When I lived in Ohio I could tell roughly what part of the state people came from, and it’s not even that big a state. I sometimes joke about people speaking “southern” even though I just haven’t had enough exposure to differentiate.
Are there regional accents near you that help you identify where someone is from even if it’s just one or two hundred miles away? Even closer? TV and movies have contributed to a more standardized, generic norm, but I’m curious about other regional differences.
EDIT: Thanks for the reminder that there are also different dialects.
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I’m a lifelong Southerner. There is a difference in Southern dialects.
For the most part, Florida is pretty complicated. Mostly because almost everyone is from elsewhere. But you can definitely pick up who’s from here, or at least grew up locally.
Besides just accents there are also variances in words or phrases used throughout the country. It’s actually really interesting to see what areas use what words. There’s almost always a distinct line where the use of certain words start. But then if a movie or TV show is set in that area they might use a different word. That might completely change everything.
Grew up in Alabama and there are definitely different Southern accents, but I don’t think I could differentiate b/t one area or state. The exceptions are probably local terms (eg roly poly, potato bug, pill bug) or somewhere very specific like S Louisiana/NOLA.
The most distinct dialects are New England, New York, West Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, Creole, Minnesota, East Texas & Socal.
I’ve seen people online claiming there are distinct accents in the PNW, but I’ve lived here 60 years, and I call bullshit. There are so many accents from around the country here that it’s very hard to identify the locals, except that we know how to pronounce Puyallup and Willamette. Since those are easily learned, the imports tend to blend in pretty quickly.
I suck at it. I just don’t have the ear for it unless they are exaggerating it.
I can tell when someone isn’t from the coast. Being closer to Louisiana than most of my own state, I can also distinguish different Louisiana accents.
Pretty well although I’ll admit a lot of the south runs the same to me. I can tell the difference between them but I tend not to able to identify them.
Texas has so many accents and dialects.
I am terrible at differentiating between accents. Outside of broad strokes, they all sound the same to me.
My voice exudes Californian exceptionalism lol.
Upstate SC dialect is different from Lowcountry SC dialect. And both are different from the Piedmont NC twang (I’ve lived in all 3 places).
And… if you’ve moved in from off… you stick out like a sore thumb (I’m looking at you Ohio).
the differences are small but noticeable enough to where is a fella with a hick-typa accent came through from like tennesse or allibamy? i feel like i’d be able to tell relatively quickly when compared to a southern hick-typa accent.
Northern/midwestern accents for me are significantly harder to tell apart for me if there be any difference because i dont know enough people that have em.
As a New Yorker I still sometimes get tripped up trying to differentiate the different borough accents (Queens vs The Bronx vs Staten Island, etc) not just because they are becoming more extinct but bc while they are different, there’s some overlap and similarities.
Although the variety of regional accents in NYC vary a lot by ethnicity, ie. a Jewish Brooklyn accent, an Italian Brooklyn accent, a Hispanic accent from The Bronx, etc – so sometimes that helps lol
I don’t have a Wisconsin accent, but I know that if someone does have one then they’re *probably* from the west or north of the state.
I can recognize about 4 distinct accents with people born and raised in NC, especially with older North Carolinians.
In the regions I’m familiar with, pretty well. I can usually tell whether someone is from Texas, Louisiana, or Georgia if they have a strong accent. The closer to home (central Texas) the more specific the read. I’ll usually recognize whether someone is from Nacogdoches or Lubbock pretty easily. But Savannah and Charleston? Not so much, even though I know there are a lot of very distinct dialects just within those two cities.
At one point, I could figure out the general area. Nowadays, I am not quite as precise as I once was.
There’s some debate on the Cleveland accent. I remember reading somewhere that cleveland doesn’t really have an accent, and it’s really an example of a proper American English accent. I don’t really believe that though. We definitely sound a bit nasally, and say ope if you brush against someone in a crowd. Here’s a pretty cool article about it:
https://www.clevescene.com/news/the-origins-and-evolution-of-the-cleveland-accent-yes-you-have-an-accent-cleveland-4949852
I’ve never been to Pennsylvania but I can tell if someone is from western PA vs eastern PA based on their accent. My mom and her side of the family are from western PA. My grandparents, aunts and uncles and some cousins have fairly thick western PA accents.
In state not very well, nationally very well
Iowan here. The people on the southern side of the state tend to say “warsh” instead of “wash”
I grew up on Long Island and can tell the difference between my home, the boroughs and upstate.
I am from nj and good at nj and nyc accents. But bad at everything else.
I’m good with Cleveland/Columbus/Cincinnati, Some NC/VA and two different PA accents. That’s about it.
Western PA just does its own thing so I can hear us in a crowd anywhere. 😅
I’m from Michigan. When I’ve been in the Deep South people comment on my accent and say I talk fast. Also they don’t call soft drinks “pop” like you should! Also they say “y’all” a lot. So you can usually tell.
Ohio is stereotyped as having the most clear, neutral accent in the country but that’s not really true. There are many distinguishable regional accents. (Ex: People along the lake sound very different from Southern, Appalachian or central Ohioans; rural vs. urban) I live in SW Ohio and there’s a confluence of accents (due to migration patterns) but a lot of people speak in a weird southern/Midwest hybrid that I feel is difficult to replicate. People in Indiana are distinguishable by their speech as well.
Deep South and maybe Maine stands out
Even when visiting other southern states, a lot of people recognize I’m not from that state.
Also vise versa.
I can usually get an idea of what part of Louisiana someone is from. In New Orleans, I can usually tell what part of the metro area they grew up in.
Where I lived in Louisiana, we had different towns with different accents.
I met a guy in northern Minnesota who immediately put me on a northern middle Tennessee accent. It was really impressive
I’ve lived in Ohio all my life (around Cleveland area) and I legit can’t tell where in Ohio someone is from unless they are in the really southern part and have a bit of a southern accent. I think that’s a me thing though lol
In the Southeastern United States, the regional accents are dependent on the emphasis of the first syllable and the vowels.