Accent Calculator

[Fazor]

American Accent Calculator (http://www.gotoquiz.com/what_american_accent_do_you_have)

Normally I wouldn't like somethin like this 'caus I think they're dumb. It's one of those "what kinda such and such are you" but I thought this one was pretty cool. It asks you a few questions then tells you what kind of accent you have. For those of you not in the states it wont' work, (it's an American accent calculator) but it deffinately pegged me. Thought those of you State-bound might like to give it a try.

[Swift]

Your Result: The Inland North
You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
Interesting result. I have lived in Cleveland, Ohio for almost 20 years, so I do live in the Inland North and do say "pop" (now). But I grew up in New York City and lived in New England for 5 years, so I have traces of that too. One trace of the NY accent I have is how I say words that end in 'a', such as Toyota, tend to sound like Toy-o-tar, with a soft 'r' at the end. And the thing like pop is "so-dar".

[galaxygirl]

Your Result: Boston

You definitely have a Boston accent, even if you think you don't. Of course, that doesn't mean you are from the Boston area, you may also be from New Hampshire or Maine.


My dad and his family have a really heavy Boston accent, and my mum and her family have a really heavy Canadian accent. I've always thought my accent was a fusion between the two, but I guess living in the Boston area all my life I'm going to have more of a Boston accent. Never thought I had one though...

[tdvance]

Says I'm "Inland North", but I am from the South (the northern south, i.e. West Virginia). Mom's accent is southern, dad's is something strange--a combo of West Virginia, Maryland, and something I don't recognize.

Todd



<table style="width: 320px; border: 1px solid gray; font: normal 12px arial, verdana, sans-serif; background-color: white;"><tr><td colspan="2" style="background: white; color: black; padding: 5px;"><b style="font: bold 20px 'Times New Roman', serif; display: block; margin-bottom: 8px;">What American accent do you have?</b> <div style="font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 4px;">Your Result: <b>The Inland North</b></div><div style="width: 200px; background: white; border: 1px solid black;"><div style="width: 78%; background: red; font-size: 8px; line-height: 8px;">&nbsp;</div></div><p style="margin: 10px; border: none; background: white; color: black;">You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."</p></td></tr><tr><td style="color: black; background: white; padding: 3px;">The Northeast</td><td style="background: white; padding: 3px;"><div style="width: 100px; background: white; border: 1px solid black; margin-top: 4px;"><div style="width: 76%; background: red; font-size: 8px; line-height: 8px;">&nbsp;</div></div></td></tr><tr><td style="color: black; background: white; padding: 3px;">The Midland</td><td style="background: white; padding: 3px;"><div style="width: 100px; background: white; border: 1px solid black; margin-top: 4px;"><div style="width: 70%; background: red; font-size: 8px; line-height: 8px;">&nbsp;</div></div></td></tr><tr><td style="color: black; background: white; padding: 3px;">The South</td><td style="background: white; padding: 3px;"><div style="width: 100px; background: white; border: 1px solid black; margin-top: 4px;"><div style="width: 69%; background: red; font-size: 8px; line-height: 8px;">&nbsp;</div></div></td></tr><tr><td style="color: black; background: white; padding: 3px;">Philadelphia</td><td style="background: white; padding: 3px;"><div style="width: 100px; background: white; border: 1px solid black; margin-top: 4px;"><div style="width: 60%; background: red; font-size: 8px; line-height: 8px;">&nbsp;</div></div></td></tr><tr><td style="color: black; background: white; padding: 3px;">The West</td><td style="background: white; padding: 3px;"><div style="width: 100px; background: white; border: 1px solid black; margin-top: 4px;"><div style="width: 29%; background: red; font-size: 8px; line-height: 8px;">&nbsp;</div></div></td></tr><tr><td style="color: black; background: white; padding: 3px;">Boston</td><td style="background: white; padding: 3px;"><div style="width: 100px; background: white; border: 1px solid black; margin-top: 4px;"><div style="width: 19%; background: red; font-size: 8px; line-height: 8px;">&nbsp;</div></div></td></tr><tr><td style="color: black; background: white; padding: 3px;">North Central</td><td style="background: white; padding: 3px;"><div style="width: 100px; background: white; border: 1px solid black; margin-top: 4px;"><div style="width: 0%; background: red; font-size: 8px; line-height: 8px;">&nbsp;</div></div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; padding: 8px;"><a href="http://www.gotoquiz.com/what_american_accent_do_you_have"><b>What American accent do you have?</b></a><br><a href="http://www.gotoquiz.com/">Quiz Created on GoToQuiz</a></td></tr></table>

[hhEb09'1]

Your Result: The Midland

"You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.

