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I don't get when people mention "Western Michigan" as having a different accent as the rest of the state. I'm from western Michigan, graduated from Western Michigan University, and live on the west side of the state, and I've heard that I sound like I'm from West MI a couple of times. I honestly can't tell what part of Michigan someone is from (other than the U.P.) by their accent. What is the difference?
I have a friend who lives in Grand Rapids. She lives in Roseville now, but is moving back there pretty soon. She doesn't sound all that different to me. I assumed those "speaking for" the western part of the state knew of some difference. Maybe she's not west enough?? Or having been in SE MI a while she's lost some of it??
People in Bellaire, MI (about an hour north of Traverse City) who live there year-round all sound familiar to me. I don't catch any accents. Its small enough that its not considered a town or city, but a village. Now, the U.P. is a different story.
Maybe it is because I am used to it, but the northern accent not counting the Fargo, Palin u betya crap is not as stupid sounding as the southern accent used by most southerners. That NASCAR good old tooth used by southern red necks still sounds stupid to the max.
I live in a suburb of Detroit. I'll admit, we probably have a noticeable accent to people outside of Michigan, but we talk NOTHING like you are suggesting. I've lived my entire life in the same area of Michigan. All of the shows I watch (Desperate Housewives, say, for example or House)...they all sound like the way I speak. Your last thing (I don't want to say 3rd because it should be fourth) about the grammar is completely insulting and untrue. Aside from the slang in Detroit (I cringe; the "I aint got no time to get to tha sto"...argh), most Southeastern Michiganians grammar is proper and formal.
1. I do not say BOYK, I say BYE-KE, and HIGH-KE, along with everyone I know.
2. I don't know anyone, with the exception of my mother, who says things like "melk", "pellow", "pen" for "pin". The reason she says these things is because her mother was CANADIAN and her father was from KENTUCKY. Her children (my siblings and I) say MILL-K (it doesn't sound long, I spelled it out that way to indicate pronunciation) and PILL-OH.
"2." 3. This is somewhat true, depending on the REGION OF MICHIGAN. In my area, we say "Gay Lerd" or "Gay Lord". Charlotte is usually CHAR-LIT and Macomb is MUH-COMB.
3. Again, willing to admit an accent, but proper use of the English language is NOT a characteristic of Michigan (aside from Detroit slang). The phrases you mentioned do not sound like anything I've ever heard and I've lived here my whole life.
Alright, having addressed those issues...
I have never been out of Michigan, so no one has ever commented that I have an accent. Everyone on tv shows I watch speak just like we do here, whether it be a newscaster on CNN or a show like LOST. To me, everyone on television sounds like a Michiganian (I hate the term Michigander; its not the correct term, technically speaking; I know many like it but I do not).
I do think its funny when people online guess I'm around the "Great Lakes Area" when I say pop (it does not sound like PaaaaHP; it sounds like PAHP - quick and short -in my region). Certain words are particular to this state, but I think several posters mentioned a "Fargo" and "Yooper" accent and associated that with all of Michigan. People from Wisconsin have a VERY noticeable accent to me and sound nothing like my region. Yoopers also do not sound like Southeast Michigan. People may have heard a Michiganian speak Fargo-esque. I'm not doubting that. I'm saying that that is NOT how people in Southeast Michigan speak and not how EVERYONE in Michigan speaks.
To me, we (me and the people in my region of Michigan) sound like Tim Allen. I hear no accent with Tim Allen, so I must sound like him.
I know this post is late in the game, but I wanted to clear up some things that were mentioned in this thread. Some posters were thinking the Michiganians disagreed about us having an accent. NO. What they were disagreeing with was the KIND OF ACCENT.
The "aaaaaaaahccent" (we actually say ACK-cent) that you suggest is a Upper Peninsula, Upper Michigan, Western Michigan or Wisconsin accent. That is a generalization. I've never heard anyone speak like those in Fargo or U.P...unless it was IN THE U.P.
Where I am from, we say "caRR", not "CAHr". Hard R's. People who pronounce car as "cah" are more Boston-sounding. We definitely have hard R's in SE Michigan.
The way we speak in my region is considered "Midland" speech or dialect. They did a PBS special on it a few years ago, noting that most television shows, newscasters, movies, all model their speech on "Midland speech" because it is considered the purest form of English, after British English. I do think that New England sounds closer to older English. However, the way I speak is the way people on tv speak. I am not referring to local newscasters, either. Movies, tv, national news...they all speak like I do.
