Ah! America; the land of the free!
The United States of America possesses various regional accents and not
just the typical Californian accent that we probably hear the most. Today I
will explore the accents that are the most common to hear, but keep in mind
that these are only generalizations, for there are numerous accents that can
exist in each state.
East coast
The Mid-Atlantic accent is known to be heavy and dominant, such as in New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. Unlike general Americans, these people tend to pronounce the r only before a vowel, but other than that you can’t really hear it in certain words. For example, the word card in a New York accent would sound like “cads”. New Yorkers tend to really exaggerate and stretch their vowels. They would also replace the th as in there with a d.
The Mid-Atlantic accent is known to be heavy and dominant, such as in New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. Unlike general Americans, these people tend to pronounce the r only before a vowel, but other than that you can’t really hear it in certain words. For example, the word card in a New York accent would sound like “cads”. New Yorkers tend to really exaggerate and stretch their vowels. They would also replace the th as in there with a d.
West coast
Some people believe the Standard American English comes from the West coast,
such as California, Washington, and Oregon. Like almost every North American
accent, they have the habit of pronouncing their t’s as d’s. Another
thing that I have noticed from the accents in the Mid-West, for example
Minnisota, when they talk, it seems like their mouths are stretched really wide
while pronouncing their vowels, unless for the vowel o which makes it sound short.
Southern
I never really thought there were different southern accents until recently. I have discovered that some sound really thick while others are barely noticeable. Also, there are many southern accents that will pronounce the r, but there are others where it is silent. Although, there is one thing for certain that most have the habit of using y’all in almost all their sentences, which stands for “you all”. The standard southern accent focuses more on emphasizing the vowels to make them longer.
I never really thought there were different southern accents until recently. I have discovered that some sound really thick while others are barely noticeable. Also, there are many southern accents that will pronounce the r, but there are others where it is silent. Although, there is one thing for certain that most have the habit of using y’all in almost all their sentences, which stands for “you all”. The standard southern accent focuses more on emphasizing the vowels to make them longer.
I know it’s not easy understanding the different pronunciations through
reading rather than hearing it so I put up a clip below that may help. You may
recognize the woman, Amy Walker, from a video I have posted in a previous blog
post. She is extremely talented in mimicking a variety of accents and even teaches
lessons to others who are open to learn her ways.
Sources:
http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-do-a-new-york-accent
I love hearing all the different accents! I think it is amazing how in one country there can be so many different accents. It is so true too, none of them are the same and for the most part you can tell where a person is from by their accents. I will be at work taking an order and i know right away of the person is from the states.
ReplyDeleteWhen my dad and I went to Alabama last summer, we were disgusted by the amercain and southern accentsd mixed together with improper English. However; a nice clean southern accent is amazing! Growing up on a farm, I grew up speaking in a light southern accent. I was surrounded by southern people. It was amazing! I wish I still lived on my farm. This blog is great !
ReplyDeleteI love the American accent. It doesn't matter where it's from, they're all interesting to listen to. I feel like even though we are Canadian, because we are so close to the border, we've adopted a bit of their accent. Whenever I go up north to my aunt and uncle's cottage they always seem to talk funny, but to them I sound sort of like an american.
ReplyDelete