Not surprising for an actor born in Pennsylvania

[mrdreamjeans]

What American accent do you have?
Created by Xavier on Memegen.net

Neutral. Not Northern, Southern, or Western, just American. Your national American identity is more important to you than your local identity, because you don't really have a local identity to begin with.

Take this quiz now - it's easy!

We're going to start with "cot" and "caught." When you say those words do they sound the same or different?

Same, no wait I mean different, maybe, a little bit different... Same Different

Comments

[txcwby.livejournal.com]

I though there were really only 3-4 accents - west texas, east texas, and that soft, liquid southern drawl you hear from the sweet lips of a cowgirl.

[cimarrondfw.livejournal.com]

I am not surprised by my designation as Southern, but then I'd have expected to be grouped as Texas with a little more effort. My former wife (Boulder, CO) used to get me especially on the distinctions of "pen" vs. "pin." I simply said that is why we always add clarification, such as "straight pin, safety pin, ballpoint pen, and fountain pen." Makes sense to me. After all, I am a linguist. I think that with more higher education, greater freedom in residence, and the mass media there is less distinction than there would have been 50 years ago.

[billeyler.livejournal.com]

I've noticed these facial icons that someone has done that capture very well someone's actual characteristics, including yours. It all looks very "Second Life!"

[billeyler.livejournal.com]

I'm hoping we never lose the regional accents developed around the continent, but I think there is a slow blending caused by pervasive media that will cause most people to never develop their parents or their peers accents.

Since we moved to NW Louisiana when I was 10 and I didn't really mix into the southern culture there, I never picked up the accent, except for "fixin' to go" and "y'all" and all that. My parents were West Virginia/Maryland with only slight regional accents. Both my brothers were younger when we moved there; since they STAYED there and are still there, they sound more Southern, but not with the long drawl most NW Louisiana men have.

I think one of the reasons* that forced me to run screaming from that part of the country in 1976 was the shrill high-pitched NW Louisiana women's accents. Drove me up a freakin' wall and still does. Every woman was born and raised to SOUND like a harpie, whether they actually were or not!

* there were many others, of course!

[billeyler.livejournal.com]

The women in NW Louisiana sure don't have that 'soft, liquid Southern Drawl!' ;-)

[wooddragon.livejournal.com]

Ooh, your icon is all Pixarated!

I got "Western." Yay for me, since I've lived in the west all my life. :)

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

:) Well, there ya go!

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

That's why my friend here is married to a Texas girl:)

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

I agree. As you know, I was 12 when my family moved to Texas. The accent from rural Pennsylvania is very close to the neutral one that journalists learn to use. Imagine my surprise when I arrived in Texas and I heard sentences like, "I'm gonna read me a pome (poem)". LOL! Who knew poem had one syllable. :)

HUGS!

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

tinman11021 in NYC created this icon for me. I just learned the word "avatar" and have been told that this is what this kind of caricature is called. I love it! (Especially, because he left the grey out of my goatee:)

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

We moved to Houston when my brother was six years old. He has a very strong Texas drawl, is really a good ole boy. He has a sales rep business that is very successful. I accuse him of laying the Bubba accent on thick so that he gets all of the business from the cement, papermill, etc businesses he calls on ... He's a great guy, but I think the move to Texas affected his brain and that's why he's a conservative Republican:) (Though he loves his Gay bro.)

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

There's something to be said for consistency! :)

I'm lovin' the new icon, courtesy of tinman11201!

HUGS!

[cimarrondfw.livejournal.com]

I hadn't thought about that one. I think one of the biggest give aways to Texan is how one pronounces "finger, singer," and such.

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

The sentence structure too ... I'm fixin' to get me a hot dawg ... LOL!

[billeyler.livejournal.com]

MUCH cheaper than "Just for Men!" ;-)

[cimarrondfw.livejournal.com]

That is more like an additional tense.The immediate future--not the same as "gonna get me a hot dawg."

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

Hmmm ... that reminds me ... I think I've got some in the bathroom closet:)

[dragonessfaire.livejournal.com]

Neutral here. Although- when I am home visiting mom in Dallas, I do adopt some old habits.

[becker-boy.livejournal.com]

Gee...and all this time I was telling people I talk like a Midwesterner with a trace of Kentucky thrown in for flavor

North Central. This is what everyone calls a "Minnesota accent." If you saw "Fargo" or "Drop Dead Gorgeous" you probably didn't think the characters sounded very out of the ordinary. Some Americans may mistake you for a Canadian.

If you are not a northern Minnesotan, you are probably one of these:
(a) A Yooper from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan; or
(b) A Canadian who has a mostly but not completely Canadian accent

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

Howdy, fellow neutral!

This is off-topic ... How do you deal with the stress of your work in healthcare? I am fighting as hard as I can not to be cynical as a coping mechanism. We worked 90 referrals this month, brought in 50 new admissions ... corporate still isn't happy. In my new building, I have none of the joy of feeling like I'm making a difference in the lives of the residents. Any thoughts?

