Minnesota Slang (Minneapolis: theatre, garage, parking)

[rcsteiner]

Interesting. To me, the Cleveland girl sounds like she could be from the Twin Cities (except for the rollie pollie bug bit ... I'd call it a millipede), and the one from NE Minnesota sounds like some folks I know around da Range, tho maybe a little stronger. The Rochester, NY guy sounds weird.

Oh wait. A roly poly bug is a pillbug, isn't it? :-)

[srsmn]

Originally Posted by northstar22

Slavic? I've never heard that before, but the Cities did receive a significant number of Slovene and Russian immigrants, so it makes sense.

Pittsburgh doesn't have the northern cities vowel shift (NCVS). The major cities that have it are Syracuse, Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Grand Rapids (MI), Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison, and MSP. Yes, all of these accents sound more or less the same. Don't believe me? Watch these videos:

The Cities resident sounds much more like the people from the Great Lakes region than the examples from Greater MN, who lack the NCVS.

I'm not arguing that they all have the NCVS (and, by the way-- a *lot* of people in metro area Pittsburgh have it, as they are originally from Erie or heavily influenced by Cleveland). But those videos really didn't prove your point-- those people all sound totally different!

And for the record, according to some maps online, outstate Minnesota has it, too, so I don't know what your point is in arguing that Twin Citians sound just like others with the NCVS, but outstaters do not....

The vowel shift is *one* component of the accent-- it's not the entirety of it...

[Ben Around]

Originally Posted by northstar22

Slavic? I've never heard that before, but the Cities did receive a significant number of Slovene and Russian immigrants, so it makes sense.

Pittsburgh doesn't have the northern cities vowel shift (NCVS). The major cities that have it are Syracuse, Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Grand Rapids (MI), Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison, and MSP. Yes, all of these accents sound more or less the same. Don't believe me? Watch these videos:

Rochester, NY:

Ra-cha-cha Accent - YouTube

Buffalo, NY:

The Buffalonian Accent - YouTube

Cleveland:

Regional Dialect Meme - Northeast Ohio - YouTube

Detroit:

My Michigan Accent & Other Ramblings - YouTube

Chicago:

Renee Gauthier: Chicago Accent (PeopleJam True Confession) - YouTube

Minneapolis:
Minnesotan accent with Jesse - YouTube
_____________________________

Here's a true Minnesota accent, from NE Minnesota. Notice how different his accent is from the previous six:

Minnesota Accent, just me - YouTube

Here's a (milder) Southern Minnesota accent -- a guy from Waseca (small town just east of Mankato):
An AUTHENTIC (non-iritating) Minnesota Accent - YouTube

The Cities resident sounds much more like the people from the Great Lakes region than the examples from Greater MN, who lack the NCVS.

No way is that anchorman from Rochester, and I'm guessing the person who posted it isn't, either. That's not a WNY accent at all. Go to the YouTube site and look at the comments--no one from there thinks he has the Rochester accent.

[MN55]

You gotta be from up north to know what choppers are, and Moon Boots - remember those? Do they still make those?

Choppers are alive and well in Saint Paul.

[Zachjj2]

its nothing like it is on tv i've live in minnesota my whole life and i have never herd someone say donchya know, but we will start some questions Ya know just droping the did also if theres a loan t sound in a word we'll often use a d instead like most pronounce it minnesoda

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

I've heard the MN accent range from something very close to what was shown in the movie Fargo to something close to Cleveland/Detroit/Milwaukee/Chicago. It depends on lot of factors I think, mainly:

-where your parents are from
-where in MN you grew up (city vs. country, north vs. south, etc.)
-what nationality/cultural ethnicity you are (e.g. Polish vs. German vs. Scandanavian, etc.)
-what race you are (white, black, Hispanic, Asian, etc.)
-where your friends and co-workers are from


I've HEARD that kids these days ("kids" meaning college aged or younger) have all but lost the MN accent, which I find incredibly hard to believe. There are still so many people in the Twin Cities who truly embrace that ear-splitting Fargo-esque accent!

[ashnavygirl]

I am from a small rural town in central lower Michigan, and I can tell you that I have heard and spoke most of the things that have been brought up on this thread. My husband is a Florida boy but spent a lot of time in Ohio during his high school years, so he has a little southern twang, where he picks on me for my northern "accent". (I always thought we didn't have accents?) Something I frequently say as a northener is "Look it," as in, "Look it, there's a rainbow outside!" Never realized that was unique until my husband pointed that out. I can definitely pick out some distinct differences between how things are pronounced between here and where I'm from, but the further north (or back into the woods) you travel in Michigan, the more similar the vernaculars get, it seems.

[BorderGirl]

Originally Posted by AGuyFromCleveland18

I think you like what you get used to. I find the way Minnesotans pronounce their O's to be like nails on a chalkboard, and "beg" for "bag" gets to me a little too, but that northern vowel shift I like because I'm used to it, and it's comforting. It's a very natural thing, it's how people throughout history knew they were with their "clan".

Oh, and fyi Clevelanders say pop

This makes me laugh. My coworkers tease me relentlessly because I cannot say the word "bag". Can't say it. Now when they ask me what I carry my groceries in I say sack and my bagel has become a round bread product.

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

Yaaah, I gat a baaag a' baaagles doooncha knooow and da ladee said I tak funnee!

[Jay4Jay]

"The Cities" means the Twin Cities. I don't know why, usually if they are visiting the Mall of America, or going to a Twins game, they will say we are going up to the cities (or down depending on where you live). Y'all I hear every once in awhile, more of a southern term but I hate it. Ya know is another one. I used to play Red Rover only by color of shirt. And monkey on the ground (which has various names). Some people say soda pop, but more commonly pop.