Mike Polk Jr: What exactly is the "Cleveland accent?"

Do Clevelanders really have an accent? Mike Polk Jr. tackles one of the hottest debates in Northeast Ohio.
Read more here:
www.wkyc.com/article/entertai...

[@boshooda1941]

the beauty of growing up in the 90s was having a Cleveland accent and not knowing what the hell outside people were talking about when they tried to point it out.

[@Mitsubachi2529]

We have the "newscaster accent" 😜

[@lydiamcintosh889]

I live in Florida and so many of my friends call out my 'Ohio accent'🤣

[@Beautybyberto]

Same here. I just told my friend about it and he sent me that video. I live in Fort Lauderdale and it happens a lot lol

[@mollyli7270]

What do they say about it?

[@lydiamcintosh889]

@@mollyli7270 that it's super nasally😅 I actually hear it in my voice every so often now too.

[@rodneywilson4014]

Ohio accent and Cleveland accents are different.

[@lydiamcintosh889]

@@rodneywilson4014 I grew up in the Cleveland area so theyre one in the same to me🤣

[@robertfish4052]

I have found accents to be, unique, inimitable, nomadic, contagious, ironic, alluring and even dangerous. Keep it up you Loveable Clevelanders. Your dialect is important in history.

[@alexanderboulton2123]

Ah yes the dangerous upper Midwest accent

[@scottgray4623]

Admittedly, I haven't owned a functioning TV for almost 15 years, but I was still shocked and amazed to learn that the former lead guitarist of Fleetwood Mac was working in my own hometown.

[@AudiophileTubes]

LOL! I thought the same thing.

[@ribonucleic]

After he got fired from the band, gigs were hard to come by.

[@MrEvan1932]

A classic example of the Cleveland accent is Tony Rizzo. When I hear my dad listen to him, that is the most familiar sounding voice I hear when it comes to my experience growing up in Cleveland and hearing people talk

[@Michael_Scott_Howard]

Rizzo voice is just load-mouth..

[@TravelingMan63]

I was born and raised in Cleveland and have been living in San Francisco for the past 30 years. Often while engaging in conversation with newly met people, I am asked “Are you from the Midwest? I hear an accent”. I am like what accent? Even after not living in Cleveland for 30 years , I still have “Thee” accent

[@brandinojames3607]

I loved living in Cleveland, people wondered why I’d start laughing when they talked. This is why 😂. Chicaahhgo is the exact same.

[@mollyli7270]

Yea I went to Chicago and expected an accent but they sound just like how we sound in Akron. I only heard the accent on the south side of Chicago.

[@erichmutchler3262]

Mike Trivasano, the radio personality, had the perfect Cleveland accent. RIP Mike.

[@kaministquiamahackamack336]

@@mollyli7270 the Chicago accent (stronger on the south side) is heavily influenced by Polish immigrants from the 19th and 20th centuries.

[@sevenstarsofthedipper1047]

Chicago and Cleveland accents are different. Born and raised in Cleveland but have lived in Chicago for more than 40 years, and people here still ask me where I am from.

[@lisanidog8178]

I'm a native Clevelander and many years ago a guy wrote an email to me, and he was from Tennessee who said that Ohioans talk with a Buckeye twang. And then admitted he'd never been here. And then he said we talk through our nose. I didn't know what he meant and I always have a stuffy nose. But listening to a Cleveland accent I thought I was so used to born here, they're right! We do talk funny! And we drop letters. Cleveland would sound like, or how I say it it sounds like Clevelin. The "d" went out to lunch. Mom was from Pennsylvania so she had a little bit of her accent. I have a midwestern accent. What was funniest was someone I knew from Manhattan noticing my accent. We both kidded each other on our accents. I thought everyone used to the word pop for soda and when he said the word I couldn't help but laugh because I say it that way and it sounds funny when you hear it but don't realize that you sound just like it too. Now I feel a little self conscious.