Raised in northwest Wyoming, in Mormon country

The "unaccented" thing, we've talked about before....

[Tog]

Your Result: The Midland

"You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.

Raised in northwest Wyoming, in Mormon country

The "unaccented" thing, we've talked about before....

Same for me, but I grew up in Salt Lake City. When I was in the army I had a lot of people tell me I didn't have any accent at all "Just like the news guys on TV". I've also had a lot of people I've talked to in person tell me I'd do well on the radio.

A lot of the local accents here have O take on an A sound. This makes "fort" into "fart", and "lord" into "lard". The "correct" pronunciation of the town of Hurricane is "HUR-ih-cun", and rhymes with La Verkin. The town of Hooper, is said "HUP-per". Layton, and mountain have no T sounds in them. (I catch myself doing this one from time to time). "I live in Layuhn by the mounuhns."

Incidentally, I didn't like any of the options for the Mary, merry or marry question. To me, marry and Mary are the same, but merry is different. That wasn't a choice.

[Eroica]

The Northeast
Judging by how you talk you are probably from north Jersey, New York City, Connecticut or Rhode Island. Chances are, if you are from New York City (and not those other places) people would probably be able to tell if they actually heard you speak.
:surprised

[I just passed kilopi!]

[Jeff Root]

A similar test was linked in BAUT many months ago, but I think this
one is better. My result was "The Inland North", with "The Midland"
in second place. "North Central" had the least correspondence.
I wonder where that is supposed to be. I'm certainly smack-dab
in the center of the north-central states of the USA!

I had always understood that the standard radio/TV accent was
from my area, Northern US, not Midland. However Walter Cronkite
pronounces a word, that's how I pronounce it, too.

Here's a map I just now hand-copied from my 11th-grade grammar
textbook, dated 1965. (No scanner yet.)

http://www.freemars.org/jeff2/dialects.png

The book describes how the four main dialects got started along
the coast and either persisted locally, in the cases of the rather
similar New England and Southern dialects, or spread westward
from the region between.

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

[hhEb09'1]

[I just passed kilopi!]Have a belt (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap061229.html), on me! :)

[Captain Kidd]

Midland for me too, which is what I've been told I have, including the "good voice for TV and radio" part. Western and Southern come in 2nd and 3rd respectively, which, interestingly, is my father's and mother's birth regions.

I grew up in the South, but was born and lived 3 years in DC which probably helped my accent form.

Here in the South people would talk about my Dam'Yankee accent and in the Northeast, when visiting family, I'd get kidded about my Southern Hick accent. That has always privately amused me.

[Tobin Dax]

I got the Inland North result like swift did. Now, I've lived in east-central Illinois for five years, but I was born and raised in western Oregon. I wouldn't think that Illinois would have that much of an affect on me, but maybe I treated the questions too strictly.

[C18H27NO3]

Your Result: The Midland

"You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.



Midland for me as well.

I grew up in southern New Hampshire (1 hour north of Boston), lived in Richmond, VA for 10 years and I have now been in the Allentown, PA area for almost 10 years.

I can sound like I'm from NH or VA if the person I'm talking to has that accent :whistle: but generally people can't determine where I'm from.

I also agree that Mary and marry are the same, merry is different.

[Sleepy_Sentry]

Your Result: The Inland North


That's messed up. I've lived in Vermont/New York/Louisiana my entire life. I would say I have a combination between a northern and southern accent.

What's ironic is when I moved to Louisiana from upstate New York, people told me I had a redneck accent! :lol:

[grant hutchison]

For those of you not in the states it wont' work ...I did it anyway. :) My Scots accent makes me sound like Boston to the test; but it didn't ask anything about how I pronounced R's, which I think might have made a difference.

