?

[jazzlover]

The "Colorada" thing is usually a creature of the Midwest. Of course, a good chunk of eastern Colorado has strong ties to the plains states to the east, and many families in that part of Colorado hail originally from Kansas and Nebraska. Similarly, a good chunk of southeastern Colorado is adjacent to Oklahoma and Texas, with the influences of those accents on many residents.

A lot of natives and long-time residents in the rest of Colorado--and much of the Rocky Mountain region--frequently have what some call a "Western drawl." It is not as pronounced and or distinct compared to a "Texas" or "southern" drawl, but to many--especially those from outside the region--it is a "drawl" nonetheless. Mixed in are some Midwestern influences and Spanish influences, as well--including some localisms unique to the Rocky Mountain region.

[Katarina Witt]

My older daughter went to college in Minnesota, and said people there told her her she had a drawl. I have never noticed it, but I suppose you would in MN. DD is a CO native.

[jwiley]

There is a Colorado accent as Jazz says it is more of a drawl, after spending the last 10 years in Denver my accent is not as pronounced even being a native, however I have two brothers (who have spent the last few years on the western slope) that are really bad. I have to pay very close attention when they speak to understand them now, because their accent has become so thick.