*raises hand* Born and raised midwesterner (Ohio). I learned in high school English that our dialect (which I later learned is called "non-regional") is the one that's taught to national newscasters because it's the most easily understood nationwide.
When my husband traveled to Australia several years ago, he traveled with two women, one from DC, and one from . . . Maryland, I think. The Aussies told them that my husband had the thickest American accent of the three of them. I told him that made sense, because he spoke non-regional, the most neutral accent of the three of them, and the one the Aussies were probably most used to hearing as American.
One of my favorite stories about midwestern accent is from my dad. Born and raised in midwestern Ohio (Darke County). He spent a summer working a job with both New Englanders and Southerners. And he had to translate between them because he was the only one who could understand both accents, and he was the only accent both could understand. Bwah!
And I've been told by someone from Austin that I do have a very clear, distinct, neutral accent.
Keeping this in mind . . . I've also been mistaken as being from Alabama by northern Ohioans (who have a more nasal northern quality to their speech). And I used to always adopt the flat nasal of my Michigan cousins when I spent a lot of time with them.
Having moved to Virginia, I was really interested to hear that some people around here pronounce such words as "about" as "aboot," which I always associate with Canada. But I've been assured that these people are born and raised Virginians. Interesting!
I'd be kind of interested to hear the variation in the Kansan/Nebraskan midwestern accent in comparison to the midwestern Ohio accent. (Northern Ohioans have a nasal quality slighter than by akin to the Michiganders, and southern Ohioans have a hint of Kentucky and West Virginia.) Please explain this rasp of which you speak?
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branchandroot
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Date: 2010-06-26 09:17 pm (UTC)*raises hand* Born and raised midwesterner (Ohio). I learned in high school English that our dialect (which I later learned is called "non-regional") is the one that's taught to national newscasters because it's the most easily understood nationwide.
When my husband traveled to Australia several years ago, he traveled with two women, one from DC, and one from . . . Maryland, I think. The Aussies told them that my husband had the thickest American accent of the three of them. I told him that made sense, because he spoke non-regional, the most neutral accent of the three of them, and the one the Aussies were probably most used to hearing as American.
One of my favorite stories about midwestern accent is from my dad. Born and raised in midwestern Ohio (Darke County). He spent a summer working a job with both New Englanders and Southerners. And he had to translate between them because he was the only one who could understand both accents, and he was the only accent both could understand. Bwah!
And I've been told by someone from Austin that I do have a very clear, distinct, neutral accent.
Keeping this in mind . . . I've also been mistaken as being from Alabama by northern Ohioans (who have a more nasal northern quality to their speech). And I used to always adopt the flat nasal of my Michigan cousins when I spent a lot of time with them.
Having moved to Virginia, I was really interested to hear that some people around here pronounce such words as "about" as "aboot," which I always associate with Canada. But I've been assured that these people are born and raised Virginians. Interesting!
I'd be kind of interested to hear the variation in the Kansan/Nebraskan midwestern accent in comparison to the midwestern Ohio accent. (Northern Ohioans have a nasal quality slighter than by akin to the Michiganders, and southern Ohioans have a hint of Kentucky and West Virginia.) Please explain this rasp of which you speak?