[@zachperkins688]

I think it's funny that people seem to not think they have this accent. I can confirm as someone who moved to Cleveland area from about an hour away, Clevelanders have a very subtle, yet painfully noticeable, Midwestern accent. It's not as dramatic as it is in this video though, and only like a third of Clevelanders actually talk that way - I even think younger people do it more. But it is definitely an accent nonetheless. I bet I could pick out someone in a crowd from Cuyahoga County by the way they talk. They pronounce "not" as "naught", "bag" as "beg", "mom" as "mahm", etc.

[@jessesantiago6575]

I definitely say mom just like mah

[@agent1.618]

westsiders

[@ScreaminEmu]

It’s such a Cleveland thing to say “noh aye dohnt!” when you point out their very noticable accent. Idk why they deny it… be proud of it, it makes you unique. Instead they’d rather be identified with… the freakin’ Browns or whatever.

[@lapdog65]

I want to know why everybody pronounces the word "for" as "fir"

[@DeoGeo]

It’s faster maybe I don’t know lol

[@madide3978]

Easier; fir convenience

[@donbeck8835]

I noticed if it's in the beginning or middle of the sentence I say "fer" but if it's at the end I say "for" like WTF

[@nomdeplume2213]

Idk im from texas and i say For... sometimes FOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRR like in Sandlot 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@keithmccain9925]

Fo

[@dragonflowermusic]

Interesting - I grew up in Euclid (next to Cleveland) and never knew anyone in my neighborhood that sounded like the accent depicted. Everyone I knew pronounced "pop" as "pahp" with an "ah" sound.

[@Mephistel]

Dang. I grew up (for a little) in Euclid, too. Later moved to Garfield Heights. Tiny world. For the record, I think this is super exaggerated, but not entirely inaccurate. I had an older friend who later moved to Parma who sounded like that. His mom too.

[@AkinoSominoCookierz]

I stay in euclid now and i hate it here

[@AkinoSominoCookierz]

@Rusto lol yes they do. I for example speak

[@TheChocolatePrincess]

I grew up in Cleveland Heights and no one in my family speaks the way they're depicting it. But I have noticed that many from Cleveland do!

[@AkinoSominoCookierz]

@@TheChocolatePrincess maybe yo family doesnt wanna sound bl- ok

[@TheAtmnmdws]

It’s that “Lake Effect A” as I call it.

[@puppetwhoisnameless4822]

I left Cleveland in 2016, and only started hearing the accent of my hometown friends (and me) somewhat recently. It's weird now.

[@Poparad]

Hi, Mark! I went down a rabbit hole of regional dialect videos tonight and surprise, surprise, it's Mark Naymik on my screen!

[@pookiebear657]

Being from Amherst, just 30 miles west of Cleveland, nobody says the "h" we always say "Amerst" and everyone from the area says thay way too. I never realized it until I married someone from Dayton and eventually moved there. I would always hear them pronounce the "h" in Amherst and it would drive me crazy.

[@essessessesq]

same as no one in Mentor says "Men-tore." They say "Menner"

[@kennethnashe5461]

I'm born and raised here. Most people absolutely do NOT talk like this

[@Keesha_Hardy]

Yeah this sounds like a Wisconsin accent.

[@blamyflemp7766]

Lies

[@ssjrob4]

yes you're right...people born and raised in a suburb that is lmao.

[@ssjrob4]

every white person I know that grew up in the east cleveland vicinity talks like this. I'm a white dude from east cleveland originally lol.

[@Aztec339]

@@ssjrob4 so sorry

[@poulanthrope]

It weirds me out every time I hear Tom Hamilton say "enning" instead of "inning" - but somehow he doesn't call them the "Endians"

[@cchanc3]

tom hamilton is one of us, but he's not from cleveland

[@donbeck8835]

My step-Mom says "dog" normally but says "eggnahg" instead of eggnog

[@essessessesq]

@@cchanc3 true, but he's been here 30 years now...picked up the accent?