There's a story about a Boston theologian travelling by train in Kent (SE England), and having what he thought was a personal religious experience.
But it was just a train announcement saying: "Good morning, this is your guard speaking."

Grant Hutchison

[schlaugh]

"You have a Midland accent is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio."

Interesting....I was born in Kentucky and lived there for the first eight years and then moved to Florida where I lived for 22 years. I've been in Atlanta for 21 years.

Never had anything to do with radio or TV - my voice is too high pitched.

Go figure...

[Maksutov]

What American accent do you have?Your Result: The Northeast

Judging by how you talk you are probably from north Jersey, New York City, Connecticut or Rhode Island. Chances are, if you are from New York City (and not those other places) people would probably be able to tell if they actually heard you speak.

Huh, after 43 years in Connecticut, then 16 in the South, the Yankee accent hasn't worn off.

Good.

[Jessie]

Your Result: Philadelphia

Your accent is as Philadelphian as a cheesesteak! If you're not from Philadelphia, then you're from someplace near there like south Jersey, Baltimore, or Wilmington. if you've ever journeyed to some far off place where people don't know that Philly has an accent, someone may have thought you talked a little weird even though they didn't have a clue what accent it was they heard.

Close, though not really, I think more like The Midland... seeing as how I live in Ohio...

[Lurking Nerd]

Your Result: North Central

"North Central" is what professional linguists call the Minnesota accent. If you saw "Fargo" you probably didn't think the characters sounded very out of the ordinary. Outsiders probably mistake you for a Canadian a lot.

Don't know about that. I don't think anyone around here sounds like the characters from Fargo. And I've never been asked if I was Canadian. Of course, I don't travel a whole lot so that may have something to do with it. My top match was West with Midland coming in second.


"North Central" had the least correspondence.
I wonder where that is supposed to be. I'm certainly smack-dab
in the center of the north-central states of the USA!
-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

Now ya know. Odd that this had the least correspondence for you. Proves some kind of point, I suspect.

[Uranut]

'Your accent is as Philadelphian as a cheesesteak!'

Moved from Philly to Oregon 28 years ago. I guess it's true that 'You can take the boy out of the city but not the city out of the boy'.

[Tobin Dax]

'Your accent is as Philadelphian as a cheesesteak!'

Moved from Philly to Oregon 28 years ago. I guess it's true that 'You can take the boy out of the city but not the city out of the boy'.

Only for some. I moved from the Salem area to Illinois five years ago, and My result was for the Great Lakes area.

[Inferno]

Well, I'm from Australia, but according to this test people would most likely think I'm from the Northeast, New York in particular.

[One Day More]

Well, I'm from Australia, but according to this test people would most likely think I'm from the Northeast, New York in particular.

I'm from New "Fush and Chups" Zealand, but took the test anyway, and got the same result as you did. :)

[SeanF]

Well, I'm from Australia, but according to this test people would most likely think I'm from the Northeast, New York in particular.
Not to drive your joke into the ground, but all it means is that your pronunciation is closer to Northeastern US than it is to any other US accent.

I'm pretty sure we could all pick you out of a group of New Yawkers. :)

[Fazor]

Well, perhaps that's how they came up with the idea for Crocadile Dundee 2 (or 3?) where he's lost in new york or whatever. You know, the idea was pretty natural considering how similar he sounded to the NY natives. :D

[sarongsong]

"The West"---yep; but what is that next box for; "Copy/Paste This Code"?

[cjl]

"You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.

[SeanF]

"You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent."
"You don't have an accent" is a non sequitur. Everybody has an accent.

If nobody except people in the Midland talk that way, then it's a Midland accent. :)

[hhEb09'1]

"You don't have an accent" is a non sequitur. Everybody has an accent.non sequitur? :)

Depends upon what you mean by "accent"--if it's just the way you talk, then you're right, but usually it means some sort of deviation from some sort of standard--like speaking French with an American accent.

[SeanF]

non sequitur? :)

Depends upon what you mean by "accent"--if it's just the way you talk, then you're right, but usually it means some sort of deviation from some sort of standard--like speaking French with an American accent.

Yes, non sequitur. :)

"Speaking French with an American accent" wouldn't contradict what I said, anyway. The opposite side of that, though, is often called "speaking French without an accent," but more accurately would be "speaking French with a French accent."

