The 5 Greatest American Accents

Here are five (of the) greatest regional accents in the United States of America according to me.
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[@NoName-OG1]

My neighborhood in Boston had five regional accents alone. You can tell which street people lived on by their accent.

[@1HotLegendLS]

Charlestown?

[@suewallace2845]

Whoa - amazing!

[@Frisbeegrl11]

YES! I experienced the same thing when I lived in Boston. I actually grew up in a suburb outside of Boston and accents also vary by town.

[@privatelyprivate3285]

So true

[@NoName-OG1]

@@1HotLegendLS Yes! Sounds like you know! Old school C-town from the bricks as a kid. And later on Warren. Used walk across the bridge and work a Regina’s in the N.End. (An honorary guido) I left there 30 years ago. Now north of SF, CA. My sister still lives there in Somerville- sounds like a James Cagney movie - every time I go back!

[@heatherdow8638]

I'm from WI and went to Japan with the JET Program. On our first day of training, there I was- surrounded by native speakers of English from around the world- and when I asked someone to hand me my bag, only the woman from MN knew what I was talking about.

[@Odontecete]

Oh ya? 😁 Fellow Wisc"aan"sinite here don'tchaknow.

[@laurawendt8471]

Two of my friends did the JET program for 4 years! They still do some of the get togethers with their cohort in Milwaukee

[@jamielandis4606]

Born in WI here, when was 12 we moved to Hawaii where my dad was from. You can imagine what happens when you ask where the “bubbler” is.

[@chessplayer6632]

For real, people who aren’t from MN or WI will ask me to say bag like it’s some kind of party trick 😂

[@charlottelanvin7095]

did you meet @abroadinjapan ?

[@galahadcf]

Your Appalachian accent is actually great compared to the rest lol. Those of us from Appalachia always appreciate when people show love for the native accent. Hopefully one day the stigma against that accent can go away and young people won't feel the need to lose their accent to be taken seriously in life.

[@seedsoflove7684]

I love it. My mom is from Appalachia (matewan).

[@mystiqblackcat]

I'm from NC and growing up I was self-conscious about my accent. When I went to college I suppressed it, but at some point, I stopped caring what other people think about it and started to lean into it.

[@Ivehadenuff]

You go Appalachia! We feel the same in the Boston area.

[@bguen1234]

The Appalachian accent is actually the most closely related to a working class British accent because of the coal mining industry that pulled immigrants primarily from England, Wales, and Ireland.

[@raptorlewis273]

Same goes for the menagerie of Southern accents.

[@lyrajaded]

I grew up in Minnesota and I have to say you did pretty good!! Also, I want to share this story: I don’t have a very strong accent. Since moving away from MN, most people don’t notice, and if they do, the best guess anyone has is Midwest. Back in 2018, I was working at a cafe in Seattle when a group of Indian women walked in. I asked one lady for order and she asked “Are you from Minnesota?” I was taken aback! I never had someone be so direct, let alone right. Turns out she had a coworker from Minnesota who lives in Delhi and she just happened to be in Seattle on vacation! I still can’t believe the one and only person to ever correctly guess my accent was from half way across the world! 😂

[@valerietaylor9615]

@lyrajafed That was an interesting story. I was born in Minnesota but have lived in California since I was three. I never acquired a California accent, however, and speak with a Minnesota accent to this day. Most Californians are probably unfamiliar with Minnesota accents, because a lot of people here think I’m Canadian.

[@kalithuania]

@@valerietaylor9615my situation is i am from Florida, live in New York, speak some spanish, lived in Virginia for two months, so most are really confused on where im from, the guesses i got was: British Columbia, Miami, Floricua, and Deep South

[@lennybuttz2162]

@@valerietaylor9615 Some Minnesota accents are close to be Canadian. I like the Norwegian Minnesota accent it's just so friendly dontcha know.

[@joshp8535]

I did a similar thing to what that Indian woman in your story did, once. I picked out an Egyptian person's accent because I worked with one. Everyone always asked if they were Middle Eastern, which is kind of correct, but they said nobody ever hit the nail on the head with Egypt.

[@travlcub]

Oh yeah you betchya😂

[@dancingnature]

Father is from Barbados and mother is from North Carolina. I was raised in New York. My southern relatives tease me about my West Indian accent and my West Indian family tease me about my southern accent . I think I sound like a New Yorker. A former boss hired a guy from China who had a thick accent. I was the only one who understood him . My boss took me aside one day and asked me how I was able to understand him so easily . I told him “ Mom is from down south , dad is from the islands and I grew up in a Hispanic neighborhood” ( I’m not Hispanic) “ You think one more accent is gonna bother me!”

[@EpicRealistTV]

Haha, wow! Very versatile.

[@elizabethcreated9263]

Would like to hear it thats a very cool story, history and combo.

[@baileykrobot9474]

If you was raised in New York do the south a favor and don't pretend you're one of us. North Carolina is NOT "down south" SMH. Gtfoh.

[@shawnfrye5987]

Funny

[@alicewilliams9301]

Americans are notoriously bad at understanding people from other countries. I love other accents! We've lived in Guyana (at least three distinct dialects, Indians, coast landers, and Amerindians, and I know these all had regional variations), Hong Kong and Singapore, and visited several other Asian countries. My husband has spent time in Europe, and we've lived in three different areas of the US, including the South. I always enjoy learning to understand the different ways of speaking, and rarely have serious difficulty understanding people from other places. It's a blessing.

[@JKFlipFlop..]

Chuck Yeager is the reason so many pilots affect a slight West Virginia accent when talking to the passengers. His stoic and calming tone in the face of death became iconic.

[@antlerbraum2881]

Lol that’s really funny, there is something comforting about a slightly upper-south twang from a guy with a deep voice who says “folks” a lot.

[@barbarahallowell2613]

Down the holler. I love my accent

[@miask]

It’s true. I haven’t heard a CY sound alike in a while. That voice coming over the intercom was always soothing. 😊

[@gramathy999]

it's also known as the "Houston Center voice" and ATC does it too

[@Fetherko]

Yaeger was a racist. He told the astronauts to shun the first black astronaut who was selected.

[@Kelnx]

This is a great video. He actually avoided all of the best known accents (besides Bostonian) and brought up some accents a lot of people don't know about. Appalachian (what he called Southern WV) is a good one that isn't quite the same as a Southern accent and was heavily influenced by Scots-Irish immigrants. And what he called a "Pittsburgh accent" which actually is common in eastern Ohio, Western PA and the panhandle of WV (heavily influenced by German migrants). I've lived all over the US, and this is really the tip of the iceberg when it comes to accents in this country. I spent my childhood moving from place to place as a military kid and it was very apparent to me how the way people talked changed from place to place. And you had to learn really quickly to adopt the same accent as the kids at school to avoid...problems.