[@CaptPostmod]

The word "accent" itself is a dead giveaway for this accent :D

[@tspan34]

I grew up in Warren and I proved to my friend from Cleveland that he had an accent. He didn't believe me. We were out to eat one day and the waitress started talking and i said oh you are from Cleveland, huh? And she said yes. I could tell by her distinct accent. It is funny you said it was nasal. That is what we would always say when joking with my friend.

[@zachperkins688]

Yes!! I'm from the Mahoning Valley too, and I was so shocked at how Clevelanders have such a subtle, yet painfully noticeable, Midwestern accent. Most people don't think so, but they're just in denial lol

[@godovermoney1124]

Yes. I hear it quite a bit in Boardman Ohio. People from Cleveland have a distinct accent

[@stephi1311]

Lmao I didnt know I had an accent until I moved to Colorado. My husband is constantly laughing at the way I say "cat," "coffee," and "mom." I feel personally attacked.

[@AshtenArmstrong]

Hearing him do it a second time I’m like Yep that’s how I sound

[@kemalmusthafa779]

as a non-native speaker of English, i really like this accent. it's unique and cool.

[@ribonucleic]

Like the British - though to a far lesser extent - our regional accents are encumbered by class associations even when they are not applicable. Note how the narrator doesn’t say “take pride in your accent’; he settles for “don’t be embarrassed by it”. [Disclaimer: I have a moderately thick Long Island accent, which is also considered déclassé.]

[@dawnvalentine74]

Thanks, man.

[@alexanderboulton2123]

That's just the entire upper Midwest my guy

[@grammardad]

Also, internal t’s are often dropped or elided. Dentist-> dennist. Mentor-> Menner.

[@AudiophileTubes]

Back- beeyaaack... washing machine- warshing machine... car- currr... oh yeah, many Clevelanders sound like they've raped the English language, LOL! It's all good though!

[@pookiebear657]

Amherst-> Amerst

[@victoriawheeler6257]

Lol I’m a year late but also with how we say Cleveland especially when we are talking fast. Cleveland> Clevelann

[@Aztec339]

@@victoriawheeler6257 my married name was…+++land. I always got Wwwhhhaaatttt? I’d say, ya’know, …and LAND .. Born in Cleevlin…I couldn’t even understand my future husband’s name.

[@peaceandlove33]

I didn't realize we had one until I moved to another state for awhile. Now I can really notice it...

[@godovermoney1124]

The Cleveland accent is no joke. It's true.

[@jg769]

Cleveland accent test sentence: “I used a coupon to buy pop, mayonnaise and caramels.”

[@talytr]

Eye yoosedah cooopahn ta bahy pahp, mane-aze, an' caramels.

[@balljointfd3s]

Cleveland local test, "What do you call the grass between the sidewalk and the street".

[@lisanidog8178]

Here goes my Cleveland accent: I yoosed a coopon t' buy pop, manayze and carml's. Raised in Shaker a suburb of Clevelin. I bet that would all soun funny duh someone. I'm crackin' me up!

[@Aztec339]

@@balljointfd3s the tree lawn

[@Aztec339]

@@talytr that is dead on…except we say, car’muls. I go nuts hearing CAR-A - MELLS! Gahnite!

[@junlongkwan2316]

After watching this video, I said "I don't *understayand* where the accent is". I heard it immediately after saying "understand" 💀💀

[@d3adfairys17]

I lived I cleveland my whole life and The way they talking sounds kinda forced

[@log7029]

I think so aswell, it’s like that, except just a little toned down.

[@arianmoore5474]

Exactly

[@zachperkins688]

It's very subtle. I can confirm it exists though. I moved to Cleveland from only an hour away and was shocked by how Midwestern they sounded there, specifically younger people in my opinion. But it's WAY more subtle than Wisconsin, Chicago, Michigan, etc

[@crazygemini82]

From Jamestown NY here, right in the southwestern most part of NY state and I definitely read it just like the second way. Gotta love that Great Lakes dialect with our O's & A's 😆

[@rachaelhaumann397]

I just went to North Carolina and they said they could tell by my o’s lol

[@TheRamGuy]

So much truth

[@KingPractice]

nobody from cleveland talks like this

[@mw4mpr]

I've been mistaken as sounding like I'm from Wisconsin from the folks in TN where I live now.