HUGS!

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

Steve, remind me or your origins. I know you lived in Ohio for some time. Does this quiz have any relevance?

Good to hear from you!

HUGS!

[bluedevilsf.livejournal.com]

You are most definitely not neutral. At least, not entirely.

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

I think there's a difference between hearing vowels a certain way and speaking them. I know if I'm being silly or sarcastic, the Texas comes through. But if I'm in a show or in a public speaking situation, the Pennsylvania takes over:) Did you come out Midwest in your results?

HUGS!

[dragonessfaire.livejournal.com]

I am in a place where I am trying to quit my job. I am tired of being cynical, having unrealistic expectations placed upon me by the higher ups that make decisions that are in the best interest of the thier pocket books and not the clients we serve. I want to serve, travel and live my bliss. And that means expanding my recreation business with Joan and finding another job to supplement that goal. I have been offered a job at Wings up North. And they will accommodate my recreation schedule and I can support a new company that is client driven, but they don't offer benefits which means no health insurance. And since I just had the shunt replacement Joel doesn't want me to go with out. I am crushed and I don't know what to do. I can get on his insurance but it is $550 a month. And Wings pays significantly less than I am making now. The whole thing is heart breaking. I wish I new the answer...

[bluedevilsf.livejournal.com]

I just remember one time you asked me if I was interested in "going to supper" and it sounded more like "supppah." I'd just seen Cat on a Hot Tin Roof shortly before that, and it reminded me of the way Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman would say "Skipper."

My results came up as "Southern."

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

Welllll, there ya go, Bubba! :)

[becker-boy.livejournal.com]

I honestly believe that the way you speak is set in concrete by the time you head to College...or whenever you finally leave the nest.

The "nest" for me was 13 years on the central coast of California (the Monterey bay area) and then 5 years in southeastern Indiana (half of that was rural). I went to college in Indianapolis, so even then, for four more years, I was never really far away from it.

If there is any "hick" in my speech, I'm pretty certain it came from those nine years in Hoosier-ville.

Ohio happened after 7 years in southern California...so by the time I made it to "real" south 14 years ago, there was no way I was gonna be mistaken for a southerner.

Here's hopin' you stay dry over the next few days (and please don't get blown away).

Steve

ummmm.... minor correction.

[txcwby.livejournal.com]

That would be "I'm *a* fixin' to git me a hot dawg" -- the 'a' is ohhhh so important, as is 'git' (ghi-et) vs. "geh-et".

supper vs. dinner

[txcwby.livejournal.com]

That, sir, is a defining question to determine where one comes from.

If you're truly southern or western, "Dinner" is the noon-day meal. Supper is the evening meal.

Re: ummmm.... minor correction.

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

Of course! :)

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

Have you looked into healthcare coverage provided by the National Association of Self-Employed Persons? It has coverage for folks who work on contract and owners of small businesses. The deductibles are high, but it might be an option. I'm sorry to hear that we're in a similar position. I didn't mean to rub salt in a wound. Take care of yourself and know that I'm in your corner.

Big HUGS!

Re: supper vs. dinner

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

I defer to your superior knowledge:) Where I come from, there' s lunch at noon and supper in the evening. Dinner .. as in ... Would you like to go out to dinner? ... Could mean either meal:)

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

I agree with you that our speech patterns and pronunciations are set early in life. I had forgotten that you were originally from California, though I did remember that you spent quite a bit of time in Indiana.

The storm seems to have missed us. The sun is shining here this morning.

Hugs!

Re: supper vs. dinner

[bluedevilsf.livejournal.com]

My parents always called it "supper," but for whatever reason that never stuck with me. I think it has more to do with where we lived.

If the test had a classification for a combo of Southern and Midwestern, that would be more accurate. My dad is more or less a hillbilly, and I have some of his manner of speech, but I grew up near St. Louis and have some of those speech patterns as well.

I get really twangy during and after a visit to see my family, especially if we are in southeastern Missouri where a lot of the paternal side of the family lives.

Re: supper vs. dinner

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

I look forward to catching you in that mode someday. We'll just play hillbillies together!

By the way ... off-topic .. Is your company hiring?

Re: supper vs. dinner

[bluedevilsf.livejournal.com]

You could certainly take a look here:

http://careers.thomsonreuters.com

Be forewarned: it's a really clunky site.

Keep in mind, though, that our parent company is huge, and we have various business literally all over the world. If you do find something that interests you, I can make a referral. Don't know if it will help -- it certainly didn't help Steve when he applied for a few jobs -- but it couldn't hurt.

[designerotter.livejournal.com]

Mid-Atlantic ... a Philadelphia or New York accent - both cities in which I've lived as an adult.
Most of my early schooling was in southern Pennsylvania.
In the deep south I'm sometimes considered 'foreign' - as in 'from another planet' (once someone actually said that to me) - LOL!