Friday, January 19, 2007

I have a good voice for TV and radio.

Well, at least that part is true.

What American accent do you have?
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.

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


This is absolutely hysterical, because people are always shocked when I tell them I'm from Boston. "But you don't have a Boston accent!" (when I moved back home, a few New Yorkers said they could hear the change in my speech, but I think they were full of it.) Honestly, I can't even fake it; I've tried. And there are a few different Boston accents anyway, from Brahmin to Townie. I don't have either of those, but I do speak like everyone from my hometown, namely Upper Middle Class Suburban, with a touch of Snob.

Funny thing is, I talked this way even before I moved to said suburb when I was 10. When I was younger, in a Townie-talking area, I just didn't sound like the other kids. And in high school, I'd go to parties with my South Shore godsister, and her friends would ask where I was from, not able to believe that I was from the nearby North Shore. (not to say that how I talk is a North Shore accent; the next town over sounds Townie.)

I did a study on this for a college Linguistics course. My conclusion? Like everything else in Boston, how you speak is a factor of socioeconomic status, not geography.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

You're right on the socio economic angle, I think. I'm midlands as well and you know where I grew up.

Ian