[@clueless_cutie]

I was stupidly pleased when he brought up the Philly accent. A lot of accent content will overlook it or disregard it because of Philly's association with crime and poverty. Which, yeah, Philly's a rough city depending on your location... but it's also a very unique city with a very diverse population and a rich history that contributed to it's accent and phrases. I really wish he would have mentioned the use of "Reese - EEZ" for Reese's Cup candies instead of "Reese - ess." It's sparked a lot of controversy in PA but I think Philly people tend to own the incorrect pronunciation with the most pride.

[@EmmaWhitaker-gf3uc]

Who says Reese-ess? I've never heard that. I grew up in the northern NYC metro area with Reese-ez..@@clueless_cutie

[@clueless_cutie]

@@EmmaWhitaker-gf3uc I've always used both. Reese-ess was the brand but the actual cup we referred to as Reese-eez. Such as: "Reese-ess pieces are tasty but I love Reese-eez cups the most."

[@WereScrib]

@@clueless_cutie Its so weird that's a controversy, here on my side of the rockies I grew up calling it 'Rees-iss' not 'ess' and very shortened, almost 'Rissis'

[@FalbertForester]

Writing from northern Maine: parts of the state were settled by people who's first language was French, and that accent is still frequently heard on the streets. There are parts, however, that were settled by other groups: not far away from my home town is a group of Swedish decendants, and when I visited Minnesota a few years ago, they sounded very similar!

[@mommas2470]

Hello, fellow County dweller!!!

[@cbpd89]

I have a Welsh friend, and I think I blew his mind by demonstrating four or five different southern accents. You actually did pretty well on the accents you selected, so well done!

[@meedwards5]

Every southern state has multiple different accents! My favorite is Virginia Piedmont. So pleasant.

[@ScottKnitter]

@@meedwards5 I like Tidewater...sort of posh and Canadian-ish yet definitely southern. Unique!

[@meedwards5]

@@ScottKnitter some of my favorite people are from the tidewater area😊. Yes, very nice accent!

[@jacksauce]

I’m from Columbia South Carolina and I like to joke about how I don’t really have an accent because everywhere outside of the city has such a recognizable southern twang, but my accent sounds more akin to a stereotypical general American accent

[@antlerbraum2881]

@@meedwards5 I live there, it’s a very charming accent.

[@jamesbungert3155]

I'm a Native MinnesOOOOHtan, currently living in W'scAAAAHnsin. If you get up towards the Upper Peninsula of Michigan via the Door County/Green Bay area, the northernness of their accent is unbelievable. And yes, you nailed *most* of the upper Midwest accent. :)

[@The.Artistic.Squirrel]

My family hails from Oconto/Shawano counties. You wouldn’t understand what folks would say dat accent is so thick DontchaKno

[@atr6930]

I have friends from both places. I love to ask them how they say Hot Dog. Flint Michigan is definitely a different sound than Wisconsin 😂. There’s HAAT DAAGS in Wisconsin or Howt Dowgs in flint, and then my friend from New Jersey kind of says both like HeAAT Dowgs.

[@djangorestraind596]

I live 4 hours from northern Minnesota Canada border and no one talks with an exaggerated accent like that lol

[@jamesbungert3155]

@@atr6930 Friend of mine from Chicago: [fast] HAAAHHT dwAUG.

[@kirstenwood5417]

Or the iron range!! THAT is a thick accent!

[@nxstng7325]

I grew up in the middle of Pa, and went to school in Philly. You nailed the Philly accent and how diverse the accents of Pa are. Go across the river from Philly to South NJ and check out how the accent changes again

[@kimfey9979]

We still say wooder. XD

[@marquisdelafayette1929]

Delco here and yes, my accent was so thick that it became a running joke at work to ask me to say certain words. On tv shows set in Philly though it seems that they just default to a NYC accent and call it a day.

[@gregoryvpencheff3091]

I was born and spent the first 8 years of my life in a southern Pittsburgh suburb, the following ten years in north western Pennsylvania. My first career was as a radio DJ during which, as you can imagine, I had to read a LOT of copy and critically listen my recorded voice. I discovered I had a very difficult time properly enunciating the L sound, especially when it fell in the middle of words. I really struggled with it and have always thought it was a minor speech impediment. However your observations on the "Pittsburgh accent" puts what I've always thought to be a personal problem into a whole new light. Thanks!

[@kirkmorrison6131]

In certain hollars in Appalachia the accent is a mix to different degrees, Scots, Irish, English and a bit of German. They range from a soft to a quicker more nasal accent

[@sststr]

Appalachia isn't just about accents, they have a whole vocabulary that is largely unique to them.

[@samisdata]

Some WV towns were Italian immigrants brought in to mine. Pepperoni rolls are a state food.

[@janetstonerook4552]

I'm originally from WVa but have lived in other states and countries a lot of my adult life. When I moved back to Central WVa upon retirement, people said I sounded "Canadian"! All without any awareness on much part; my accent shifted to something very muddled.

[@kirkmorrison6131]

@@sststr Yep, I know having, grown up there, my grandpas if you asked about somewhere, such as Austinville VA, the reply would be "Well, it is a Fur piece" meaning we could not ride both ways, up hill. Ridge, Valley, Hill. The ridge, coming back was the longest and steepest. A fur piece is a good bit further, (miles unless really bad terrain) than over yonder. Taking you behind the woodshed as a warning, Even if they aren't going to do it and give you a break, the 1st time. I found out behind the house, what a repeat would get me. A lot of settlers went in during the early 1700s and a generation or so moved beyond the mountains. Most families had no more than 3 books, The Bible, Pilgrims Progress, and another book maybe Political, Religious, or Shakespeare or similar. When you are limited in what you can carry after food and water, tools etc. Well you need room for feed for the animals as they are working very hard and need a lot of food to stay healthy. Even today they especially the Old Timers speak, Early Modern English, though TV and radio is slowly changing it. When I was growing up there were Gaelic speakers around, They spoke mostly Scots Gaelic, though a few spoke Erse. To the best of my knowledge the last one died around 1980. I would run into them at gas stations, feed stores and such, but didn't know them much more than to say "Hello to." They spoke enough English to get by, but their Native tongue was Gaelic. The Railroads came in the early 1900s to the middle 1920s going to the coal, zinc, lead and silver mines and some gold. That killed off the Gaelic.

[@davidmaxey3401]

Yes, the city accents differ from the mountain accents. I can fall into either quickly or get right back into standard American at the same rate. Love this kind of video.

