North American English Dialect Map

[mthd]

fascinating, if hard to read, map. i am perplexed that san francisco and parts of the peninsula and east bay (but not the whole bay area) are so different from the rest of coastal california. the website http://aschmann.net/AmEng/ suggests that people here speak more like those from the east or atlantic midland region, and that unlike in the rest of the west, there are more than 13 vowel sounds. wierd.

[krudmonk]

Originally Posted by mthd

fascinating, if hard to read, map. i am perplexed that san francisco and parts of the peninsula and east bay (but not the whole bay area) are so different from the rest of coastal california. the website http://aschmann.net/AmEng/ suggests that people here speak more like those from the east or atlantic midland region, and that unlike in the rest of the west, there are more than 13 vowel sounds. wierd.

That part is pretty bogus.

[sofresh808]

Originally Posted by mthd

fascinating, if hard to read, map. i am perplexed that san francisco and parts of the peninsula and east bay (but not the whole bay area) are so different from the rest of coastal california. the website http://aschmann.net/AmEng/ suggests that people here speak more like those from the east or atlantic midland region, and that unlike in the rest of the west, there are more than 13 vowel sounds. wierd.

It may have existed at one point, like pre-1950s, but the area is so full of transplants and the children of them, that I doubt you can still find these subtleties today outside a nursing home. Dave Brubeck (born in 1920) is his example for a native Concord-ian. Keep in mind however, that this is the soil where them rappers be getting their lingo from.

[Dan Denson]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

very true. cornell grad here. spent 4 years in upstate NY and have friends from all reaches of the state. albany has virtually no accent; or a very clean "american accent". i think this is generally true of the areas up and down the hudson river until lower west chester county (weirdly...because albany is closer to worcester ma than it is to nyc).

ithaca/corning/horseheads and points north and west have VERY mid-western accents. it is most pronounced in buffalo...where people pronounce "yard" and "card" in much the same way that people do in the chicago area...but even with more nasal intonation...sort of wisconsin-y. binghampton has very little accent.

as for long island/west chester around ny...very different accents. perhaps this has something to do with the ethnic neighborhoods people migrated from within ny...but similar patterns can be drawn around philadelphia. while there are general traits that are shared...there are distinct local dialects within the region. northeast philadelphia and parts of south jersey...for example...have different accents from the rest of philadelphia. ditto for south philly and pockets of delaware county. it is not surprising that long island and west chester would not have identical "accents".

Remember Lucille Ball from I Love Lucy? She was from Jamestown, NY. I always thought her accent was interesting. She had an accent, but it sounded pleasant and was faily mild. For the New Yorkers, was hers representative of that part of the state?

[Wheelingman04]

Originally Posted by Dan Denson

Wheelingman...I should ask you something. My friend is from the Fairmont area, which is not far from Wheeling. His family pronounces "bush" as "boosh". It was interesting to hear them talk about President "Boosh". When I asked my friend about it, he said he wasn't even aware of how they were saying it. Have you heard it pronounced that way?

Yes, and they say it like that in parts of Eastern Ohio and Southwest Pennsylvania.

[sharkfood]

Sorry, but Greater New York City does not distinguish "cot" and "dawn". "Cot" would be pronounced "caught."

On Long Island, people go buy cawfee at the mawl and eat chawcolate. That is the essence of a NYC accent.

[novawolverine]

Originally Posted by sharkfood

Sorry, but Greater New York City does not distinguish "cot" and "dawn". "Cot" would be pronounced "caught."

On Long Island, people go buy cawfee at the mawl and eat chawcolate. That is the essence of a NYC accent.

No. It depends on the word. Don and dawn may be pronounced differently but you can't extrapolate that and use it for every situation with similar vowel sounds. You think NYers pronounce something they're cooking food in as a "pot" or "pawt"? If they need help, do they "stawp" a "cawp"?

Even amongst white people, which this map says it focuses on, in NYC you traditionally have different speech patterns between people of Italian, Jewish and Irish ancestry. There is a general dialect these days, but it's not homogeneous IMO.

[tech12]

Originally Posted by krudmonk

That part is pretty bogus.

it's not that bogus. I've seen this referenced in other places too besides this map (such as here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_English), and myself and a couple other SF native friends have been asked if we're from the east coast before. Also if you listen to lots of bay Area hip hop (especially from SF or Oakland) you'll start to notice it.

It's not that distinct (which i'll now prove in my long attempt to describe it), and sounds just like ordinary California/west coast english but every now and then a word will pop out, like "on" for example, and it'll get pronounced as "owan" or something similar (i'm guessing this is "on" sounding like "dawn," according to that map....other examples are "park" = "poark" "dark" = "doark" ...somewhat like that). Look up the "mission dialect" which was how people spoke back in the day in the Mission district of SF, when it was irish and italian. I've read it's been compared in sound to "Brooklynese." The Bay Area was originally settled by many people from the east coast and upper midwest from what i've read, moreso than other places in California (such as the rest of the Bay Area outside of the historical core around SF and Oakland, which experienced most of it's growth at a much later time, and with less of a east coast/midwest influence i assume), and so i guess some elements of their speech patterns got left behind. The Bay Area has so many immigrants and is such a transient place though (only 30% of SF residents are born in California, let alone SF its self), that it wouldn't be too common to hear an example of this in day to day life unless you live in SF or the East Bay, in which your chances go up, but its still not that common. I've only ever heard such an "accent" among natives...and even then not everyone, and to varying degrees (personally it comes out in me most when i'm drunk I think)...like i said it doesn't sound like anything different than anyone else in california until certain words gets said a certain way. I guess it's widespread/documented enough though that it got mentioned in this map...It's definitely something. I bet in 10 years there won't be any of it left. Most accents and dialects will be gone before too long.