The dictionary definition(s) of accent (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/accent) don't seem to (yet) include any that would make "speaking without an accent" correct.

[hhEb09'1]

Yes, non sequitur.you're just saying you don't like the logic involved, but there is logic behind it.

The opposite side of that, though, is often called "speaking French without an accent," but more accurately would be "speaking French with a French accent."Exactly my point, the first is almost always used rather than the second.

[Sam5]

Well, I'm from Australia, but according to this test people would most likely think I'm from the Northeast, New York in particular.

A special test would have to be made for “English” in general. Certain different words used in this test sound the same to people in certain regions of the US, such as pen and pin.

The “e” in “pen” is supposed to sound something like “eh”, while the “i” in “pin” is supposed to sound something like “ih”.

When I was growing up in the South as a kid, the words “pen” and “pin” were interchangeable. A phrase like “pig pen” sounded like “pig pin”. People wrote with “fountain pins”.

However, certain random people and people in certain professions learned at an early age that a non-regional accent, such as that used by a network television or radio reporter, represented a correct American English accent.

In the question about “cot” and “caught”, I would think some New Englanders would pronounce “caught” as “cot”.

I don’t think this test is long enough to be able to tell much more than New England, Midland, or South. It says nothing about words that resemble Canadian words from the Northeastern tier states, in the area of Chicago to Maine. Nothing about rural Nebraska (Henry Fonda was born there) or rural Western Pennsylvania accents (Jimmy Stewart was from Western Pennsylvania). I’ve been in the town Stewart grew up in and most of the older men sound just like Jimmy Stewart. There is an Orange County California accent (Jack Webb used to speak that), and an indigenous San Francisco accent. Nothing about South Louisiana accents in the test. etc.

However, I’ve heard that linguistics experts who are very experienced in this topic can nail a lot of accents down not only to certain states but certain areas of certain state. The word “Aryan” in the 19th Century did not refer to race but to European accents.

However, in order for the test to work properly, everyone taking the test should still be in the same place they grew up. Jumping around from state to state can confuse such tests.

[hhEb09'1]

However, in order for the test to work properly, everyone taking the test should still be in the same place they grew up. Jumping around from state to state can confuse such tests.Let me see if I got this straight--the test can tell where a person grew up, but it works best if they're taking the test in the same place? Seems like cheating, a little :)

[Sam5]

Let me see if I got this straight--the test can tell where a person grew up, but it works best if they're taking the test in the same place? Seems like cheating, a little :)

It’s not “cheating”. The test is just more accurate if the test taker has always lived in the same place, or has lived there until he is over 20 or over 30, etc. Because people who move around the country will pick up new pronunciations of certain words which will throw off the test. Right now, you might seem to have a North Carolina accent when you visit your relatives who have never left Wyoming.

For a test to work on everyone under all circumstances, there would have to be hundreds or even thousands of words in the test, and then the test could tell what different states the test taker has lived in.

For example, if “Nyawlins” sounds ok for “New Orleans”, that means the person has heard a lot of people pronounce it that way in the city itself and the person probably grew up there. A good test should be able to tell what part of town someone grew up in, depending on whether they say “Nyawlins”, “New Ore-leeens”, or a more national “New Orleans” or a neighborhood-regional “New Or-lee-uns.”

[SeanF]

Yes, non sequitur. :)
you're just saying you don't like the logic involved, but there is logic behind it.
I disagree, naturally. :) See below.



"Speaking French with an American accent" wouldn't contradict what I said, anyway. The opposite side of that, though, is often called "speaking French without an accent," but more accurately would be "speaking French with a French accent."
Exactly my point, the first is almost always used rather than the second.
Yes, but it's understood that it means "without their 'normal' accent."

Look, Hugh Laurie plays an American on House. To say that he's speaking "without an accent," meaning without his British accent, makes sense.

But to say that when Laurie speaks like he's from New York, he's speaking with a New York accent, and when he speaks like he's from Louisiana, he's speaking with a Southern accent, but when he speaks like he's from Chicago, he's speaking without an accent, as an absolute?

That is illogical.

