Maybe the rasp is more on the western end of Midwest, but it's the flat, overly-bright short-A, Ah, or Eh that we have, like we're trying a bit too hard with them. It disappears as you go south (or north, or to the coasts), and Sam & Dean use a more rounded ("classical") A/Ah/Eh. Bobby, on the other hand, has it. (Jim Beaver's from Wyoming.)
My mom was born and raised in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, but has lived in Nebraska for almost forty years; she has developed the rasp, and now thinks her PA family sounds weird.
Twice I've had people unable to place my accent, possibly because I can pick up or drop a rural drawl. Or possibly because of the strong Germanic influence on my extended family (and church) that would make anybody confused. Grandpa's German accent is thick as borscht, Grandma's is pure Midwest. Grammy, however, has a rural PA accent that has a whole different tonality to it.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2010-06-26 11:03 pm (UTC)My mom was born and raised in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, but has lived in Nebraska for almost forty years; she has developed the rasp, and now thinks her PA family sounds weird.
Twice I've had people unable to place my accent, possibly because I can pick up or drop a rural drawl. Or possibly because of the strong Germanic influence on my extended family (and church) that would make anybody confused. Grandpa's German accent is thick as borscht, Grandma's is pure Midwest. Grammy, however, has a rural PA accent that has a whole different tonality to it.