What American Accent Do You Have?
By Stephanie Ciccarelli
November 28, 2007
It's the middle of the week and time to shake things up a bit.
What American accent do you have?
I came upon this quiz and would love to hear what your results are!
This quiz is intended to identify which American regional accent you have.
I took the quiz myself as a Canadian, and according to the results, I have an Inland North accent, native to the Great Lakes Region which is in fact where I abide.
| 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 | |
| Philadelphia | |
| The South | |
| North Central | |
| The Midland | |
| Boston | |
| The West | |
| What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz | |
There are 13 questions to answer, all fairly easy and straightforward.
One helpful tip I'd like to share is to read the questions aloud as you are answering them.
Why?
If you are reading the questions out loud, you'll quickly find out what your answers are. You see, if you are reading the questions cold, you'll have no doubt as to how you actually pronounce something because it will come across very well naturally (you can't miss!) and thus reveal your native dialect.
If any dialect coaches would like to step up and take this test to help verify its credence, I'd be extremely interested to hear your thoughts on the matter.
Even if this test is not scientifically conclusive (it is better to have a professional evaluate you in person or on the phone), it is a good way to get an idea of what your accent may be.
You can take the test here:
What American Accent Do You Have?
Once you've taken the test, come back to VOX Daily and let us know what your results were!
Best,
Stephanie
Technorati Tags: Accents, American Accents, Dialects, English Dialects, US Accents, Accents, Voice Actors, Voice Acting, and Voices.com.
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Midland (full bar). Not surprising - though I've adopted something of a Canadian accent, I was raised in central Indiana.
Posted by:Well, I am from, and live right outside of Philadelphia, so it had me pegged! Northeast, Full bar and then this -
What American accent do you have?
Posted by: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.
I love this subject. I took a class in college that was all about dialects and regionalisms... and admittedly, I generally have a good ear when it comes to figuring out where people are from.
I was born outside of Philadelphia (both my parents were raised there), and when I was 11, we moved to the country in FL... so I picked up a little southern as a kid. As an adult, I worked hard to lose that southern, and now, I'm generally "unaccented" though my pronunciation of words let the quiz know that I am:
Your Result: Philadelphia
Posted by: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.
Fun... thanks Stephanie!
I'm pegged as "The Inland North", or Great Lakes region.
Since I hail from Cleveland, I'd say that's a hit.
Anybody want a pop?
Joe J Thomas
Posted by:www.JoeActor.com
Perfect! It got me. Even though I was born in Illinois, was raised in California, and now reside in North Carolina... it knows.
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.
Posted by:Stephanie,
I loved doing this first thing this AM, before several hours of recording ahead of me over the next few days. I took the test.
I am regarded as "Midland".
Having spent half my life in Milwaukee, and the other half in Southern California, I've made a conscious effort to lose the midwestern twang, so I wouldn't sound too "regional", and thus more "Midland". I guess it worked. However, whenever I get together with friends and family from Milwaukee and Chicago, I can really hear the difference now in them. After a week or two, I begin to pick up the lilt again, unless I make myself stop and think about it.
By the way- I never called soft drinks "pop", although my friends did!
This was a way cool diversion! Thanks for listening.
All the best,
Posted by:Bobbin Beam
Missed it here. It said Northeast.
Yes, I grew up in NY... but quiz said everyone could tell when I speak. Honestly... even being on radio all over the country... people are very surprised to hear I was born in NY!
Maybe it's because I mixed 13 years in NY, 7 years in FL, more years in TX, and 8 years in northern CA! It's rare that something comes up that gives away my origin when I speak.
I wonder, though, if it detected it so well... because in my head I know the words sound different?
Julie
Posted by:Hi,
I'm originally from Chicago but have lived in Alberta for many years. My quiz results say my accent is from the Inland North - kind of a composite, I guess!
Posted by:Carol Kodish-Butt
The quiz hit me right on.....Midlands......was born in Missouri. Throughout my life people have asked me what kind of an accent I have. Funny isn't it. That was interesting. Thanks!