I think when some of these posters are referring to a "Michigan accent", they are referring to a much heavier, Yooper-type accent that is farther north, not the one you hear in movies.
Rant over.
One of my favorite bumper stickers: "Say Yah to Da U.P., eh?" THAT'S the accent some were referring to.
This is funny to me. I am not from Michigan and have lived in California, Oklahoma, Texas and Iowa. I just moved to Michigan 3.5 years ago, and....
I can say definitively that Michiganders (or whatever) DO have accents...as strong as Canada, Wisconsin, Minnesota, or the U.P.? No, not in my opinion. But the accent is DEFINITELY there. It's mostly in the pronunciation of "A"...people from Michigan tend to pronounce the "A" "harder" that typical "newscaster" American English. The Michigan A, among many speakers, almost sounds like it has an "E" in front of it or something. But it sounds different from anywhere I've lived, or heard on "normal speak" on T.V.
these are just too funny. I read through these and I'd guess I still say about 50% of them.
I'd guess that the majority of Michiganders think they have no accent. I lived for about 32 years in Michigan and I always thought we sounded like all the other 'non accent' states.
When I moved to TN I was immediately faced with people saying, you're from Michigan aren't you.
I was amazed when I moved to Scotland and people told me I had a really strong accent. Even more amazed when they said it was cool.
My sister swears she has no accent, that the rest of the world has one. And she is serious.
I boarded a plane in Scotland a few years ago and the Scottish lady I sat next to said I sounded like either Canada or Great Lakes.
Even though the UP..is still part of Michigan ( so far ).... the sounds are very prounced...Eh ! Even more so that other parts of the Northern Tier....problem is , here in Marquette , we have so many transplants , that its changing , and fast. One thing you won't hear is " you betcha " , and , thats a good thing ! I would like to think we have more of a " Canadian" slang, if , there is such a thing.
I'm from Michigan originally and never thought that its natives had an accent, either.
The one that really grates on my nerves is here in soCal. Ever since that "Valley Girl" movie, it's really pronounced in young women. Many of them lose it as they get into their 20s and learn to speak like an adult.
There also tends to be a slurring of syllables together, and accenting the wrong syllable. Instead of saying "Justin" in one smooth voice, it comes out as "Just-IN."
Apparently now the latest thing is to sound as nasal as possible. Either that, or many of them desperately need nasal surgery to correct this defect.
And TV tends to proliferate this trend. I almost stopped watching "Numb3rs" because the one female lead had a really bad case of it.
Again, I am NOT saying there isn't an accent, but I'd like to address the "pronunciations unique to us" because they are all BS. I've never heard anyone either near Traverse nor SE MI speak like this. Let me know, if you grew up in Michigan, say it the way I do, or the way the second website says it.
"AK-cidih": Accident. "Got inta'a baad AKcidih' with my rennel cahrr....some drunk f&*#$@ on I-696!" (in the Texas Accent Pronunciation Guide, this is noted as "got inta a bay-ed wreck in mah rent cawr.")
We say ACK-cid-ent, not "AK-cidih".
"aeh Narbor": Ann Arbor. Home of the Michigan Wolverines.
Sorry. I say ANN AR-BORE.
"Ashfault": Asphalt. It almost sounds like we're from Jersey, doesn't it? (this one sent in by Bob)
Nope. I pronounce it ASS-fault.
"Aent": Aunt. When you hear Will Smith talk about his "awntie", doesn't that just sound wrong?
I'm not sure what they were meaning aunt sounds like. I pronounce it ANT, like a little army ant. I know the rest of the country says it the proper way (AWWNT), but in MI, we say ANT.
"Bob-lo": Bois Blanc. The name shared by several Michigan islands (and a former amusement park). Next time someone blows their nose: "Hey, it's the Boblo Boat!"
This one is correct. I never knew it was spelled Bois Blanc. I was always told Bob-lo, so yes, this is correct.
"Bolth": Both. Suzanne, a fellow Michigan expat who, like me, ended up in CincinNASTI says that we say "bolth". Others swear we say "boath".
Bolth? Are they kidding? This just sounds like lazy speech to me. We pronounce it BOWTH.