[@LovethosePNWVibes]

I’m from the Olympic Peninsula (northwest of Seattle) and when you said “Canadian surfer” I laughed out loud. I’ve never felt quite so seen. The accent itself is very similar to British Columbian, but the words we use are often much less formal. Lots of “dude,” “no worries,” and “rad,” even in a professional setting.

[@CedarPinesFieldGrove]

Can confirm, from Vancouver and call everyone dude.

[@almightycinder]

I've lived in the Seattle eastern suburbs my whole life, and yeah, we talk like the Ninja Turtles. I've had coworkers who called literally everybody "dude". We also use a ton of slang like coulda, gotta, dunno.

[@sbsftw4232]

Dude, eh?

[@kcer4ever]

I live in PeeEh. Some of my friends do use oot and aboot and don't even know it. Canadian Surfer is spot on.

[@sheilaathay2034]

Yesss! I moved to Utah and they were sure I was Canadian. It's so true!

[@3XLDave]

The Upper Midwest accent you describe might fall under the umbrella of the Great Lakes accent (or at least Great Lakes vowel-pronunciation pattern), which you can detect in western New York (but not eastern NY), the northern parts of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois (but not the southern parts), then on west of the Great Lakes into Wisconsin, Minnesota, eastern ND and eastern SD. There is a theory that this pattern of pronunciation began with the construction of the Erie Canal, which involved a multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic population of laborers, who did NOT have a common way of speaking English, but whose children forged this new American English accent and carried it with them throughout the Great Lakes region.

[@shellbellheart_tv]

also not dissimilar to accents in the great lakes region of Canada, especially Windsor and the like

[@Levacque]

Oh good call! Listen, my mom is from Southern Ontario and there is a STRONG accent there. The whole side of the family sounds funny. Imagine mixing a Canadian and (what I now understand to be) a Great Lakes accent. I hear lots of endearing similarities when I see real or exaggerated Midwestern accents on TV. The Erie canal theory makes a lot of sense. Now I understand better why that linguistic pattern would appear on both sides of the Lakes. Very cool! I hope that I could help illuminate another piece of the puzzle!

[@Fetherko]

That vowel shift is now shifting a few vowels in St. Louis, MO.

[@Alynn68]

Love this video... I'm from Pittsburgh... I try to stray away from Pittsburghese, but being a lifetime Yinzer it slips out from time to time...🤣

[@patrickb8134]

As a PA Native, there are far more than 2 accents. My personal favorite is from the NW part of the state where you get something that sounds like an unholy amalgamation of Upper Midwest, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania Dutch. It has the hard 'A' (warsh instead of wash) but also has that 'doncha know' fargo sound to the the 'O'. The best description I ever saw was 'this accent is what happens when a bunch of German immigrants learn English 2nd hand from the Scots Irish'.

[@spacehonky6315]

You crack me up. I like this explanation.

[@betmo]

we in upstate new york have a really nasally spread 'a'...waaaaater...maaary...my mom's family came from northern pa ;)

[@lindaedwards6683]

One of the most ... ummm ... interesting accents I ever heard was a woman who worked for one of our southern branch offices. She was born and raised in China, learned English when her family moved to the southern U.S. OMG, the poor woman had to repeat herself 2 or 3 times just so you could understand 50% of what she said.

[@TaliaSC]

It’s hilarious to me (from Philly) how different one side of PA sounds to the other! I never noticed how ‘Philly/Jersey’ I sounded until I moved to Texas and people all the time ask me where I’m from when I say ‘wooder’ (water) or other particular words. 😂

[@TaliaSC]

Bahahaha I just got to the Philly segment with wooder! 😂😂😂😂

[@carolynwalker7886]

When I was in my 20s, I moved my family to Wyoming. Right after we got there, through our children, I met a lady who had just moved there from the Northeast. Here we are, one with a deep southern (MS) accent and one with a deep northeastern accent (MA). For the first 2 weeks we hung out neither of us knew what the other was saying! We'd just nod, smile, and agree.😂 We eventually caught on but it was hysterical until we did.

[@LindaC616]

When I moved to RI from the Midwest, people often misunderstood me, and vice versa

[@jeme7339]

Thus the reason we should all speak "correctly." :)

[@Ellaloveslofi]

I love this! Regional accents have always been so interesting to me! I was born and raised in southern California but my dad grew up in Pittsburgh and I remember thinking it was so funny that he pronounded "tile" and "towel" exactly the same to my ear! 😃

[@kid14346]

The Upper Midwest accent is actually really interesting because it is going through a vowel shift. That is why our vowels sound strange to other people. From Wikipedia: 'This change pattern is characterized by the longer and lower vowels moving forward and upward, while the shorter vowels move downward and backward.'

[@Fetherko]

I don't know if upper Midwestern is the same as the great lakes accent. It's similar.

[@skydancersolaris6197]

Having always lived in a small town in the Appalachian mountains, I do have an accent at times (notably *not* when doing customer service; I was asked if I was a robot by one man I spoke with on the phone), but even when I'm letting my words come out as terrible as they can, my accent is nothing compared to my father's, and his has lessened significantly over the years, which is terrifying. He used to go one state over to hang out with a friend, and random people who heard him speak would stop and beg, "Say something else!" By far my best story regarding accents though is when my dad, my uncle by marriage, and my uncle's brother were attempting to have a conversation. My uncle was legitimately translating between the two, because while they were both speaking English (technically), my dad's unique-to-this-area brand of Redneckanese very much did not mix with Dominic's heavy French accent, and they got to the point where one of them would say something and look at Larry, who obligingly turned it into something the other one would understand like an unpaid interpreter. Good times.

[@meedwards5]

Now that really says a lot about our melting pot of a nation. I love this story!😊

[@kimfleury]

Appalachia covers a long territory!

[@colleenscott866]

I had friend who had similar experience. She's from the Intermountain West. She was at a party in another part of the country. Someone heard her talking, and said something to the room along the line of oh everybody listen to so-and-so.

[@pahwraith]

This happened to me trying to buy beer around the red river gorge. I have a super thick Chicago accent. The man speaking to me had a super thick Appalachian accent. I couldn’t understand half of what he said and he I suspected couldn’t understand half of whats I said.. It was kinda hilarious. A lot of smile and nodding was had. A super thick chicago accent is like a boston accent with an R. But the vowels are different.

[@myinnermagpie]

I had to laugh when you said “warshinton”. Coming from the Inland Empire (Washington and Idaho) I had to unlearn “warsh”, “squarsh”, “Ta” (to), and “fer” (for) when I moved. Only to later move to the Deep South and hear ta and fer everywhere.

[@mlclinton2000]

I get so much shit for saying “bayg” as a person from Wisconsin I never knew that other people pronounce the word different

[@AtiaElita]

I’m from California but pronounce it the same since my grandma was from Wisconsin and my mom inherited the word from her. My sister hates it lol

[@theresamnsota3925]

How Wisconsinites say Milwaukee also gives you away.

