Iowa Accent (coupon, restaurant, gym)

[smpliving]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

I say "going to the store" and I'm originally from the Kansas City metro area.

Same here, and I'm originally from the Los Angeles area.

[jmgg]

In South Dakota, we're so much more sophisticated. We:

Trip on down to the store.
Sashay to the store.
Hike on down to the store.
Head down to the store.
Motor down to the store.
Get down to the store.
Take a run down to the store.

And yes, we often are caught
"going to the store"

In most towns in South Dakota, everyone knows what store you're going to since there's only one in town.

[capitalcityguy]

I'd like to add a related comment but I don't have time at the moment as I'm fixin' to go to the store.

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by duster1979

That's because Burlington is right on Highway 34. The twang doesn't really kick in until you get to about Wever

Interesting. I spent quite a bit of time in Fort Madison, West Point, and Keokuk and never really heard it there either.

[mustang84]

My dad, born in Queens, NY and having grown up in Chicago for 17 years, says "going to the store."

Another RJ preconceived notion not rooted in reality.

[Dport7674]

Henceforth and what not, I shall only say that "I'm going to mosey on down to the store."

[orthosophy]

Originally Posted by RonnieJonez

It's definitely a small-town phrase, deny it if you want.

I'm not sure how you define "small town."

When I lived in LA they said that all the time; in Arabic, Armenian, Russian, English, or whatever. I am curious as to what you big city folk say.

[atler8]

"Going to the store" is very commonly heard all across metro Atlanta, by the way.

[atler8]

Has anyone else noticed a very distinctive accent from people in or near Butler County?
The foremost example of it is provided by Senator Charles Grassley of New Hartford. I am old enough to remember Charles Grassley from his earliest days in the Iowa legislature. Even then I thought his accent was odd as compared to what I heard from most other Iowans and from most folks in nearby Waterloo-Cedar Falls.
Several decades later, listening to him from afar, I am still struck by his accent oddities unlike just about anything I have heard from elsewhere in the State of Iowa.
I don't mean it as a personal criticism of the man because we learn from what we are exposed to. Many of his pronunciations seem very firmly placed & delivered with a slow, unusual cadence. The "o" sound is always very strongly emphasized by him.
Friends and business associates from down here have remarked to me more than once that they heard him speak on the radio or tv news. The thrust of their impression has been that he sounds as though he has "fallen off of the turnip truck", to use an old phrase. I have responded to them that the senator uses a highly localized version of the Iowa accent.
So, does anyone else have any thoughts or inside observations about what I'll call "Butler County speak"?

[Stavemaster]

Originally Posted by atler8

Has anyone else noticed a very distinctive accent from people in or near Butler County?
The foremost example of it is provided by Senator Charles Grassley of New Hartford. I am old enough to remember Charles Grassley from his earliest days in the Iowa legislature. Even then I thought his accent was odd as compared to what I heard from most other Iowans and from most folks in nearby Waterloo-Cedar Falls.
Several decades later, listening to him from afar, I am still struck by his accent oddities unlike just about anything I have heard from elsewhere in the State of Iowa.
I don't mean it as a personal criticism of the man because we learn from what we are exposed to. Many of his pronunciations seem very firmly placed & delivered with a slow, unusual cadence. The "o" sound is always very strongly emphasized by him.
Friends and business associates from down here have remarked to me more than once that they heard him speak on the radio or tv news. The thrust of their impression has been that he sounds as though he has "fallen off of the turnip truck", to use an old phrase. I have responded to them that the senator uses a highly localized version of the Iowa accent.
So, does anyone else have any thoughts or inside observations about what I'll call "Butler County speak"?

I think that's just Chuck. I've never noticed anything unusual about Butler County, and I've had plenty of contact with people from there, as I grew up next door in Grundy. Then again, maybe that means we have it too? But I think it's just him. Maybe he's trying to project the sort of gravitas he feels a 32 year veteran of the Senate should have?

A friend of mine here in San Francisco pointed out once that it was noticeable that I pronounced the h in "while" as opposed to "wile" or "wull", and he assumed that was part of the Iowa accent. It was a little surprising, since I'd never noticed much of a difference between the northern CA accent and basic Midland American English. Then again, a ton of people here either come from the midwest or have roots there, so we've probably brought our accent with us.