"Char-LOTT": Charlotte, a Michigan village close to Lansing. Related: Durand, MI, pronounced "DUrand", Saline, pronounced "SuhLEEN", its neighbor "MYlun" (spelled Milan), and of course, Lake Orion, pronounced "OReeyun." This phenomenon is what happens when townsfolk in the 1800's weren't quite sure how to pronounce "all them fancy French" town names, and is actually much more prevalent throughout Ohio (e.g., Delhi, OH, pronounced "Dell-High"; Lancaster, OH, pronounced "LANKster"; Marseilles, OH, pronounced "MarSAYLES", and my favorite, Bellefontaine, amazingly pronounced... "Bell Fountain"! Ohio Public Schools is all I'm sayin'...)
"Ciddy": City. Which ciddy in Michigin are ya from? Baddle Creek, er AnNarbor?
I say SIT-EE. I also never hear people say "ya" instead of you.
"Cloze": Clothes. That kidza real cloze-horse.
Sort of correct. I say it like CLOSE the door.
"CAHL-yum": Column. In some parts of the state, they still say this. Hmmm... I think I used to say this when I was a kid even. (Another one sent in by the indefatigable David Pool.)
We say COLL-UMM.
"COMF-terbul": Comfortable. The caabz in those F150's are damned comfterbul.
We say COME-FORT-UH-BULL.
"Cahngriss": Congress. Those guyz frum Waashingtin, DC.
Similar. Its CON-GRISS.
"Cranz": Crayons. Her aent gaver some crans for her birthday. You SO know we talk like this.
Accurate. I pronounce it CRAY-ONS, but many do say it as "Cranz".
"Crick": Creek. According to Tristan, in some parts of the state, they say "crick". Not so much in GraRapids. I think that's some kind of Hoosier thingy. JANUARY 2007 UPDATE: Someone once told me that many people in our fair state use "crick". Not according to the wonderful Dialect Survey at the University of Wisconsin/Madison (eeeewww....WisCAAANsin). 86% of MI residents report they properly say "creek". For the rest of you: how exactly do two e's make an "ih" sound? That's correct...they don't.
I don't live near any creeks, but "crick" is not something I've ever heard. Sounds like a Southern thing, not a Northern thing to me.
"Deeahd" or "Dayaahd": Dad. Many Michiganians say "deeahd" with that hard nasal Chicago thingy. Other "tucky" parts of the state (HAH) use that hillbilly "I-moved-up-here-from-Lexington" twang. "My deeahd still callzum keahl-yums". (Thanks to Liz for this one)
We pronounce it just how it is spelled. DAD. There isn't much of a "hillbilly" (as they put it) sound up here.
"Davenport": Sofa. "Maaam, Eric's gotiz shoes up on the davenport again!"
Only the older generation would call a couch a Davenport or a divan. This is a generational thing that is RARELY ever heard.
"Deerburn": Dearborn, home of Ford Moder Company. Likely if you work there that you work "at Ford's". Or maybe "K-Mart's".
Its DEER-BORN.
"Di'TROI'": Detroit. You can always tell a non-native because they'll say "DEEtroit". Dear God, what a freaking insult, people! Ya soun' like-a buncha hillbillies already. No, use that breath clipping mechanism and cut off the T. Then accent the second syllable and cut off THAT T as well. It's almost like two clipped words slurred together. Welcome to DihTroih! It's not so bad! Just don't go a block off that main drag or we'll put ya in the hahspidal. JANUARY 2004 UPDATE: Brett Herron has reminded me that "not all Michigan residents are nasally northwoods white folk," (THAT cracks me up) and that blacks and whites in the Motor City often say "DEE-troit". He's right. But Antonie Laumet de La Mothe de Cadillac is probably turning over in his crossaint-lined grave...
Half correct. Natives call it DAH-TROIT. Non-natives always seem to call it DEE-TROIT (as well as at the Pistons basketball games). We do call it "Ford's" and most call it "K-Mart's".
I should note this website is not a professional linguistic website. Its a collaboration of "opinions".
Its evident in how they try to paint Michiganians. Notice how the people on the website keep calling us hillbillies. I used air quotes earlier to point this out. They are not my words. It doesn't sound like they like Michigan too much.
"DisPARate": Disparate. Fundamentally distinct. Or, what you might do to make fun of a tropical bird.
Honestly, I'm not familiar with this word usage.
"Drownded": Drowned. "After he dropped my fishin' pole I almost pushtim outta th' boat'n drowndedim." (Thanks to Greg Rowe for reminding me of this classic.) Related: "drownding".