[hhEb09'1]

Sam5, I was joking :)

But to say that when Laurie speaks like he's from New York, he's speaking with a New York accent, and when he speaks like he's from Louisiana, he's speaking with a Southern accent, but when he speaks like he's from Chicago, he's speaking without an accent, as an absolute?

That is illogical.I dunno, I've never heard anyone say that about Hugh Laurie, and it's hard to imagine that anyone would, given the circumstances. The words are used in context, and you may reject the standard, but there is a well-known standard. I think it's well-known enough that people understand what is meant by "unaccented American English". I don't see any illogic in the way that it is usually used--given that there is a standard.

Some people see it as a bias against other accents. In other words, a preference for a particular region or people. I tend to think of it as a natural averaging process--which converges in the middle region of the country. That's not a coincidence, to me--and we see that middle region forms of pronunciation changing all the time, in response to forms encroaching from the nearby regions.

[SeanF]

I dunno, I've never heard anyone say that about Hugh Laurie, and it's hard to imagine that anyone would, given the circumstances.
Hugh Laurie probably wasn't the best choice for an example, since he's speaking English either way. He was just the first thing that came to my mind when I thought of a non-American speaking with an American accent. :)


The words are used in context, and you may reject the standard, but there is a well-known standard. I think it's well-known enough that people understand what is meant by "unaccented American English". I don't see any illogic in the way that it is usually used--given that there is a standard.
I'll agree there is no illogic in the way it is usually used - that is, using the colloquialism "unaccented" or "without an accent" to refer to a standard or average accent.

But cjl's post seemed to be suggesting that calling it a "midland accent" was wrong because it actually is no accent. Maybe I misunderstood him, but that's the way I took it and that's what I objected to. In that context, there is no such thing as "no accent."

Unless you're a mute, and even that's probably arguable. :)

[hhEb09'1]

But cjl's post seemed to be suggesting that calling it a "midland accent" was wrong because it actually is no accent. Maybe I misunderstood him, but that's the way I took it and that's what I objected to. In that context, there is no such thing as "no accent."Don't blame cjl, the same passage appeared in [url=http://www.bautforum.com/showthread.php?p=892267#post892267]my post earlier in the thread[/b]. It's what is reported (to the appropriate individuals) at the Accent Calculator.

Notice, the Calculator starts off by saying "Midland Accent" so I don't think that they are saying it is wrong to call it a Midland Accent. In that context, it is a Midland Accent, and it is no accent.

[SeanF]

Don't blame cjl, the same passage appeared in my post earlier in the thread (http://www.bautforum.com/showthread.php?p=892267#post892267). It's what is reported (to the appropriate individuals) at the Accent Calculator.
So it is. Apologies to cjl, then. :)


Notice, the Calculator starts off by saying "Midland Accent" so I don't think that they are saying it is wrong to call it a Midland Accent. In that context, it is a Midland Accent, and it is no accent.
Still sounds wrong to me, but in the total context, I guess it's okay.

Generous of me, no? ;)

[hhEb09'1]

Generous of me, no? ;)No. I mean, yes. You are a stand up guy. :)

And, as always, thanks for fixing my links.

[George]

Dang, it says I have a Midland accent, but I've only gone up there twice. :eh:

[hhEb09'1]

Dang, it says I have a Midland accent, but I've only gone up there twice. :eh:Midland TX?

[George]

Midland TX?
Is there another? :D

[hhEb09'1]

Is there another? :DFYI TXers, a Northeastern Accent is not the one found in Texarkana :)

[George]

Good point, y'all have to go to Little Rock for that. I used to live in Texarkana, so I know.

[Fygar]

"The West" Boy, I guess I sound like everyone else here......gonna have to work on that!

[pentimenti]

I just took that quiz, it says I have a "Midland Accent" too. I guess that would be pretty accurate, except I've never lived in what they called the "midland." I guess maybe it's because I've moved around a bit, but listening to myself I think I have vestiges of a few different areas of the country.

[Torsten]

What I found interesting is that the score charts it reported for the second and third most likely locations (North Central and The North) are very close to its result for me: Boston! Well, I've been there once, and I knew a lady from Buzzards Bay.

[Damien Evans]

I'm from New "Fush and Chups" Zealand, but took the test anyway, and got the same result as you did. :)

I'm from "Ostrailia" and i got the same result as well:D