[@mw4mpr]

My brother, who has lived there all his life has a distinct accent. I hear the "ah"s in pop and mom and got.

[@madide3978]

That sounds more like a new york accent. We talk nothing like this

[@AudiophileTubes]

Yes, they do! Don't be in denial. Many here in NE Ohio do in fact talk like this. But, carry on... it's OK.

[@AudiophileTubes]

@@madide3978 You clearly don't know your accents. New York accents are way different than a Cleveland accent.

[@rlucky82]

I hear a lot of "er" instead of "or" around this area. Even by our beloved news casters. Drives me nuts, even though I'm guilty of it myself. 🤷

[@lapdog65]

Why did you go and post a cahhmment like this fer?? :-D

[@eddwert9867]

Lot of people from mentor just say menner

[@janeentumbao8690]

I was born and raised in Cleveland. Lived most of my life in East Cleveland, then moved to Lakewood/Kamms Corner later on. People thought I was from PA. They rarely thought I was a native Clevelander. Now I'm in the Chicagoland area and people just know that I'm not from here!😂

[@TheChocolatePrincess]

Interesting. I was born and raised in Cleveland Heights, schooled in Shaker Heights and I don't have the "nasal" intonation, nor does anyone in my family. In fact, I've always noticed it when some Cleveland ears speak... And I've always thought it sounded odd! Pop has a soft "ah" sound, so does hockey. Aunt... Has an "aw" sound not the hard "a". It drives me insane when "aunt" comes out sounding like "ant" the insect! 😁 I would love to find out if a dialect coach has the same impression of my accent as do I!

[@shesintexas1198]

This is exactly correct, especially the blonde lady --- and she's not exaggerating. At least that accent is what I hear from my relatives up there. My mother grew up in the Cleveland area and her family has been there since the 1800's. I see some comments saying that maybe what is shown here is an East Cleveland accent. Could be. My mother was born in East Cleveland in the 1930's and grew up on East 116th. She got married and my parents eventually ended up in Texas when I was a toddler in the 1960's. My father also grew up in Cleveland although his family lived in a few other states before Ohio. I've been to Cleveland, probably on average once every year or two since I was born. Average stay -- a couple weeks (family vacations to see relatives who talk like this lol). I've also heard them say what I hear as "knafe" for "knife."

[@melissaroscher1080]

Thanks from Kansas city

[@letskpitreal6941]

Ppl tell me I sound country and I’ve been in Cleveland most of my life.

[@ahhwe-any7434]

Yooooo. I wonder scratch. I most likely learned how to talk w/ my hands being that I came from oh 🙄...

[@carlycunningham1]

i only moved down to columbus and people will ask me where i'm from lol

[@shelbyjohnson5623]

I had no idea I had an accent until I moved to Florida, and everyone started to point it out. After living in Florida for a few years, I finally started noticing the accent in all my friends from Ohio

[@23BabyManny]

I feel like I hear this when I talk to suburbanites or mostly the small towns right outside of the suburbs. Been in Cleveland proper since I was 5, I’m 26 now. Grew up on Payne and have lived UTW, down the hill, and on the far West. I feel like this accent doesn’t have anything to do with the actual city of Cleveland. Just greater Cleveland area.

[@danielposlet9519]

I’d say this accent is typical of whites in the metro area, but that still does include those in the city. Got a lot of family in Westpark that speak like this.

[@BIFC216]

@@danielposlet9519 blacks also

[@steveb7429]

I was born and raised just north of Akron and never realized that I had an accent until we moved to California when I was 15. I learned very quickly exactly how much of an accent that I really had. ‘“Anyone want a pahp? “.

[@Maxaldojo]

Priceless! On the east side, we have the Pennsylvania run-your-words-together add-on...

