Unshelved by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum
comic strip overdue media

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Pretty much true

Which American Accent Do You Actually Have?
Western

You have a Western accent - and all of this time you probably thought you didn't have an accent at all! The Western dialect of American English is a single regional dialect that unites the entire western half of the United States, including California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana! The west was the last area in the United States to be settled during the westward expansion of English-speaking people and it's full of linguistic patterns from other regions. Your accent is general enough that no one knows exactly where you're from. Your accent is perfect for public speaking, news broadcasting, acting, advertisements, etc.!
Despite spending most of my life in the South (Kentucky--30 years, South Carolina--2 years, and Louisiana--10 years), three years in California, and two years in Kansas, I came out Western. People here don't think I have a Southern accent. To get someone who 'loves my Southern accent' I have to go to Minnesota. But I agree with the Western evaluation. I also use 'were' and 'wore' and 'war' as if they all are pronounced the same, which I have only heard in Californians. And although I said 'pin' and 'pen' the same in my youth, college taught me otherwise. (In fact, here in Kentucky they often say 'ink pen' to differentiate from 'pin'.) But I do tend to pick up things that are local when I live there. When I lived outside of Shreveport, for example, I said 'Luziana' and 'Nawlens' for Louisiana and New Orleans. And just yesterday I was told I say Tennessee with the accent on the first syllable, which is pretty Southern. And of course, there are the placenames, such as the Little Arkansas River (pronounced to rhyme with Kansas, not Arkansas (Arkansaw)) when I was in Kansas, and here in Kentucky with have Versailles (Versales) and Athens (with a long 'A'). What accent do you come out as?

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