[@Piper_____]

I agree from Washington State - bag, leg, egg, and plague all rhyme for me.

[@SM-oj6sg]

I'm from Boston & I say Bag like that too 👌🏻 rhymes with hag, lag, tag

[@starbrightinfinity3329]

I’m from California but lived in Alabama during college. At first I couldn’t make sense of much, but after a couple of years I got good at hearing the different southern accents. Even here in California, you used to be able to hear the difference between NorCal and SoCal but that was mostly in word choice. But at the end, I generally can tell when people aren’t from California because of nuances in mannerisms, phrasing, and accent. Regional accents are fun to listen to.

[@Boooo_39]

Californian (and those on the American West Coast) accents are very interesting because there aren't as many regional differences compared to the east coast but there are new accents slowly forming. For example there is apparently an emerging West Coast Asian American accent. This is amongst native English speakers of East Asian descent There the Chicano accent as well, which you can hear in many Latinos in LA. Again generally among native English speakers of Mexican and other Latin American descent. The Chicano accent is not confined to LA, but there are apparently regional differences to the Chicano accent in LA as opposed to Texas or Chicago etc Anyway, accents are fascinating!

[@starbrightinfinity3329]

@@Boooo_39 Id agreed but I feel the “Asian accent” is mostly first gen who didn’t have native English speakers for English. So more than an accent I hear incorrect grammar that is a cross over. An example is a lot of East Asian languages don’t make use for articles and plurals, so you hear that cross over to English. For Mexicans, ya there is definitely that chicano-esque accent. I’m mixed so I tend to code switch more than anything. But there are some distinct California ways of speaking that cue me as to whether someone is from here or pretending to be from here.

[@ConeJellos]

Hella.

[@WereScrib]

@@Boooo_39 I really think there are far, far more than people tend to let on, but they keep getting disrupted by influxes of new migrants, mostly from California. I.E. Seattle has a number of sub-accents you can pick out, but it was super disrupted by the huge influx of tech-boom people. Similarly you can find very, very different accents in Oregon along the 101 than you do in Portland, but even in my childhood before Portland became the mass-migrant spot, Portland was real different sounding than my native Bremerton-greater area and different still from Seattle, but right now its harder to pick out.

[@leslierose-akumbu4263]

Have recently subscribed to your channel. I'm American, (born and reared in Ohio) and your humor is cracking me up! I'm laughing out loud and the jokes you are cracking between the commentary. Thanks for the laugh, man..! I'm enjoying these videos!

[@FelixDaemon13]

He did much better with the accents than I was expecting

[@CrAck-MoNey]

Agreed

[@firstnamelastname904]

West Virginia English is sort of "southern" you could say, but it falls more into Appalachian English. We have a rich history and, in my opinion, a unique accent that we all share no matter the state (I'm from Kentucky and Eastern KY natives sound more similar to WVians than folks from Louisville KY). We even still have slang and hints in our accent that is still Irish and Scottish.

[@destalou332]

Appalachian English is derived from Elizabethan English even as far as sentence structure and grammar. Example: Elizabethans made a distinction between the plural phrase “you were” and the singular “you was.” Today many think Appalachian people sound undereducated when the say “you was,” but it’s culturally/historically accurate.

[@lokcachte]

I’m from WV! I don’t have the accent at all but all my family does. It’s fascinating how it is linguistically. West Virginian children are especially cute with the accent.

[@tafaridh]

yeah, my family was all Scottish. Lot's of Celts in the WV hills.

[@RichardDCook]

I'm from central West Virginia, right on the Kanawha river, and to me our accent is a milder version of the "southern" accent. Oddly, I never heard "y'all" growing up, it was "you-all" for the plural and "you" for the singular. To get slightly technical we have the "cot-caught merger" and the "pin-pen merger". Perhaps due to the latter we say "set" for "sit".

[@lorih6514]

I'm from the WV/KY/OH tri-state at the confluence of the Kanawha and Ohio,, but my mom's family is from Mingo County. So I have the River Rat twang, but I have a lot of the idioms from the coal camps and I understand the whole-hog Appalachian lingo.

[@bisonbeemead]

I am from the Upper Midwest and happy to be on your list! We can’t help that whole world says “bag” wrong 😂😝.

[@bestimpersonations]

You did so well with this! You have a good ear! Honored that you chose 2 accents from my home state. I'm from the Pittsburgh side and can tell you that you nailed it! No Ls! 😆 In fact, I think I was in high school or college when I realized that the word "riled" had an L in it. I had always said, "rowd." And you absolutely got the "dahn tahn" thing, too. Flower = flahr. And I agree with you that it sounds like cockney. :)

[@cadian101st]

The reason why states can have such varying accents is that their compositions are semi-arbitrary. Between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia for example is hundreds of miles, a plateau, and a large mountain range

[@Chronorager]

As a southern West Virginian (Wayne County), I have to say you did a great job. It's amazing when I travel I often get asked "Oh we love your accent, where do you come from?" At first when I was a younger man I thought this question was annoying because for me I wasn't the one with the accent, the person talking to me had the accent, but the older I got and more places I have visited I have come to understand that my accent is a beautiful thing and I am proud to tell every one who asks me that question that I am a West "By God" Virginian!

[@LaurieSwenson]

I used to cover sports for the Crookston Times in northwestern Minnesota, and the head coach of the University of Minnesota-Crookston men's basketball team could be convinced to do a demo of all the accents he encountered scouting for players. I had no idea Minnesota had so many different accents. I would think that the smaller the town, the easier it would be to retain the accent too. I knew a woman whose mother lived in a Finnish town and in the 1980s still spoke only Finnish. The things you learn.

[@MrsBrit1]

As a West Virginia native who grew up near Pittsburgh but have more of the southern accent with some Pittsburgheseword influence because daddy grew up in that region (mom grew up down South and daddy's parents were from the same area as mom, so I had a lot more southern accent influence), I'm glad to doubly be on your list. 😂 The British people around me here in the UK usually take delight in my accent, as well, like the older man I spoke to this morning as I held a grounded bumblebee, trying to coax her onto a flower. He asked if it had stung me and I said, "that almost never happens. I've only been stung once in 20 years pickin 'em up." His eyes lit up and he asked if I'm from America (like my accent didn't completely give me away) and I said yes. The usual questions followed. 😂 The point being my accent seems to cause delight in many, for whatever reason. 😂

[@kristinejohanek]

Thanks for noticing our nice, friendly "Wusgonsin" accent. I grew up on the shores of Lake Michigan, taught up North and settled in Central Wisconsin, and there are even differences in all of those accents. I was an English teacher in the Middle East, and I taught all of my students over three years to speak like me. Awesome.