[@VINTAGE1959]

I've never lived in Ohio before, and I never knew Ohio residents had an accent until I came here. My coworker says "Give me the Juice" and "Give me the gas" while he is telling me to turn on the pump house or something. The accent in his voice was very thick and I thought he was from Chicago or something, but no he was born and raised and never lived anywhere else beside Ohio. Kid if sounds like a great lakes Danny Devito type of accent

[@erichmutchler3262]

Say: "Honest to John, I parked my car in the grass on East 53rd and Harland..." Cleveland accent: "AAnesT Ta JAAAhn, I pAARRked my cAAr in the gRAAAss on East fiftytird n HaRRRlant. 😆

[@Aztec339]

The Cleveland nasal talking is very real. I’m the worst/ best example. I’ve actually had a speech therapist point it out me. Speech accents, pronunciation and all a part of many factors. And the horrid nasal Cleveland sound is a part of that. It’s where we place our tongues. The nasal sound comes from a relaxing of the tongue against the back of the roof of the mouth. That restriction causes air to be pushed towards the sinus cavities. And thus the nasal sound. (Talk to voice, speech, singers and actors who go thru trying to get rid of accents).

[@mimijanel4954]

I’m from California but I’ve lived in Cleveland for quite sometime people told me for so long that I had an accent and the biggest thing was I never called soda…pop always soda lol

[@mactheknife7049]

Better sentence: "I bought my car at the shop... it cost twenty thousand dollars."

[@elizabethgraham5463]

And western NY too. Plus i live in Oregon now and no one says pop for soda out here😂

[@joshua2atkins772]

i don’t think i have a cleveland accent but only because i’m from england and i’ve never been to the states

[@ScreaminEmu]

I left Cleveland for New England in 2007. The first time I came home to visit I was like “holy sh___, has it always sounded like that?!” Does everyone have a thick accent? No. Same as not everyone in Boston drawps theh ahs, but it’s absolutely there. I can point out a Clevelander from across the room now, and I don’t even need to hear the actual words. 😂

[@paultuschman1449]

"BAAAAACK to you guys" lol 2:56

[@katiemckee2858]

I believe the phrase you were seeking was “where’s my matte black backpack?”

[@randy1568]

Nailed it

[@Noyojo001]

Wow never knew

[@Viewer-zs6xj]

when you are bald, you tend to not worry about the accent

[@ConstellTea]

what are these captions doe fr

[@sparkleclap]

Moved to a different area of ohio and everyone was telling me I have a cleveland accent

[@ljhunlimitedart]

Umm.... we do not sound like that 🤣. Maybe the Eastside? Certainly not the Westside. 🤣 Also Pop is the best and coolest way to shorten sodapop.

[@AudiophileTubes]

Ohhhh, yes you DO! Many of you do!

[@danielposlet9519]

Lol I think its stronger on the Westside! Maybe you don’t have an ear for it yet, but it’s there. Listen to people like County Executive Armond Budish, Councilman Joe Cimperman, or Michael Symon and you’ll hear it.

[@AudiophileTubes]

@@danielposlet9519 This inflection/accent greatly exists on the East Side as well. The West and East sides are close enough to one another, nationally, such that there is not much of a difference.

[@ljhunlimitedart]

Born and raised Parma. Westsider all my life. No accent from any of us. Maybe a grandma great grandma or two would have a nice accent from the old country but that is about it.

[@juliuscaesart]

@@danielposlet9519 “Milk” can sound like “Melk”

[@AkinoSominoCookierz]

Bruh my mom pointed out i talk like this 😂

[@hermanmunster714]

When you're bald you're not sensitive about many things 😆 When traveling many folks mistake our Cleveland-ese for being from Minnesota.

[@The.M.Hargett]

Born and raised in Cleveland 216! I can say this is true my family from Cambridge Ohio and Conneaut Ohio point out Mom, that, pop, and alot of other words. When they told me we are saying mom wrong I was in shock how different they pronounce the O in mom and the A in that. It does sound more nasaly than I thought when compared to they way they say that and cat.

