Tuesday, November 11, 2008

The Accent Quiz

I found this little quiz on Red's blog today and, no surprise, here's how my results turned out:

What American accent do you have?
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."

The Northeast
 
The Midland
 
Philadelphia
 
The South
 
North Central
 
The West
 
Boston
 
What American accent do you have?
Quiz Created on GoToQuiz



And yes, I do call carbonated beverages "pop" but I want to go on record saying that people from Chicago have a totally different accent than people from Minnesota or Wisconsin (and I think all Minnesotans reading this will agree with me!)

12 comments:

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

I agree with you Ruthie.
I took the quiz and fell into the same group as you- imagine that!!

I'm going to go have a pop now.


did you get my email??

Susan Gets Native said...

"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."

No surprise there. And I do call soda "pop".
See, Laura and Lynne? I have NO ACCENT!
: )

Anonymous said...

I have the same thing as you. And what is soda?

Mama Pea said...

Once when I was visiting my brother and sister-in-law in Illinois, she had to leave the house and asked me to take a phone call she was expecting. When the call came and I answered it, I introduced myself to the caller. She replied, "Oh, I knew it was you right away by your heavy accent!"

I was dumbfounded! Do we Minnesotans really sound like the characters in "Fargo?"

Dana and Daisy said...

mine was right on, rhymes with dawn and don! Midwest

Anonymous said...

In CA Philip & Armida call it soda, they told us a couple of years ago during a visit.
Why not talk "inland north". We talk Minnesotan cuz that's where we're from. Well we sat down to some "hot-dish" and a "pop" "ya know". I'm glad I live in the "inland north" and have lived here most of my life, after moving from Chicago.

MOM

Jayne said...

HA, it said I have a "Midland" voice and would be good for TV. Just wait til you meet me and hear my drawl....lololol. :c)

RuthieJ said...

Hi Lynne,
I'm not surprised, I just hope those Eastern folks you recently birded with didn't give you too much crap about your accent!

Hi Susan,
Yea for POP! I think that's probably one of the hugest regional differences. When I was in Atlanta a few years ago for some computer training, I learned pop down there was all "Cokecola" (said all together as 1 word).

Hi Scienceguy,
when I hear "soda" I think of baking soda--never pop!

Hi Mama Pea,
I think that Fargo accent was a little overdone, but there are a few places here in the southeast pretty heavily populated by Norwegians and then you really notice that accent.

Hi Dana & Daisy,
Years ago when I visited a client hospital near Pittsburgh (during my Mayo days), they all said Don (but it sounded to me like Dawn). I was a bit confused because when I met "Don" I had been expecting to meet a woman! :-0

Hi Mom,
Yeah, Armida gave me a bad time a few years ago about saying "pop" in the restaurant. Sometimes when I visit other places, I tend to exaggerate the "Minnesota" accent a little bit more, just to see the reaction!

Well Jayne, we'll just have to let you and Susan have an "accent contest" and see who's more "Midland!"

Heather said...

I got Inland North, too, even though I was raised in central Ohio and live in southeastern Ohio (and, no, I don't pronounce it oh-hi-uh - it's oh-hi-oh). Interestingly, I've always been very aware of people's accents and different ways of speaking (knew a guy in college who was from PA, couldn't stand how he said the word "water"... oh, and he was a "soda" guy, too!). As a child, and even still to some extent today, I could easily pick up on and speak in someone else's accent if I hung around them long enough. Thanks for the sociology/linguistics-slanted post!

Mary said...

I'M A PHILLY GIRL!

Been told I sound like Texas, but more Philadelphia. Funny, I've only driven through the city.

KGMom said...

OK--took the test--I am from the northeast.
Or as Gomer Pyle would say--serrprize, serrprize, serrprize.

Heidi said...

LOL! I just discovered you posted this today Ruthie... I don't know if you read my comment back to you, but just because I think everyone will get a kick out of it, I'll repeat it.

I went to KU for 2 years to finish up my bachelor's degree. My parents helped me move there and when we first arrived, we had lunch at a fast food joint. The girl behind the counter asked me what pop? I had no freaking idea what she was saying. It was like a different language and had her repeat it a few times. Finally my dad - who grew up in Illinois - figured out the problem and translated for me. ROFL!

I fall somewhere between on this... it's either soda or drink or coke... granted I love Coca-cola, so I'm set no matter what I order. There's so many transplants out here in California that I probably hear all the choices, except for some reason, never "pop".