[@ScottKnitter]

We moved from a Milwaukee suburb to a Detroit suburb when I was six, and the Michigan kids pronounced Wisconsin like West Consin or something.

[@danthedesire]

@@ScottKnitter I'm from West Michigan and we definitely pronounced it West Consin in elementary school.

[@emilysmith2965]

There are definitely other aspects of the Wisconsin accent’s vowels that weren’t covered here. Like the tendency to turn short O vowels into short A. Wiscansin. Hackey. And the exchange of short I for short E. Melk.

[@ScottKnitter]

@@emilysmith2965 Let’s go by Auntie’s for a sawda.

[@colbyzur4642]

I love the thought of a bunch of middle eastern children with wiscansin accents. Adds some spice to the world

[@coopyduck6901]

The best accents are definitely Eastern and Southern states. I’m from Georgia and when I hear myself on a recording, i’m like, whoa is that me. I don’t even think of chicagoans having a distinct accent. TN, WVA, MA, NY, GA, AL, KY, LA, MS, TX, MN, WI all have unique accents. Enjoy your channel and your accent.

[@gallifreyantauri]

Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, but now I live in NE TN. One should not dare confuse accents from Middle Tennessee or West Tennessee with NE TN accents or even SE TN accents. They are definitely not the same. A lady I knew who grew up in North Carolina moved to NE TN and the locals immediately knew she was "not from around here" simply by her accent.

[@jen2574]

I can detect the Chicago accent a mile away; even more so since I've lived in the South. One time there was this lady at the pharmacy in front of me. I could tell from hearing her speak that she was from Chicago. As she finished her business and turned around, I said, "So, you're from Chicago?" and she said, "How'd ya know that?" with the Chicago flat "A" and I did not laugh though I was tempted to.

[@BTinSF]

How can you deny a Chicago accent when you hear them rooting for "da Bearssss"?

[@kirkmorrison6131]

Don't forget SC the Low Country (several variations, Pee Dee, Old English District, divided North South and East West, Piedmont, and several Up State accents. You can do the same with every State you mentioned.

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

@@BTinSF Don't for get about da bulls. I hear they're going on to a minimum of a sixteenpete championship.

[@mareencope8421]

Laurence, please don't forget the vast area between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains. Some call it 'fly-over country' but it is filled with a rich collection of cultures and accents.

[@mistyyoung5587]

Love this! I'm from Wisconsin and had a good laugh over what you've noticed about us. On the other hand my husband is originally from West Virginia! And he's got a few words that throw me for a loop. Crayon sounds like crowns. When he says, "I know" it sounds more like, "I knooww." Fixin was another word I learned, "yeah that door needs fixin..." My in laws tho are a hoot and I just love to listen to them talk.

[@maryh4124]

This might be my favorite video so far; I'm pretty sure I laughed so hard I snorted at one point. And your American accents are way better than any British ones I could attempt. Hilarious.

[@TopOfAllWorlds]

I mean its probably a bit easier for him because he lives here now lol

[@Kelly_Grey]

Wisconsinite here, I think you broke down our accent beautifully. My first cross country trip, I was in a McDonalds and asked for a bag at the counter. After he asked me to repeat myself several times, the worker didn't know what I was saying until I started to spell the word b-a-g. We were both equally confused by each other.

[@SteveCarras]

I have a certain drawl where I’ll say baaag and warsh…had been saying Id dee ology but currently almost always eye dee ology for ideology .

[@lmf221]

I have always been really fascinated by the interpretation of non-americans to different regional accents. I watch a lot of non-english speaking media and have begun to notice different cadences in (for example) the Korean language between Seoul and somewhere like Busan. I just find this interesting from a linguistic standpoint because I didn't understand the language at all when I first noticed it, but I could tell by the cadence. I have really wondered since how others might perceive us in similar (or dissimilar) ways.

[@KatieGray1]

I'm starting to get like that with different regional Aussie dialects because I watch so much of their media, but my family can't hear the difference between AU or UK dialects of English which is so funny to me.

[@kill3st]

Lawrence, you are amazing! I love your imitations! Please give us more!

[@cherylflam3250]

Impressed with your southern accent. You also nailed Wisconsin and Philly !!

[@jackjacobson3893]

Yup Wisconsin sounds very German in Madison WI

[@Lorrainecats]

Enjoyed your cover of the Philly accent, as that was my accent through age 10. I moved to Michigan, where my cousin laughed at my speech. Within two weeks my accent was gone. When I went back east. I would roll right back into Philly speech again. Just picked it back up without even trying.

[@LindaC616]

I agree with him. He doesn't have the WI O down yet.

[@auapplemac2441]

@@Lorrainecats Grew up in Philly. Move to the Dallas area some years ago and hoped I'd lose that Philly speak, but no luck. Still sound like I just finish a Philly Steak sandwich at the corner store.

[@calichigal]

YES!! I was going to comment the same thing!!

[@mcenteetc]

Quite a good take on Pittsburghese. I agree that we tend to lose the Ls within words. It's fair to say they come off close to a W sound, with the tongue failing to touch the roof of the mouth and the lips rounding. Also . . . love that you noted the WV "worshington" pronunciation. I've always worshed my clothes in the worshin' machine up here 'round Picksburgh 😊

[@tertommy]

Polish Ł pronounced like a W, I think.

[@NotSoHeartBroken]

It's probably because of the immigrants that settled there originally, Germans. 😊

[@cherylmysliwczyk5716]

I say my name Shril as does my mom and most Pittsburghers.

[@morgaincrochettiger]

​@@NotSoHeartBrokensome German, it was a lot more other Eastern Europeans who came to work in the mills. Hence our regional love affair with pierogies and the like!!

[@The.Artistic.Squirrel]

I love when folks say “Yinz”

[@ruthlambert2405]

I just recently found your channel and so glad I did. I have had so much laughter and learned a lot. Thank you. 👏🏻👏🏻

[@nancyeubanks6357]

Such a fun video! Though with a definite Southern accent, my grandparents from Western North Carolina used many words associated with Old English. They came by it honestly, as their ancestors were from the UK. Your Southern accent was terrific!

[@mrst7831]

When you did the southern accent asking people to subscribe now, I just howled. You really captured it so well. We Canadians don't think we have an accent, but I can hear many eastern & western types, not to mention French Canadian .

[@sweiland75]

I don't know which Canadians you have been talking to but we Canadians speak with many accents.

[@Fern635]

Ever hear a fellow Canadian when you're not expecting one? Like in an American podcast or news program? It's like, "Oh! So that's what we sound like!" 😂

[@marywatkins6798]

Multi-accented American here and I can pick out a Canadian accent when I hear it.