We say DROWNED.
"EeeevsTraaaf": Eavestrough. US equivalent: rain gutter (thanks to Bill).
We say EVE'S-TROU.
"FI-yerr": Fire. Say it in two full syllables. You gotta love it when Captain Janeway of Star Trek: Voyager launches an attack against some troublesome alien species with a Midwestern accent! Perhaps we pronounce it that way because we shop at Meijer. Texas pronunciation: "fahr". Kentucky pronunciation: "fawr". Brooklyn pronunciation: "I'm on fi-yah, bay-bee".
True. Absolutely true.
"Flint": Flint. Oh, alright, it sounds the same. I just wanted to say that, if Detroit was the anus of the US, Flint would be about sixty miles up it, hee hee! Oh, those warm memories of my days of misspent youth in Happy Valley... near the Chevy Engine Block plant... near the bubbly, stinky Flint River... kinda brings baack a tear ta my eye... er is thadda metal snowflake from the plant powerhouse smokestack... I dunno...
Sorry, Flint residents. Actually, your town holds a special place in my heart, and even more so after seeing Bowling for Columbine. Even a gun enthusiast like me might begin to hold the opinion that Charlton Heston could be the Anus of the US!
Yep on the pronunciation. Flint isn't so bad. Most people I know who came from up there liked it and don't say negative things about it.
"Foilage": Foliage. This one sent in by David Pool, who sez his wife and father in law use it to refer to plants and bushes. Sounds like something you'd do at the "Beauty Parlor" instead.
We say FOAL-EE-IGE.
"FREVer": Forever. Winn'er seems like it's laastin' FREVer this year.
We say FORE-EV-ER.
"Frigerraider": Refrigerator. Hey, why waste energy on that first syllable? They know whut yer tockin' about. Maahm sez you left the melk outta the frigerraider again!
Wrong, wrong wrong. RAH-FRIDGE-ER-A-TORE.
"GoverMit": Government. You think you say the n's... but you don't. (thanks to Tim)
We say GOVERN-MENT.
"Graage": Garage. Ahhh, shuddup an' go parrk yer cahrr in the friggin' graage. (another one from Tim)
Somewhat true. Many say it like this, many ALSO say "GUH-RODGE".
"Gran Blank": Grand Blanc, a suburb of Flint. "Ya know, I tried ta thinkuva specific featura that town but my mine' drew a gran blank."
This entire sentence is incorrect. We don't say 'ya' for you and the 'ta' for to. We say GRAND BLANK. We don't drop our T's or our D's.
"Grrarapids": Grand Rapids, my hometown. It's cold, so slurrr those werds tagetherr! Residents are sometimes known as GraRaptiles. Some famous Grand Raptile home-girls: the lovely Stacy Haiduk (Heroes, Seaquest DSV - she seems to dig NBC), and Gillian Anderson, ladies and gentlemen. NOVEMBER 2001 UPDATE: "Greenrbbit" kindly brought to my attention that Judy Garland was born in Grand Rapids, Minnesota... I've heard people in GR Mich brag about her being from there for years! Oops.
I really doubt this person being from Michigan. We say GRAND RAPIDS. Again, I never hear anyone dropping off their D's. Maybe people in the U.P. say it differently, but as far as I've ever heard, we don't pronounce words like this person suggests. 99% of their "Michigan Accent" stuff is completely inaccurate and, honestly, rather insulting.
"GROSHries": Groceries. Wouldjamind goin' to the groshry store? (thanks to Susie B)
Maybe, but doubtful. Pronounced GROSS-ER-EES. I have occasionally heard it pronounced GROSS-REE's.
"Haahkee": Hockey. A Michigan favorite. With an abundance of lakes and cold temperatures, it's understandable that we dig hockey and won the Stanley Cup. The Red Wings... a mighty force to be reckoned with!
We pronounce it HOCK-EE.
"Hunnerd": Hundred. I toldja a hunnerd times, there's alwayz trooperz jus' easta Howell! (another good one from Tim). Alternate pronunciation: "hundrid".
We (and I mean everyone I've ever met in the state of Michigan when I've been saying "we") say HUN-DRID.
"I-munna": I'm going to. I-munna head overta K-Mart's on Gratiot an' finda cup holder fer my Tie-ota. (a classic example of conserving energy the Michigan way)
This makes Michiganians sound like they are uneducated or just plain lazy. I *might* hear "I'm goin' to" OCCASIONALLY but nothing like "I-munna". Preposterous.