Posted by:Hi Steph,
I enjoyed taking the quiz and I tried to answer the questions as carefully as possible, but have to question its accuracy. Yes, I’m a Canadian; however the results saying that I was of the North Central and that if I had ever seen the movie “Fargo†that the accents used in that movie would not necessarily be that odd sounding. Nothing could be farther from the truth! Fargo stands out to be one of the funniest movies of all time due mostly in part to the outrageous accents. I thought they sounded like “Newfies†(Newfoundlanders) and I don’t believe that I sound anything like them.
Regardless of all that it has cemented the fact that I need to get some coaching on my dialects. Maybe this Vox Daily has triggered a change in my thinking about my sound and how much work I’m getting.
Thanks very much!
Greg Hamilton
Posted by:Stephanie,
Posted by:I took the quiz. Very interesting! Considering I'm originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma.... lived in California for a few years during my youth... and am now living in the Great White North!
I was rated as having a "MIDLAND" voice... which means I could come from the area... I DID come from... and that according to the results. " You have a great voice for television or radio" because "people can't really tell where I'm from. I really don't have an accent."
I've been told that all my life. That I don't really have an accent. Interesting?
Thanks for letting us know about the quiz.
It was fun!
Cheers,
Kristi Stewart
It pegged me as a Bostonian which is correct because I am from Maine, but really you wouldn't be able to tell because I pronounce my R's with no accent.
Posted by:Loved the comments I got on mine, especially the last sentence - and I quote:
"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."
Now, I did see Fargo and I did think the characters sounded quite out of the ordinary.
Posted by:Very interesting and accurate in my case. I have a Midland accent. Lived in Northern Missouri most of my life.
Posted by:Very interesting indeed. Being Canadian I was told my American accent was Inland North which would be very accurate since I'm also based in Ontario between a couple of Great Lakes.
Occasionally I speak with a few members who can pick out the accent but are not overly sure where I'm from.
Posted by:It told me I had a Boston accent, which is probably pretty accurate since I live in a suburb southwest of Boston. Although I didn't think I had a Boston accent. But do people really pronounce "cot" and "caught" differently? and "don" and "dawn"? I thought that was just normal. But I don't have a really bad Boston accent, like adding and dropping r's to words, unless I'm tired and/or sleep deprived. Then, not only do I have a Boston accent, but I'll start sounding like I'm from Minnesota too.
Very interesting and accurate overall.
Posted by:I'm as far West as it is physically possible to be on the contiguous US, but they relocated me to the Inland North. HMM
Posted by:I live in Kansas and it said I have a midland accent, which means no accent. They had it right on.
Posted by:I have a Midland Accent. I am not American but my best friend is from Dallas which is probably why I have this accent :P
Posted by:My father was from Chicago and mother from Kansas. The quiz said Midland. My daughter attended University of Wisconsin @ Stevens Point. When visiting I fit in pretty well , blonde hair , blue eyes, till we went shopping and opened my mouth. I didn't use the long OOO's. (Sounds like note). The store clerk said " OOh, (long o) you're not from around here are ye". Sounds Alot like Fargo.
Posted by:"Midland" - almost full bar. The second highest bar is "Western." Born in California, but moved to Missouri when I was two. Moved back to California when I was eleven. Interesting quiz.
Posted by:It nailed me. I come from a city about 15 minutes north of Boston proper and still considered Greater Boston. I have an accent as thick as baked beans.
Posted by:I have lived in the DC metropolitan area my whole life and I have scored as having a western accent. Odd, but the results said you may actually live a south eastern city, which I do.
Posted by:Crazy, since I was born and raised in south Georgia, as were both of my parents!
Your Result: The Midland
Posted by:"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.
What American accent do you have?
Your Result: The West
Your accent is the lowest common denominator of American speech. Unless you're a SoCal surfer, no one thinks you have an accent. And really, you may not even be from the West at all, you could easily be from Florida or one of those big Southern cities like Dallas or Atlanta.
Or Houston, I guess!