[@RealSchpeel]

Are we that bad???😂😂😂😂

[@Rockafiregirl]

What about car but carrrr? Or wash but warsh? Or dog but Doug?

[@OnusProbabdi]

Hell yeah! That’s my accent! Remember that many people from ohio specifically from northeastern Ohio are from New England, a lot of people including my family left Massachusetts, Boston and New York due to crime and cost of living.

[@godovermoney1124]

Yes there really is. My friend ray and my brother Jason both have it now

[@jas2qt4u]

Ha! I've been told about how I say "FIRE"! TRUEEE

[@alodebpo]

Clevelanders do not sound like that, at least I don’t. This accent seems more like something you’d hear in Minnesota 😂

[@jameskaleniecki2956]

No. Minnesota is Dontcha know.

[@sis32188]

Yes! Exactly what I was thinking. I'm not denying an accent, cuz every place has their own but most of those, is not all of those aren't Cleveland, IMO

[@AudiophileTubes]

Wrong. It's all in the details. Minnesotans have a different accent or inflection than Ohioans.

[@juliuscaesart]

They sound completely Canadian to me I can tell pretty quick their accent is super heavy. Words with “O” are a big tell.

[@zachperkins688]

Clevelanders have this accent, just a very subtle and toned down version. But the fundamentals of this video are very true. Like people pronounce "bag" as "beg", "on" as "ahn", and "mom" as "mahm"

[@ksw8415]

Absolutely we have an accent. Short “a”s for sure. Kids in Baltic used to make fun of me but they have their own Dutchy thing happening. I have lived in Cincinnati 48 years and have lost most of it but it doesn’t take long for that A thing to pop baaack when I go home to Cleveland.

[@michaeldanielpaisleyhender399]

Is her name really Lindsay Buckingham though? Lol

[@mixedwithpasta]

Wrong, say cat like this: Chosdat

[@henrymagoun3230]

I’m from Toledo and kind of have the accent.

[@jasonfrost6448]

Cleveland accent is Mary Kay Cabot. Talked to her a few months ago at the NFL draft and that is a HARD Cleveland accent.

[@BlueGuise9]

Apparently Richard Brooks is from here. But I can't decode his accent.

[@DeoGeo]

That’s my sister

[@jeffkuhn6003]

Dave J is definitely the Cleveland accent cranked to 11

[@Absolutely_Cece]

I have that accent with upper West Virginia accent sprinkled on top.

[@trishacollymore4397]

There are two types of accents in Cleveland dictated by the separation of the Cuyahoga River.

[@MM-di5zm]

I was born and raised in the “inland north” area not far from Lake Erie, and I have never spoken like that.

[@ljhunlimitedart]

I'm not sure who they think speaks like that. 🤣

[@donaldodell7585]

I have little hints of it

[@Aztec339]

@@ljhunlimitedart ahh duuu (I do). It’s a regional dialect I think. But it’s very true. I’m guilty of it. If guilt is the proper word. My mom was Canadian, my dad born Clevelander. I grew up confused (per my Canadian relatives). My Hungarian immigrant grandfather (came here in 1913), came to Montreal. He learned English and French. Nothing bothered him more than his American born grandkids speaking horrible English……meaning the American English we were from…namely CLEVELAND. Specifically, he always called out our misuse of that dreaded hard A…..GRRAASSS, HHAAAM. He continually tried to teach us not to talk that way. Such fond memories.

[@ljhunlimitedart]

@@Aztec339 in Cleveland we made fun of the Canadian accent. 🤣 Again I grew up in Cleveland my ancestors all Clevelanders. Never spoke like in the video. I have the standard mid-west accent.

[@KrissyBunnieGaming]

Honestly sounds like a cross between Minnesota and Wisconsin

[@RageKing44]

They forgot to say Westside.

[@stickynorth]

I love a regional accent. And yes even Rural Alberta has an accent. It's the hoser/hockey accent you hear in American media about Canada... Think Letterkenney...