[SuburbanNation]

Whats up with the "Louis" corridor along I-55? I always thought the St. Louis accent was like a Michigan accent with a few "appalachianized" words like "warshington."

[Rufus]

Originally Posted by sharkfood

Sorry, but Greater New York City does not distinguish "cot" and "dawn". "Cot" would be pronounced "caught."

On Long Island, people go buy cawfee at the mawl and eat chawcolate. That is the essence of a NYC accent.

What you said is totally false. The NYC area as well as most of the Eastern half of the US is cot/caught unmerged.

You're referring to the extremeness to which the "aw," or open-o, vowel is backed, thereby forming a diphthong. It ends up sounding something like "wuaw" as in kwuawfee (coffee).

[STLgasm]

Originally Posted by SuburbanNation

Whats up with the "Louis" corridor along I-55? I always thought the St. Louis accent was like a Michigan accent with a few "appalachianized" words like "warshington."

Wrong! Come on, SuburbanNation! You don't know what the St. Louis accent is??? It's alive and well in the working-class sections of South City and all over the inner-ring suburbs. The uniqueness of the St. Louis accent is well-documented.

The University of Pennsylvania conducted a comprehensive study of North American dialects, and St. Louis even has its own chapter: http://www.ling.upenn.edu/phono_atlas/NationalMap/NationalMap.html#Heading11

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_English_regional_phonology#St._Louis_and_vicinity

I've come to realize that many people just aren't attuned to recognizing local dialects, but that does not mean that they don't exist. St. Louis, being older than the United States itself, retains a very distinct local dialect that contrasts greatly with the surrounding hinterlands (although it has become homogenized and diluted among younger speakers as we have become more mobile and technologically connected).

I think Gus Torregrossa has the best St. Louis accent. I highly recommend watching the documentary, "Gus" and take a listen.

[SuburbanNation]

Originally Posted by STLgasm

Wrong! Come on, SuburbanNation! You don't know what the St. Louis accent is??? It's alive and well in the working-class sections of South City and all over the inner-ring suburbs. The uniqueness of the St. Louis accent is well-documented.

No, I know. I just never knew there was a weird "corridor" up I-55 in Illinois. Many people in towns surrounding and in Springfield, IL have that lower midwest light drawl. I wholly contend that it is an island.

When I call city hall, I get that accent...best served with 35 years of smoke engulfed vocal chords. Having just been in Michigan I think they are similar, but the St. Louis accent is hard to pin down. I'd imagine a South St. Louisan would say Strohs with an O as big around as Busch Stadium II.

Wheres the old school Chicago accent? "Hey gize!" I don't really hear it consistantly except on the northwest side and suburbs I suppose.

[Blitz]

Lumping basically all of populated English Canada into one or two dialects is way off. People from the Canadian Prairies have a distinctly different accent than people from Ontario. In fact, there are differences in accents within Ontario itself.

[Thundertubs]

Originally Posted by SuburbanNation

Wheres the old school Chicago accent? "Hey gize!" I don't really hear it consistantly except on the northwest side and suburbs I suppose.

There were two guys working on the bricks outside a few days ago with absolutely killer Chicago accents. They sounded like Superfans.

"Jim, you kint run uppin dahn a saccer fild, you'll heff a hart attek!"

Needless to say, they had mustaches.

[LMich]

Even the mild Chicagoland accents are noticeable, to me (think: Vince Vaughn).

[BTinSF]

Has the "Hudson River Valley", upper crust NY accent, as best exemplified by Franklin Roosevelt, died out completely?

• Video Link

Here's another example (from the other end of the political spectrum but the same part of the social spectrum, Richard Whitney (of the Whitney Museum family)

• Video Link

[JivecitySTL]

Harry Caray is (was) also a perfect representative of the St. Louis City dialect. He was born, raised, and lived most of his life on the city's Near South Side.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52uD-izpYh8

[min-chi-cbus]

If there is a place (albeit St. Louis) where everyone talks like Harry Caray I will pack my bags and move there in a heartbeat! I can't get enough of listening to that man talk and I miss his analysis on Cubs baseball -- Cubs win!

[SuburbanNation]

Originally Posted by min-chi-cbus

If there is a place (albeit St. Louis) where everyone talks like Harry Caray I will pack my bags and move there in a heartbeat! I can't get enough of listening to that man talk and I miss his analysis on Cubs baseball -- Cubs win!

Hey now, bitter that Harry was foremost a Cardinals fan?

[brannelford]

Originally Posted by Blitz

Lumping basically all of populated English Canada into one or two dialects is way off. People from the Canadian Prairies have a distinctly different accent than people from Ontario. In fact, there are differences in accents within Ontario itself.

Could you elaborate please? I was born and raised on the Canadian Prairies.
I've lived in Toronto for 10 years, and not once has any Torontonian called out that I had a different sounding accent.