[@jmcg6189]

I think my Canadian relatives (Ontario) have kind of a clipped accent.

[@marywatkins6798]

I hear it in the rounded Os: oooouuuutt.

[@Adanomaly]

As someone who was raised by Oklahoma parents in Illinois, Kentucky, and Ohio, I can promise you that the mix of these four regions have been the subject of extreme confusion in my speech. Its a mix of the terms from Oklahoma, the Chicagoan inability to pronounce vowels correctly, and Ohioan accent which results in maximum midwestern insanity

[@SolidSnke]

I understand that in a way. Irish and German parents living in kentucky and Illinois.

[@adoxartist1258]

Indiana and Ohio parents, West Virginia and Irish grandparents, grew up in Indiana, Georgia, Kentucky, NC, & Virginia.

[@deed5811]

Okinuckio accent? 🤔 Mine would be Inditex or something

[@jmr9735]

Ha! I have a mix also. I was born in Michigan but raised in south Texas, northern and southern MinnesOta, and northern and central Indiana. I'm now back in northern Indiana, and I'm constantly questioning myself on how to pronounce different words because I'm not sure which side of me is going to come out.

[@kevinprzy4539]

people from the south and the midwest have a problem with vowels.

[@Yoshifan75321]

Just came across your channel and subscribed. Love this video, my grandfather was born in Boston and grew up in Rode Island. When I was 2 I apparently sounded just like him since he helped in my learning to talk. He said people always asked if he was from New York. 😄

[@HamRadio2]

Loving this channel.

[@KristenRowenPliske]

I live in Texas, grew up here, but my mom is from Massachusetts. To my ears she does not have a Yankee accent, but apparently other people from Massachusetts recognize it (it’s not that Bostonian accent). To my own years I don’t have much of a Texas accent unless I exaggerate it & then it’s just lazy talk. But my family back in Massachusetts certainly can hear it. I’ve watched quite a few videos about all the different American and English accents and it blows my mind sometimes.

[@Carolmaizy]

I'm a Massachusetts resident. Many people think I should have a classic Boston accent, or sound like someone from the Sopranos, but I don't. It might be because I was an ELA teacher, and worked hard to speak my words clearly when instructing students or reading aloud.

[@CPTDoom]

@@Carolmaizy I grew up in Western MA, around Springfield, and we naturally have no New England accent at all. I think it's because our communities began in the mid 1700s and the major trading route was up & down the Connecticut River to New York's harbor, rather than over land to Boston. I've lived in DC for 30+ years and still get asked how I lost my accent.

[@Carolmaizy]

@@CPTDoom thanks for the response and the insights. I live in S.E. Mass. I love visiting central and western Mass. It always feels like another world when I'm there. Even in our smallish state there's a lot of diversity, which I love.

[@narglefargle]

I'm from Tacoma, and I can verify that "Canadian surfer dude" is an accurate description of our regional accent. But on the other side of the mountains, the accent changes dramatically.

[@2degucitas]

Yeah, well they might as well be in Idaho.

[@privatelyprivate3285]

I’d never noticed as hilariously accurate that is! Lol

[@nerfherder4284]

As a Washingtonian born in the Midwest, I think we lack an accent up here in the PNW, but we throw a bunch of vernacular into everything, which is like totally surfer dude 😂.

[@c3mi979]

I'm also from Tacoma but I'm not sure about this description. I'll have to hear it first. My family came here from Sweden so I'm probably more used to the Upper Midwestern accent. But I had a teacher ask if I was from the South. And my mother's side is mostly Welsh. I'm a mut.

[@ZakhadWOW]

Yep Spokane to Puget Sound is quite the humorous evolution

[@Mamii363]

Loved every second of this!

[@adventuresincampingwithcar8622]

I grew up in Missouri. There are three ways to say the states name. If you live in a city like St. Louis, Kansas City or Jefferson City, its Missouri. I'm from Hannibal in the northeast corner of the state. We pronounce it Mizzurah. And if you're from the Ozarks in the south like the Ozarks, it's Mizzurer. That's a basic example of the three accents in the state.

[@privatelyprivate3285]

10:19 YES!!!! It’s incredibly (and ironically) surprising how the USA’s generic “deep southern” accent, for example, while widely considered its most “distant from classical British”, can actually border Shakespearean English given certain vernaculars - full circle!

[@mrs.h.l.g-b5814]

Not Deep South. It's an Appalachian accent. We're not Southern nor Northern. We are the closest to our UK dialects due to rurality.

[@MisterDeets]

Good choice in specifying the region in the South instead of simply saying "southern". There are many many different dialects within that genre and vast differences in pronunciation can be observed from one county to the next. My dad is from Mount Airy, NC (aka Mayberry) and he has exactly the same dialect as Andy Griffith. while my mom from neighboring Stokes County has a dialect that I would place in Northern Georgia if forced to generalize.

[@theannoyingdahg]

Not to mention the Carolinian accents? And the secret Ocracoke accent that only like 100 people have

[@QuarryCad]

Big fan of your videos. This one is one of the best. You are always a delight to watch!

[@kellibrooks9032]

I always enjoy your videos, and you are so funny. I love when your wife joins you. She is simply lovely

[@arashi6595]

Mitch Jayne, bass player for the bluegrass band, the Dillards, often told a story about his 1-year term teaching a class of student in a one-room schoolhouse in the Ozarks in the 50's. These were mountain folks who were isolated from the 'big city' and therefore had retained their version of English for hundreds of years. Their vocabulary was rooted deep in Old English from Shakespearean days. Most of the early settlers were Scotch Irish, so they had that component in their dialect as well. Jayne ended up writing a book about the many phrases the children used in contrast to what was more widely spoken in the US-phrases like "my daddy is duller than a widow woman's ax." Or instead of using the word 'face' they would use the word 'countenance' After a year, one family moved to town, taking half the students with them. The school board did not feel that so few students were worthy of the cost of a private schoolmaster, so Jayne was let go and the remaining children were sent to the town school. A couple years later, Jayne resisted some of the families and found an astonishing difference in the speech patterns of the children. The kids had been bullied at the town school and so over the course of only a few years, they shed their mountains words, phrases, and accents and adopted the more homogenated language of their town peers. Their parents still retained the old ways, but it was then a matter of shame for the children. Those kids grew up and raised their own kids who no longer shared in the regions dialect, and the grandchildren found it hard to understand what their grandparents were saying. I have seen this in my own family, where the offspring of Mexican or Asian parents, correct their parents constantly and roll their eyes at their parents "wrong" pronunciations. So, I guess we can hold kids responsible for changing the language patterns of our history. Growing up it seemed everyone in my world had a thick Italian or Irish accents-now it's been at least 20 years since I've encountered in my neighborhood. The grandchildren of the adults I once knew speak "perfect" Americanized English.

[@ThePopopotatoes]

We still have a unique accent in the ozarks, but that process has continued. My accent, while distinctive, is so much less strong than my grandparents. I've never had trouble understanding them but I expect if I had been able to interact more with my great grandparents I would have noticed things that I didn't understand or hadn't heard before

[@ThePopopotatoes]

Note that I did not grow up way out in a holler somewhere, I was a town kid. But even the more rural kids in school talked the same as the rest of us as far as I know. I've gotten good at code switching for "sounding smart" so maybe they did too. But I think it's more that the real isolated mountain dialects are almost truly gone.

[@arashi6595]

@@ThePopopotatoes Yes, that is what Mitch Jayne was trying to convey that the more isolated regions got diluted and even the town dialects became more and more standardized.

[@no_peace]

I wish people would stop talking about accents and dialects like "we/they just don't say 'O' properly," or "we're lazy so we drop letters," etc. It's not true or correct. Every dialect of English is correct and proper English

[@no_peace]

​@@ThePopopotatoes my dad's dad was from Picher, Oklahoma. His family had super strong accents and used lots of unique phrases but it's all gone now. Even Picher is basically gone

[@johnm1008]

Being from western Pennsylvania myself, I absolutely love that "Pittsburghese" made the top 5

[@Ivehadenuff]

I enjoyed this take on American accents. Love your sense of humor. Thanks, Lawrence!

[@kimsimmons3911]

I'm from the South and I LOVED this video!!! I love all your videos. You are quite funny, and I always feel so much better after watching. Thank you!!! 😂😂

[@customs1003]

I live in Orlando, FL. A common accent here is New YoRican. It's mostly Spanish structure and verbs with some English nouns and a Bronx accent, so sometimes the last few letters get chopped off and some Spanish words become non-gendered. Also, after a few years in Florida it becomes less staccato. It comes from people who moved from Puerto Rico to New York and found out they don't like snow.

[@missylks1239]

Sounds like the East Coast version of Spanglish!

[@BagOCheetos]

As a life long Rhode Islander, I didn't think I even had a New England type accent until I joined the Army. There are so few Rhode Islanders in the Army relative to other states, our accent is rare. So its nice to see it mentioned here, even if it is after mentioning Boston, which I get mistaken for anywhere I travel to.

[@jagapatto]

I am from the Merrimack Valley in MA. I used to have a platoon leader from R.I. Trust me. You guys have an accent.

[@Cjinglaterra]

Met a guy from RI once. I had to ask where he was from, because it wasn’t quite like other New England accents I’d heard.

[@cakecwkecake7479]

i grew up in bristol county so my accent is like a mix of massachusetts and rhode island, its so weird lol

[@hopsiepike]

Peter Griffin would like a word.

[@swamp-yankee]

@@cakecwkecake7479Massachusetts has a lot of accents. You start getting out to the western hill towns and we have a nice lilt. Just across the border to VT or NH the rural folk have a similar way of speaking but with different inflections and local words even just barely across state lines. Like poplar becomes pop-el.

[@SD-ol9os]

Great job Lawrence!

[@patrickholland6848]

I would have to say that this is the best video you have done yet. Fortunately you didn't try doing my accent...yet!

[@davidlai1996]

As an international student who delights in learning about American culture, I find your experiences interesting and highly relatable. Take care!

[@joeyj8675]

Damn Lawrence, you have a mighty nice southern accent there and it fits you.

[@cyndichishamwiles4213]

I laughed so hard at your impressions. 😂

[@JessJoanne]

Haha! You are hilarious. Gosh, I love when I get to watch videos I am really interested in, and I find people who make them even better! New subscriber.

[@ginger1549]

I lived in Pittsburgh from birth to retirement. downtown is pronounced dahn tath. Yinzer is a rather famous Pitts. accent. Yinz has the same meaning as all of you. I know many people who aren't Pittsburgers don't find our accent very attractive but I am proud of my heritage. My ancestors have been in Pittsburgh since before the revolutionary war. Our church records can actually trace them since 1752. When people talk about their family being from Germany, Italy, Ireland etc I proudly say I'm an American - my ancestors fought in the revolutionary war and helped start this country.

[@BritIronRebel]

I can go anywhere in the world and as soon as I open my mouth, they say "You're from Pittsburgh!" Yunz guyz goin' dahn da Point tahnight, n'at?

[@marycrawford3891]

One of my favorite things I've learned in being in a relationship with a Pennsylvanian is that there are different grammar structures alongside our accent differences. As a Californian, it would never occur to me to drop the word "with" in a sentence like "when I'm done with my homework, I'll go for a walk", whereas he routinely says things like "I'm done the dishes". Apparently this is indeed a thing in parts of the US and Canada, but I had never heard anyone say that before meeting him. When I visit Pennsylvania, I now notice the little grammar differences as well as the accent changes.

[@glitterspray]

Additionally, the infinitive “to be” is often considered superfluous. “The lawn needs mowed.” “The car needs washed.” Accents are fascinating - and there’s definitely a lot more to it all. When I moved to Virginia from Minnesota, I was shamed into switching from “pop” to “soda.” Oh, the oppression I had to endure! 😭

[@SandyDiVa]

I live in Philly…id say im done DOING the dishes. And i have NEVER heard anyone say the sentences in the comment above mine. They must be from a different part of Pennsylvania? I’m not surprised though, PA is a huge state for the mid-atlantic/northeast region. My stepson goes to Penn State and its a 4 hour+ one way trip from Philly. They have a completely different accent just 4 short hours away, but even more fascinating, i grew up 10 min away from my home in Philly…in S. Jersey. The accent is completely different 10 min away! My mom is constantly saying i sound like I’m from philly now 😂

[@byMidnyt]

@@glitterspray OH to CA - Took me years to switch to soda. Now I'm back in OH and getting funny looks, but I'm too old to switch back to pop.

[@katiem.3109]

Another example of this: Minnesotans/upper midwesterners often drop the pronoun after 'with' to turn phrases like 'come with me', 'bring it with you', to 'come with', 'bring it with'.

[@katiem.3109]

@@glitterspray That's odd, as most Minnesotans say Pop instead of soda.

[@praxedes2]

In area, Pennsylvania is ~3x the size of The Netherlands. It should come as no surprise that we have multiple accents; at least we are speaking the same language. There's also several regional accents between Pittsburgh & Philadelphia. Where I grew up the accent where I lived varied quite noticeably from the accent in the northern part of our county. The number of accents in the USA is essentially countless.