Posted by:Having grown up in Georgia and lived in Tennessee, North and South Carolina I found it amusing that it said I have a Midland North accent.
Posted by:Hi Stephanie,
Posted by:Inland North here. That fits given I am from Upstate NY and retain somewhat of a Canadian accent from the previous generation/lineage.
Thanks for the link to the quiz.
Just catching up with the Vox emails. I took the quiz it is uncanny. I grew up in Texas my first 18 years. Then moved to Rhoad Island for a year, Maryland for 4, Florida for 2 and have been in CA for 28 years. It said I have a Midland accent by 100%. The South was second by just a little. Of course, what convinces me of its accuracy is its opinion that I have a good voice for TV & radio!
Posted by:I'm from New Orleans and it said I'm 100% Philadelphia.
I call our accent "Mississippi meets Brooklyn" and I don't think this test considers our accent at all.
That's why we get so irritated when Hollywood gives us either Southern or Cajun accents. ONLY the HBO show Treme has gotten it right. The ONLY ONE, EVER.
Posted by:I have lived in the South (Memphis and central VA) for 32 of my 34 years. The other 2 years I lived abroad. I have spent approximately 2 days in the Northeast, which is where I am from, according to the quiz results.
Posted by:i mostly got western accent and canadian border states, but actually im indonesian.lol
Posted by:Full bar for southern, no surprise there born in Florida and there all my life.
Posted by:We're going to start with "cot" and "caught." When you say those words do they sound the same or different?
Posted by:I'm actually not from America but I watch American tv series and movies a lot. And it says I have Inland North accent..
Posted by:I did the test and it came back "North Central". "People might mistake me for a Canadian", which I am. Fun test.
Posted by:I was amused that it said I have a Midland accent. Although I have been in Oklahoma for 7 years, I spent most of my life in southwest Louisiana. I will admit to 12 years in the Dallas area.
Posted by:Hi it didn't peg me at all. It said inland north and I'm from New Jersey with time in Colorado and So-cal. We never grew up saying pop and anyone who did was considered strange. Interesting quiz though. Thanks for sharing!!!
Posted by:Interesting test, my results were midland accent, but I have lived in So. Cal. all my life. hummm.....my parents were from Dallas, Texas and Sioux City, Iowa.
Posted by:I got 100% midland north, and that makes sense given I am born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, and currently live in Toledo. This topic has me interested and a bit confused, since I supposedly have the neutral accent cornered and yet I have gotten feedback that I am "too Chicago" which I interpret as being more nasal. I get the feeling my neutral accent is not neutral enough and wonder if I should be making adjustments.
Posted by:Midwestern
Posted by:Southwest but have worked hard for years to sound like I am from "nowhere."
Posted by:Southern - no shocker there.
Posted by:Midland, AKA I don't have one.
Posted by:Lundgreen None. I'm european!
Posted by:According to the quiz: the Midland.
Posted by:Midland! I could have a job in radio! Oh...yeah...done it. I also worked hard to sound like I'm from "nowhere". Great test.
Posted by:I received the Midland as my result. It works because I'm from southern Ohio.
Posted by:I came out 93% inland north (?) Not bad for someone born in Germany, lived in Jersey City and Newark and moved to upstate New York. But I have lived in New Mexico, Indiana near Louisville,
Posted by:Maryland near D.C., Savannah, Ga. and now Central Virginia. It sort of tempers any accent, Ya'll here what Ima a sayin?
I scored an "88" out of "100". Which looks good. But the comments suggested I was in "the lowest common denominator" of American accents. I shook off what some might consider a serious dissing and chose to believe it meant I have no distinguishable regional accent, but sound broadly North American. That should be marketable in VO, right? So forgedaboudit!
Posted by:I dislike my strong Texas accent (89%) on quiz. How can I at least soften it? What habits do I need to develop in order to not sound so there? I have felt looked upon as less intelligent based upon my accent. I would like the opportunity to prove or disprove that assumption solely on capabilities or the lack thereof, please. Makes me just want to pitch a fit! LOL Texan enough for you? Any suggestions out there?
Posted by: