<p>I say water without the “t”. I guess it comes out as wahder or warder. I’ve never left the south.</p>
<p>Yes, PackMom. That is how I say “water” too.</p>
<p>Midland. born, raised and nevered lived outside of Ca.</p>
<p>I speak Southern Marylandese</p>
<p>mafool: my children do not say “yinz” or “yens” (because I would knock them upside their heads if they did). I did hear one of their friends say it though - have not yet banned friend from the house, but it’s under advisement. :)</p>
<p>Haha…you all are funny.</p>
<p>I have a no accent American accent and everywhere I go overseas, people tell me what a nice ‘twang’ I have. </p>
<p>The no accent American accent is still very nasally compared to the rest of the world.</p>
<p>And loud. Americans are unbelievably loud.</p>
<p>I’m a Midlander (aka BORING) too. I grew up in Central Illinois. When I went to college (in Central Illinois, but surrounded by Chicago-area friends), all my hometown friends and family said I got a Chicago accent. Then I moved there for several years, so it sunk in. After stints on the central coast of CA, back to Chicago, then outside of Philly, and now in Charlotte, I’ve grown very interested in people’s accents. In Charlotte, they say that something like 50% of all people who live here have lived in the Southeast less than 10 years, so its a mix of accents. I’ve noticed that some of my midwestern drawl is coming back over the past 3 years.</p>
<p>We’ve always been entertained by the pop vs. soda and breakfast/lunch/dinner vs. breakfast/dinner/supper differences in our moves. Now, it’s neither pop nor soda…it’s Coke. Even the grocery store aisle sign says “Coke” for the entire row of Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola, and Brand X carbonated beverages. I haven’t quite got used to that one.</p>
<p>p.s. I have caught (rhymes with “cot”) myself saying y’all and even “all y’all” (the plural of Y’all) a few times lately. Oops.</p>
<p>It got me dead-on – Boston! Most likely, it was due to all the vowels sounding alike, but “Mary,” “marry,” and “merry” sounding different. But I don’t sound “Pahk the cah in Hahvahd yahd”-ish unless I’m with my grade school friends! :)</p>
<p>Fun quizzes, thanks. Inland North- I notice the difference in speech south of MN, WI, MI. Regarding soda and pop- I still remember having this discussion in the dorm freshman year eons ago. Milwaukee does soda, Madison pop, and a non-Missourian transfer student said they did sody-pop in St. Louis. The map cuts through Wisconsin. I was taught the term bubbler was only used in Wisconsin (BTW, there’s a dictionary of regional speech being worked on, possibly finished by now, in Wis)- the quiz added Massachusetts (any verification?)! Of course I’m not southern- 24%/16% on the quizzes. One problem with some of the questions- there was no “none of the above” choice. I learned to distinguish NY, NJ and Boston accents by knowing people from those places in college (at that age I had left Wisconsin only to go to Chicago- finances…).</p>
<p>i’m born and raised in central florida but i’m told frequently i have a boston accent. i know i say “car” kind of strange and “wicked” describes everything, but i don’t hear it. and this says midland but boston is the 1st little red bar underneath it. hmm.</p>
<p>Fun quiz! I got West which makes sense since I’ve always lived in California</p>
<p>I got Philadelphia, which is rather questionable, since I grew up in Manhattan and have lived either in NYC or northern New Jersesy my entire life. It isn’t as if people think I have a strong New York or New Jersey accent – I’m no Teresa Guidice, for example – but nobody’s ever suggested that I sound like I’m from Philadelphia.</p>
<p>Having just read the whole thread, I’ll add that I know someone from Pittsburgh who explained “yinz” to me. I wonder if it’s related to the NY/NJ “youse,” as in “youse guys.” Not that I’ve ever heard more than one or two people actually say that.</p>
<p>I’ve lived in California most of my life and it says I’m Midwestern (from Fargo!) I’m not quite sure who that happened.</p>