"Kiddycorner": Kitty-corner. Elsewhere in the US: "catty-corner". Local variation of "cater-corner," the actual original English word. "When I was a kid, we lived kiddycorner from the Brznickiwiczskiszaks." (thanks to Dave)
Somewhat true. Some people pronounce it "kiddy" (like my 4 year-old) but most adults say KIT-EE.
"KI-nuh": Kind of. I dunno, I kinuh like Vernor's.
Nope. We say KIND OF (like the middle letters of love: OV)
"LayKEERie": Lake Erie. Shallow, skanky, dreary...let's go sail Lake Erie!
No. Its LAKE EERIE.
"Lie-berry": Library. That extra R just slows you down... Thanks to Kat, and Bill from Alto.
While I can admit an accent, this is NOT the Michigan accent and is completely misleading. Even in Detroit, this is considered uneducated speech, not TYPICAL speech of the natives.
"liVONEya": Livonia. Perhaps the fladdes' ciddy in Michigin.
Its LIV-OWN-YA.
"Maahm": Mom. I was tockin' ta my maahm about goin' ta the maall.
Tockin'?!?! Why does everything we claim to say make it sound like we are from Baahston (Boston)? We don't say talking ta', maall, or Maahm (they make it sound like Cartman calling for his mom). We do not speak this way.
"Melk": Milk. Tell 'em you waana glassa melk. MAY 2004 UPDATE: Growing up in the heavily Dutch community of Grand Rapids, I never thought twice about pronouncing this bovine bounty as anything other than "melk". So, on a May 2004 trip to the Netherlands, when I found this on a friend's breakfast table in Alkmaar, the teeny teeny lightbulb came on in my head. You wondered why we say this: now you know. (Click on image to enlarge)
Incorrect. We also say THEM (not 'em) and WANT A GLASS. What, they think we can't say "glass of"? Again, completely misleading and incorrect.
"Michiganderr": Michigan native. Who knows where the hell this came from. All I know is, I am not a duck.
Many LOVE this phrase. It is not the technically correct terminology but to many it is much beloved. Equal are the number that DO NOT like being called this.
"Mier": Mirror. Don' lookin the mier... yull breakit.
This is how my 6 year-old niece speaks, not any ADULT I have ever met. We say MEER-ER or MEER-OR.
"Minnuhsoda": Minnesota. Our brethren to the West. Shares affinity with Michigan in that Minnesota and the UP are the only places in the country where you can still find guys named "Lars".
We say MINN-UH-SO-TA.
"MON-row": Monroe, a town in southeastern MI that was apparently, mysteriously transported through time and space from somewhere near PigHoller, Kentucky. DECEMBER 2002 UPDATE: A couple of folks have written me to let me know that it's MONrow rather than MAAHNrow. The rest of the state still strangely enough calls it munROW.
Yes, we say MON-ROW, not MAAHNrow.
"Muskeeda": Mosquito. The State Bird of Michigan. Other states have tried that "it's our state bird" thing but they don't have 11,000+ lakes either. I've seen them carry away cats, sometimes even small children.
We are not Southern!!! No offense to Southerners because I like their twangy accents, but we sound nothing like them in Michigan. We say MUSS-KEE-TOE.
"NAWzeeus": Nauseous. "Went ta Liddle Sleazers an' gah really nawzeeus. Musta been the pepperoni-n-shrooms."
That whole SENTENCE is completely off-base. We don't talk anything like that. I never say nauseous because I know that you can be NAUSEATED and you can have NAUSEA, but you CANNOT be nauseous. Why? If you go by the dictionary, it is not a real word. It may BE in the dictionary, categorized as slang, just as ain't is in the dictionary but its listed as SLANG aka not a REAL word. The word nauseous is slang and not a real word. Many people don't believe me. ::shrug::
If a Michiganian to say nauseous, they'd pronounce it NAW-shush. The sentence would sound like this: "We went to LIT-ULL SEE-SIRS and GOT really NAW-shush. MUST HAVE been the pepperoni AND MUSHROOMS".
"Night-meer": Nightmare. "I hadda nightmeer I wuz out in the wuds near Grayling, with no ammo and completely outta Stroh's."
"NUKE-yuller": Nuclear. "Let's hope we don't hafta, ya know, fi-yer our nuke-yuller missiles."
