The Accent of Northern Maine (Portland, Kittery: university, land, rating)

[WhatUpFLA]

U.S. Senator Susan Collins was born and raised in Caribou, Maine. Her accent sounds much more like an Inland North accent than an Eastern New England accent. Although she attended St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York; which definitely lies in the Inland North accent zone; she spent most of childhood and teenage years in Northern Maine. Does the accent of Northern Maine sound more like an Inland North Accent than an Eastern New England accent? Apparently, the Eastern New England accent or "Maine accent" can be heard up and down the Maine coast from Kittery to at least Bar Harbor. In Maine, I've never traveled further north than Portland, but I still remember hearing the accent in almost every community that I visited from Kittery to Portland. When I first heard Senator Collins speak, I was shocked to hear that she spoke with an accent that sounded like an Inland North accent. I assumed she would have had a non-rhotic Eastern New England accent. LOL. Is the accent of Northern Maine really that much different than the accent of Southern and coastal Maine? If native English speakers from Northern Maine have a different accent than those from Southern and coastal Maine, whereabouts is the boundary separating these two accent zones? Someone needs to shed some light on this topic for me! Thank you!

[Maineah]

Accent???What accent?? People from away are the ones with the weird accent!!!

[msina]

Originally Posted by Maineah

Accent???What accent?? People from away are the ones with the weird accent!!!

Exactly!

[Three Wolves In Snow]

I haven't been here long...just over a month but so far, I've only heard about 3-4 people who have the "Maine" accent.

Others are from Boston or CT or some other place in New England. (I didn't even have to ask, they like to tell me these things).

Still others don't seem to have any accent at all...or, should I say, they "talk like me" in that I hear no accent.

Maybe I'M not north enough!

[Northern Maine Land Man]

There are two accents in Aroostook County. The inland accent is like western Maine. Then there is the "Valley accent". People from "The Valley" have the same accent on both sides of the St. John River. They have a shared heritage and most have family on "both sides of the brook". This dates back before 1831 when the King of Holland decided the boundary between Canada and the USA which was recorded as the Webster Ashburton Treaty.

[WhatUpFLA]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

There are two accents in Aroostook County. The inland accent is like western Maine. Then there is the "Valley accent". People from "The Valley" have the same accent on both sides of the St. John River. They have a shared heritage and most have family on "both sides of the brook". This dates back before 1831 when the King of Holland decided the boundary between Canada and the USA which was recorded as the Webster Ashburton Treaty.

Okay, just to clarify what you said: The Inland North accent prevails in western Maine and "The Valley" accent is the predominant accent in northern Maine in the area surrounding the St. John River? I've never heard of "The Valley" accent. What does it sound like? Is that the accent of U.S. Senator Susan Collins that I may have mistaken as being an Inland North accent?

[retiredtinbender]

See, I hear a Canadian accent from folks in the County. More of a pronounced "R" and enunciated words as opposed to the rest of us who speak normally. Same with Ms Collins.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

I don't think of Sen. Collins as having an accent. I know of nobody else that speaks as she does. She has a pronounced lisp and shortness of breath.

One conclusion I have made about Maine's coastal accent is all children learned to speak from people who had colds. Think about that. A linguistic professor at UMO was intrigued by the idea, I don't know if he ever pursued it.

[JViello]

What's next gay marriage?

So what accent box would you like to try and put the entire state of Maine in?

I know people with a French Canadian accent like this:


YouTube - ‪American Loggers Season 3 Episode 1 Part 2‬‏

A traditional New England accent like this:


YouTube - ‪American Loggers Season 1 Episode 4 Part 4.avi‬‏

A mix of the two like this:


YouTube - ‪American Loggers Season 1 Episode 1 Part 3‬‏

And some with really no accent at all like this: (3:00 minutes in)


YouTube - ‪American Loggers Season 1 Episode 4 Part 1‬‏

[JViello]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

I don't think of Sen. Collins as having an accent. I know of nobody else that speaks as she does. She has a pronounced lisp and shortness of breath.

One conclusion I have made about Maine's coastal accent is all children learned to speak from people who had colds. Think about that. A linguistic professor at UMO was intrigued by the idea, I don't know if he ever pursued it.

Lets not forget about the Acadians (Who went on to become the Cajuns we know now) influence Down East either. At times I swear you can hear a little cajun in there.

Edit: You can hear it a little in here IMO.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZJeRs_-FkA

Compare:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK4umRMJlrs