sozobe wrote: I grew up in Minnesota, was deaf before I left, and have been mightily curious about the Fargo phenomenon. We have an accent? What on earth is it? How is it different from how other people talk? I understand this in a general way, but I haven't been able to really get a bead on it.
Not all Minnesotans have a big accent -- but those with Scandinavian ancestors from upstate and around Duluth have a sing-song tone and use a lot of non-word verbals. The standard Minnesotan accent is v. similar to the west coast, I think. (Some Washingtonians have odd ways of saying words and put "r's" in words where there aren't any... like saying Warshington.) Mr.P grew up in the Twin Cities and has relatives there still, so I've had a chance to hear it a lot. They all sound normal! I have had people from the midwest say we west coasters use some different words and more 4-letter ones, for sure.
I noticed that people from the Olympic penninsula had sort of a flat almost Syracuse NY type of accent. Have you ever noticed that?
I'm such a dullard, I have no idea about Syracuse, NY.. wait, I do, I have a friend from there and she DOES have a flat way of talking and almost swallows some of her words. But, no, not really, can't say that I've noticed it specifically coming from people off the peninsula. The native Americans around here mostly have a flat, monotone. It almost seems like they're depressed -- certainly not excited about anything, though they'll lilt at the end, sometimes. Did you happen to be talking with somebody from Neah Bay or LaPush?
No, there was a guy at the Dojo in the U District who was from Aberdeen, and many other folks I met while at the U from that part of the state, they all had that accent. A friend of mine called it "logger."
Logger? LOL. You went to the UDub? A fellow Husky? woof.
One of my roommates was from Grayland but I don't remember thinking she had an accent at all. Her dad was a fisherman, not into logging.
I dunno about Bryson or Llewellyn, but I've heard there is a Normal, Illinois. I think some religious folks named it, but that could be a brain drift.
Normal is tongue-in-cheek, I trust I didn't really offend you... should I have put it in quotes? I'd guess Sydnesque is your normal. Mine is... well... apparently west coast. Normal is what you hear as a kid until you hear somebody and want to say... "You talk funny!"
That reminds me of an incident a few years ago. We were in a fairly large breakfast room at a B&B in Cornwall and a young German family came downstairs with a little boy, about 2 or younger. We were quietly talking along with several others. The little boy was darling and dressed in tiny shorts & sportcoat. He was a doll. We noticed that he was looking around at all the people who, as I said, were quietly talking. His face became more and more distressed as he looked from person to person. Suddenly he burst into loud wails and buried his face into his mother's chest. She carried him out and his father said, "He isn't used to hearing English spoken." I suppose everybody feels that way at some point.
Hi Piffka ------- how did your UK visit work out ?
I've been away from home lately & not been to A2K.
You mentioned how you had problems with certain place names in Scotland. There is a web site I've just found that covers many aspects of UK history and it's linguistic idiosicracies, medieval life, castles, battles, tower of london, historical roots & so on. .
http://www.camelotintl.com/heritage/counties/index.html
Piffka wrote:I dunno about Bryson or Llewellyn, but I've heard there is a Normal, Illinois. I think some religious folks named it, but that could be a brain drift.
Normal was named after the Illinois State Normal School -- a "normal" school (back in the good old days) was the name used for an institution devoted to training teachers. Now the school is Illinois State University, but the town is still called "Normal."
Interesting...
I have a "Received Pronunciation" British accent, and found that Americans either tend to like it, or just don't undersand me!
I've had to translate my own name "Peter" and "Water" several times in the US, to get myself understood.
I pronounce both with a distinct "T" (not a "D" sound) and with an "eRR" at the end, so I have to change "Petah" to "PeedeR" and "WohTah" to "WahDeR" to have instant comprehension. I find that bizarre, with so many accents out there, but it's true.
See also:
http://www.uta.fi/FAST/US1/P1/USGB/ss-aerp.html
KP
