Any parts of the country that have a big accent change over a small area? (living in, suburb)

[lovecrowds]

I have to say I just moved to the Omaha area and it is really surprising after living in the West that they have very northern accents.

I forgot how many Omahans have a stereotypical northern accent almost as strong as those in Cleveland, Chicago and the Great Lakes region.

It's certainly not all of Omaha as many Omahans have flat English but many, many people have a Northern accent and could be mistaken for a more northern city.

They sound polar opposite from those in Kansas City and even Denver. Denver has no trace of a northern accent at all.

I just had a co-worker for example tell me how Omahans have no accent but the person speaks in a way that could seen as Minnesotan by someone not from the Midwest.

Nebraska in general area very flat on accent, but I notice Omahans in particular speak like people in Northern Iowa.

Same have known Iowans from Mason City that sounded just like people in Minnesota and the Dakotas.

Kansas City shockingly has a very southern twang to the accent.

I knew people from Wichita who certainly had a little bit of an almost Oklahoman style accent.

I notice Rock Rort, Missouri which about two hours from both Omaha and Kansas City they have a very standard, flat accent.

[pikabike]

I don't know if this is true anymore, but before Cape Cod became a retiree magnet, natives did not have the Boston accent.

Someone also told me that Springfielders lacked a noticeable accent and that American Broadcasting was based on Springfield's speech.

[bluescreen73]

Boston and Providence - a mere 40 miles apart, but dominated by two completely different accents.

[Buckeye614]

Ohio definitely has different regional accents. Cleveland can be a little nasally and exaggerated a's. Columbus is mostly just standard Midwest. Parts of Southern Ohio and rural areas sound almost like a southern twang to me.

[KodeBlue]

Baltimore and DC probably has the biggest change over the smallest area. You could be in the Baltimore suburb of Columbia, and hear a Baltimore accent, then drive 10 minutes down I-95 to Laurel, a DC suburb, and hear a different accent. Baltimore and Philly ,which are about 90 miles apart, have different accents as well. Baltimore has a completely unique accent though can't be duplicated anywhere else.

[Pincho-toot]

The Miami accent is pretty distinct and you don't really here it outside Dade County, unless the person speaking is originally from there.

[GunnerTHB]

This describes southeast Missouri perfectly. Go 30 miles north or south of Cape Girardeau and it is a completely different experience with completely different accents.

[2nd trick op]

The "sing-song" accent/dialect among some Pennsylvania Germans might qualify, though it's not universal in the places, usually small rural communities, where it's encountered.


But one difference that's easy to spot is the pronunciation of a certain Pennsylvania city; visitors, especially those from New York and New England, will pronounce it as LANN-cas-ter, but to us natives it's LANK-iss-ster.


Wie Gehts? -- (literal translation) -- How goes it?

[annie_himself]

In New Orleans you hear the yat accent, then in Metairie, which borders the city, you don't hear it at all unless the person is from New Orleans.

[Count David]

Is NY-NJ-CT not full of different sounding accents?