[@aprilfoozeler]

I really didn’t hear but probably because I’m from Akron 😂

[@travisclemens3865]

My name is Travis. It has been pronounced Traiiirvis by in Clevelanders. Also Michigan people has a way of fucking it up the same way.

[@FuchsiaRosa]

Ya tellin me im a cat?!

[@medusabass1667]

Oddly enough I grew up in Wadsworth and ended up with a super thick Cleveland accent. Now I live in Wayne county, only 25 minutes from where I grew up, and I've had multiple people ask me if I grew up "around here"because of my accent

[@corpseatl68]

damn bruh i was born as a korean with an ohio accent and i have not noticed it for 15 years what the hell.

[@ahhwe-any7434]

See now I gotta figure out what my a's sound like. Bc if my a's sound like this... Good gah. But now I gotta focus in on southerners a sounds bc I bet I slip back & forth 🤔. I don't have an asian accent. I'm prob just soft spoken.. but pitchy voice. Idk

[@tfh5575]

i’m from columbus i always make fun of how my cleveland friends talk ❤️

[@jaglucky13]

I’m from the west side of cleveland, moved and married a guy from Columbus. I thought he had a subtle southern accent when I met him. Our kids have the same accent. Cbus people definitely have an accent as well. 😂

[@MSCeleb]

The word “Wrestling”. That will expose it.

[@whilebeingjezebel]

I read "poop". Guess where I'm from..

[@thevictoryoverhimself7298]

"Bullshit they're trying to make us sound like we're from boston" (tries saying "Cat") Holy crap he's right. I havent lived in cleveland since like 2005 but its still there.

[@psychodelicjoey6710]

Um. I was born and raised here and have never fucking heard a human speak like this.

[@VworksArt]

I was raised in Cleveland but my parents are black and my dad has a heavy southern accent. I think I came out wrong cuz I don't really sound like this.

[@danielposlet9519]

You didn’t come out wrong, I think racial and ethnic background should have been acknowledged in this segment. I find in the city, black folks tend to speak a variation AAVE and have southern influences (which makes sense given The Great Migration). It’d be interesting to compare the speech of Black Cleveland Residents with other black populations from across the country to see if there are distinct differences within the Cleveland area.

[@ana_boogie7168]

@@danielposlet9519 And this makes perfect sense as to why my family and I have a slight southern drawl when talking. Thank you. I’ve never thought of it that way.

[@Aztec339]

Black ppl speak black Ebonics. It’s really a detriment to any black persons job or career aspirations. I know from working in legal profession. When our HR Dept would hire, they’d do a phone interview first. The head attorney told HR if anyone had a black accent, they should never be interviewed. He was very prejudiced.

[@krimbii]

a little bit like a boston accent dialed back quite a few notches

[@vell1645]

We sound nothing like this in Cleveland 🤨

[@DailyMommaBear]

im from akron

[@eyes0fender]

I was born in cleveland, but moved when I was 5 and I've been told (and my brother has been tols too!) I have such a distinct cleveland accent. Honeslty cleveland is barely a hometown for me I dont remember shit from it 😭

[@fur_elise_xii]

I’m from Cleveland tf do I have a freaking accent?!?!

[@sarahmiller6636]

First, I would argue that we all have accents even standard Midwestern speak (news, phone operators) is an accent. Next, I would argue that the /a/ that you are speaking of is more Minnosota/Wisconsin than Cleveland, or even OH, and that this is a minority in the CLE area.

[@BetrayerSlayerMusic]

Im tickled in me fancy toez in ecstacy. Its CRAAAEEE-ZZEEEE.

[@victoriafobes2247]

How do I have a cleveland accent when I grew up in Ashtabula and never went to cleveland until I was an adult??😂😂

[@PokeBoi_TJ]

I mean if we're being honest all you little cities and little Districts sound like us even people from Lakewood sound like us💯

[@Aztec339]

How do I haave a clevelin aksent wen I gru up in Astabuula an neva went ta Clevlin until I waz an adult. (From a born and bred Clevelenda).