Community Chat

[Oznell]

Have long been aware of a prominent Iowan who has an accent that fascinates me.  It is recognizably Midwestern, with some additional features.

I would say the interesting parts of this accent is the slight bending of some vowels.  For instance,  "fashion"  would be pronounced somewhat close to "fayshion".

And "law"  might sound a little bit like "lah".   Maybe coffee would sound like cahfee too?

i love to listen to this person talk.  I find the accent comforting, reassuring, agreeably rustic and "authentic".  You could imagine salt of the earth characters in a Frank Capra film speaking this way.  Maybe because it shares one or two features with my accent and the accents I heard when I was small, although not the "bent" vowels aspect--  I have a Great Lakes accent with Canadian overtones!

The accent I'm speaking of is not universal in Iowa, I know that.  Does anyone recognize it as belonging to a special corner of the state?

The closest I've ever found to it is the accent of my beloved great aunt, who was from western Kansas.  Her pronunciations were similar, but there was a tiny bit more of a "drawl" to her speech, a slight Western twang.

Don't mind me-- I love analyzing stuff like this and don't really have hope anyone else will be interested in this kind of minutia!

[LuckyPeach]

Oznell, can an Illinoisan from Chicago weigh in?  I love accents, too.  The "cahfee" for coffee is how my DH from Minneapolis pronounces it.  Chicagoans say "caw-fee."  I'm not sure about the "fayshion" for fashion but it *could be* an extreme Chicago accent of the sort that they always make fun of (John Belushi).  My accent is much softer, thank goodness!

Have you ever taken any of those accent quizes online?  They usually pinpoint it pretty well.  Best wishe~Peach

Actual stats:  Chicagoan now in LA; Join Date: May 8, 2008; Post Count: 11,628.

[tucsongal]

I'm from Iowa and I don't really recognize what you're referring to. I did take an extensive online quiz once that focused on pronunciation and word choice. It was so precise that it predicted I either grew up in Omaha or Des Moines(the latter). Yes I say "pop" lol. 

[Oznell]

Of course, LuckyPeach!  All opinions welcome.  Great to have a Chicagoan.  My husband is from Chicago/Wheaton.  I have mentioned before that I love that he says "roof" with the short "oo" sound as in "took". 

Do you say that?  And for "route" instead of rhyming it with "loot",  he rhymes it with "doubt".   Love that.  Other than that, he doesn't have the classic Chicago accent that I think of.  For example, he doesn't pronounces "Bob" as sort of like "Bahb", or "Baab", although i've heard several Chicagoans that do.   Am I describing that right?

[Oznell]

Wow, Tucsongal2, that is so well-pinpointed  How neat.  It's interesting that you don't recogize that accent I described as Iowan.  I will have to find out if the person was perhaps raised somewhere outside of the state...

I am also a "pop" person.

[Desertdi]

Lawrence Welk......born in North Dakota......had a German accent.   

[MariotaMurielle]

@Oznell, this is an interesting topic. I have always found accents fascinating. I'm from Mississippi and have lived most of my life in the south. Mississippi has several regions with distinctly different accents that I couldn't begin to know how to describe.

I think most people find some measure of comfort in a familiar accent, as you mentioned about this person with the Iowa accent. most accents I hear these days on television seem almost neutral to me, like these people are from nowhere in particular. I'm sure they are trained to speak in that manner, to appeal to the masses.

[hckynut]

@Oznell

Our home is less than 5 minutes from the Iowa State Line. I have known and worked with hundreds, maybe more, and their pronunciation of words(you say accent) are pretty much the same as mine.

I understand East Coast accents/some Southern accents. Having traveled most of the states in the Midwest Auto Racing, it doesn't seem to be any distinctive accent in any of them than what I hear here in Nebraska.

Not a Iowa thing to me.

hckynut(john)

[libbyannE]

I have lived in Iowa for much of my adult life and do not recognize the accent that you describe.

[CelticCrafter]

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@Oznell wrote:

Have long been aware of a prominent Iowan who has an accent that fascinates me.  It is recognizably Midwestern, with some additional features.

I would say the interesting parts of this accent is the slight bending of some vowels.  For instance,  "fashion"  would be pronounced somewhat close to "fayshion".

And "law"  might sound a little bit like "lah".   Maybe coffee would sound like cahfee too?

i love to listen to this person talk.  I find the accent comforting, reassuring, agreeably rustic and "authentic".  You could imagine salt of the earth characters in a Frank Capra film speaking this way.  Maybe because it shares one or two features with my accent and the accents I heard when I was small, although not the "bent" vowels aspect--  I have a Great Lakes accent with Canadian overtones!

The accent I'm speaking of is not universal in Iowa, I know that.  Does anyone recognize it as belonging to a special corner of the state?

The closest I've ever found to it is the accent of my beloved great aunt, who was from western Kansas.  Her pronunciations were similar, but there was a tiny bit more of a "drawl" to her speech, a slight Western twang.

Don't mind me-- I love analyzing stuff like this and don't really have hope anyone else will be interested in this kind of minutia!

---

In my little corner of the world we say cawfee!