This one depends on the person and their understanding of the word. I say NEW-CLEAR.
"Er": Or. Ya know, it wuz like watchin' X-Files er somethin'.
Some, but only when we are being lazy with our speech. Typically, its "or".
"Pah-neeack": Pontiac. Ya might live in Pahniac, er ya might drive one. An' ya might be embarrassed.
Some say it this way, but not most. MOST say PONT-IAC.
"Pahp": Pop. "Soda", in other parts of the world. Hey, do they call it a Sodasicle? I think not. "Let's stahp by SevenuhLeven and gedduh pahp."
Erg. Its POP. Sounds exactly like it is spelled. The sentence would be pronounced as follows: "Let's stop AT the Seven EE-Leven and GET A POP". Seven is pronounced both SEV-UN and SEV-EN. The usage of saying "stop by" or "go by" is common to the city of Detroit.
Again, my mother being the exception (Canadian mother, Kentuckian father), we say PILL-OH.
"Port Urine": Port Huron. For some reason, the locals get pissed if you don't pronounce it this way. Other variants: "Poor-CHORN", "PorchYEARN". Of course, growing up in Grand Rapids we always called it Por' HyurRAAAAN.
We say PORT HURE-ON, not URINE for crying out loud! "Poor-CHORN", "PorchYEARN" are also completely untrue. I don't like that this person is "speaking for" the people of Michigan and testifying that we would ever speak like this.
"Pronounce-eation": Pronunciation. We don' alwayz pronunce it currec'ly. (another one from Liz, who claims she's 1/2 Troll, 1/2 Yooper, and that half her family works for the Big Three...a true Michigander!)
Everyone I have ever met in Michigan says PRO-NUN-SEE-A-SHUN.
"Reeelatur": Realtor. This one sent in by Joe in KalamazOOOOOO.
Absolutely correct!
"Ruff": Roof. Yo, Jack, ya lef' yer tools on thuh ruffa yer cahrrrrrrr. (EDITOR'S NOTE: Kripes almighty, the grief I get over "Ruff". Here's a little tip to Michigan expatriates: the next time you're at dinner and someone makes fun of the way you say this, ask them how they say "woods", "look" and "book" and then tell them to shut the hell up and eat their "fud".)
We say ROOF, not ruff. We do not say FUD, we say FOOD.
"Samwich": Sandwich. Somethin' ya might have with melk. This one sent in by Cheryl, who also says we pronounce it "samrich"... but that must be some kinda freaky Lansing thing. David Pool's mother-in-law calls it a "san-widge"... part of the little-understood Saginaw variant.
We say SAND-WICH and MILL-K.
"Seckit": Second. Wanna go graab a pahp an' a samwich? Gimme a seckit.
We say SEC-UND.
"SOWnuh": Sauna. A Finnish word should be pronounced in the appropriate Finnish accent common to da U.P., eh? (sent in by Caleb)
We say SAWN-UH. Maybe these are U.P. accents because 99% of these are completely wrong.
"Sherbert": Sherbet. Is this unique to Michigan? Another one from Kalamazoo Joe.
Okay, this one is true, but our parents told us it was SURE-BERT. Its their fault! lol.
"Sisterr": Sister. Ahh, geez-o-pete, ya soun' like my sisterr. Draw out that rrrrrrr.
We say SISS-TUR.
"Stold": Stole. "Stopda take a leak aat a rest area on I-94 and some guy stold my Pahniac... canyabaLEEVE it?"
We say STOLL (like stroll without the R).
"Sump'n": Something. Craig found some kinda animaler sump'n in the baackoviz Chevy AAAvuLAANche.
The vast majority says SUM-THING. We DO pronounce our G's, thank you very much.
"Tempachur": Temperature. Another very true Michiganism from Joe in Kalamazoo.
The "Joe in Kalamazoo" submitted ones seem quite accurate. We do say it this way! In the last few years, I've taught myself to say TEMP-UR-AH-CHUR.
"Tie-ota": Toyota. Originally developed by the hourly automotive workers as a passive-aggressive way to diss Japanese carmakers. "That kid drove one-uh-them Tie-otas inta the plant parking lot, so the guyz loosined all his lugnuts. He dint get too farrr."
We say TOY-OH-TAH.
"Tuh": To. It's hardta get inta the habita sayin' teeeoooo.
Not anywhere in Michigan I'VE ever heard.
"Terr": Tour. "Welcome 'ta the Manitou Ilun Ferry. My name's Pam, 'n I'll be yer terrguide fer the trip." (there really WAS a Pam, she was damned cute, and she did indeed speak like this... sort of a Northern Woods Bipsy... prob'ly some Seaholm chick!)
We say TEW-UR.
"U-sta": Used to. My deead u-sta work at th' Tek-Cenner in Warn. (submitted by Hari)
I don't think most of these people have ever BEEN to Michigan. They lump us in with Wisconsin and belch out tired Fargo cliches.
"Vanella": Vanilla. "Didja hear? GM's got a new color for the Z34 body style: vanella." (this one sent in by Jennifer)
Only my mom says it this way. Again, her mom was Canadian and her dad was from Kentucky. Everyone else says VA-NILLA.
"Wasteland": Westland, a Detroit suburb. (long ago submitted by Jan *****rd) (related: Bland Rapids, Cantoon, Sterile Whites, Farm Town, Royal Joke, HazelTucky, TaylorTucky, Ypsitucky, Garden ****ty, etc....thanks, Jennifer!)
I've never heard these, but they are funny. I'd like to add Roachville (Roseville) and Sterling Whites (Sterling HEIGHTS)...they said Sterile. Never heard of that. Heard of Farm Town, though.
"WEEK-en": Weekend. "Ya goin' huntin' this weeken?" "No, we're takin' Maahm's Chriscraft out on LayKeerie." It's 25 degrees and we're standing around talking... do you REALLY need to pronounce the d? I didn't think so.
We do not drop D's off the end of words. We say the whole word: WEEK-END.
"Winzerr": Windsor, Ontario. Detroit's sisterr ciddy on the other side of The Tunnel. A sort of, uhh, business retreat center for busy, uhh, male executives. Riiiiight.
Correct. Mostly, we say WIND-SIR.
"Wuds": Woods. Be careful in the wuds... it's deer season, an' ya got 30,000 unemployed auto workers, drunk off their ass, armed ta the teeth with high-powered weapons. I love Michigan!
Nope. Never heard ANYONE say it this way.
"Yuh": You. How the hell arrrrya? How ya doin'? What thuh helleryuh thinkin' about? Where ya goin'? Ya goin' bowlin' tonight? Er snowmobilin'? Ice fishin' might be kiina fun.
Everything written after "Yuh" is completely inaccurate. Why do so many people who don't even LIVE here, or have only lived here a couple of years comment? It seems like everyone who DOESN'T live in Michigan is an EXPERT on our accent.
Well, I've clarified it (the pronunciations) and I'm Michigan born and bred. I'm just saying exactly how we pronounce things and don't like being told, "No, I don't live in Michigan, never have, but you guys pronounce it THIS way and not the way you, as a lifelong native Michigan resident SAY that you say it. Okay, rant over. Again.
I'm from Michigan originally and never thought that its natives had an accent, either.
The one that really grates on my nerves is here in soCal. Ever since that "Valley Girl" movie, it's really pronounced in young women. Many of them lose it as they get into their 20s and learn to speak like an adult.
There also tends to be a slurring of syllables together, and accenting the wrong syllable. Instead of saying "Justin" in one smooth voice, it comes out as "Just-IN."
Apparently now the latest thing is to sound as nasal as possible. Either that, or many of them desperately need nasal surgery to correct this defect.
And TV tends to proliferate this trend. I almost stopped watching "Numb3rs" because the one female lead had a really bad case of it.
Is that a real accent or an "fake accent", copied off of movies like Clueless? I don't think I'd be able to listen to that. I've lived through the horrible phase when every girl around me said "like" after every two words (some still do it. ::shiver::). I'm so glad the phrase, "I'm outtie" is rarely said anymore. Seems like every girl from her young teens to late twenties was regurgitating phrases from that movie...and not in a silly, "we're quoting the movie" way or a making fun of the movie way. They seriously said it. I wonder if people started also saying, "What's your damage?" like in Heathers after that movie came out?
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Some famous Grand Raptile home-girls: the lovely Stacy Haiduk (Heroes, Seaquest DSV - she seems to dig NBC), and Gillian Anderson, ladies and gentlemen. NOVEMBER 2001 UPDATE: "Greenrbbit" kindly brought to my attention that Judy Garland was born in Grand Rapids, Minnesota... I've heard people in GR Mich brag about her being from there for years! Oops. 