[@rickvandusen9271]

Yes. I was going to comment on the third (I think) main dialect of PA, the one in the middle. What I’ve heard from Lancaster County to Chambersburg to Williamsport has two features I’ve noticed: 1. In contrast to NYC and Philly, where “leave” is used where either “leave” or “let” fits, in Central, “let” is used for both. 2. Instead of rising at the end, question rise on the penultimate and then drop.

[@kenr4709]

Hi, loved this! You did pretty good with a different accents, every state has a little different dialect, even within the state they have different dialects, depending on the area. 12:38

[@paulobrien9572]

Being a born and raised Bostonian the best not exaggerated example of a true Boston accent that I can recommend is to listen to either Matt Damon or Ben Affleck in the movie Good Will Hunting both being from Boston. Mark Wahlberg in The Departed who's accent is more what locals would call a Southie accent has a more Irish influence. Nothing is funnier than seeing an actor not from Boston attempting and butchering our accent

[@privatelyprivate3285]

What are your thoughts on Seth Meyers’ baaaahston accent???

[@doncarlton4858]

British actors say the Boston/New England accent is the hardest for them to do. Very odd considering it originated in the East Anglia region of England.

[@Devki24]

Benedict Cumberbatch in Black Mass was such an embarrassing attempt at a Boston accent.

[@singlesideman]

​@@privatelyprivate3285 it's not "Baaaahston", and never was. I don't get why people say this all the time - it isn't even close. It's "BAW-stin", "Bawb", "Gawn, baby, gawn", etc.

[@bigscarysteve]

@@singlesideman I have a friend named Carl who lived in Boston for a few years. He said that everyone there sounded like crows when they said his name.

[@idratherbe_inspace5430]

My father is from Minnesota and my mother grew up in both ohio and Boston. My mom is *very* particular about how she says things, on top of that I listened to a lot of books on tape read by British folks. As you can imagine my personal accent is strange, upper midwest meets "proper" English. I've had people ask which country I'm from (sometimes I say "the old country" and they nod knowingly like they know what I mean 😂). That being said I'd never heard the way some Midwesterners say bag, milk, and sorry until I met my SO. Every time he and his family say "bayge" "malk", and "sooorry" I'm caugh of guard and laugh. I have a fondness for Ohio and Minnesotan accents, but West Virginian and Kentucky accents are beautiful and soothing

[@marclederman6206]

Great stuff, Laurence! Keep it coming!

[@garybrown1404]

Deee-LITEFUL!!! Thanks ever-so-much for filling my Anglophile ears with the dulcet tones of your humorous prattle!

[@suegeorge998]

I watch a KZbin channel about a dog. This lady who's the owner is in england. I'm sure that she didn't realize it but she pronounced the words bowl and ball exactly the same way. She wanted the dog to bring his ball, and he brought the bowl. Seriously exactly the same. She was taken aback and repeated to bring the ball. I found it kinda cute that the dog heard no difference, nor did I, but the lady heard a significant difference.

[@Captain_Bad_Bill]

Years ago, like in the last millennium, the wife and I spent an extended weekend in Springfield. Ill visiting the Lincoln sites. I noticed as we interacted with the locals, some had a southern accent while others didn't. When questioned if they were indeed locals, they all said yes. So, it would appear that the Mason Dixon line runs through the middle of Springfield Illinois.

[@jen2574]

Springfield is a bit of an oddity, being the Capital of Illinois. Most of Central and Southern Illinois has a very strong southern accent, and the people who live in those little towns have been there a long time. Springfield has a lot more newcomers, due to politics, and therefore the accent was watered down.

[@Chris-ut6eq]

I also like saying "...in the last millennium..." Just casually drop it in somewhere in a statement about the long long ago. Keeps people on their toes. Well at least keeps them thinking I'm odd....

[@Zuxiasunicorn]

I'm 20 miles south of Wisconsin. I stopped in Morris, they had the drawl that close. Was a bit surprised.

[@renebrock4147]

The original Mason-Dixon line actually ran through Indianapolis.

[@bigscarysteve]

The Mason-Dixon line is the southern border of Pennsylvania. It's nowhere near Illinois.

[@hjalnelson9579]

Much love and appreciation for seeing Philly accent on your jawn!

[@scottchampion]

Best impressions. Please do them more.

[@amberlaroque]

I lived in the Pacific Northwest most of my life and when I moved to Kentucky, everyone always said to me that they loved my accent. I was thinking I don’t have a accent. Then I started picking up a Western Kentucky accent then I realized I did have a accent. Your right though us PNWers do kinda sound like special southwestern Canadians.

[@jamesbrisendine]

As a PNW'er, i agree we sound like SW Canadians, cant quite hear the surfer thing... except from the surfers and potheads. A lot of people from my area have almost a Minn accent because of all the Scandinavians that moved here in the late 19th-early 20rh century. Heck, i work with someone who's born and bred here in Washington that sounds like he was raised on a Texas cattle ranch.

[@briantorgerson7241]

I live just north of Seattle. We got to talking with a Kiwi when we were in NZ who thought we were Canadian because we sounded like her daughter-in-law from Vancouver.

[@thattinawoman5119]

I was raised by southern parents (Alabama) in the Chicago area...I have more Chicago than southern accent, but switch depending on if I'm talking to my family or other people. I was working in Brussels for a few months and my co-workers there said I had one of the hardest American accents to follow because I switched/blended the two. They also assumed everyone talked like a New Yorker or someone from the movie Deliverance.

[@jodirauth8847]

😂

[@calichigal]

I'm a southern girl who spent 8 of my growing up years in eastern PA (suburb of Philly). I regularly mix up things, without even thinking about it. LOL!

[@ZakhadWOW]

My mother was a Mobile debutante born and raised, and watching her accent evolve as she moved to Utah to be a Mormon, then to Seattle, then to Alaska Panhandle, then to rural Colorado Rockies, to Texas Panhandle to Far Northern MInnesota.. By the time she died a year agao it was a truly crazy thing to hear

[@oopsieboop]

As someone from Indiana who works remotely with people from Central Europe and UK, this channel really helps me understand the other perspective. It's always good to know how you sound to other people and how tones, accents, and language can be perceived differently despite close relations. Thanks!

[@angeladial8325]

I love your content!

[@SabrinaPhynn]

Grew up north of Boston, lived in RI for years then raised my kids outside of Philadelphia. Now I'm back to living in my childhood home now. I have an ear that picks up accents, so few people ever guess where I'm from!!! 😂 I love local accents

[@tomhalla426]

The great example of playing with accents/speech patterns was Moon Unit Zappa in Valley Girl. She was doing a parody of some of her friends at school for her father, Frank Zappa, who did a record around it.

[@samanthab1923]

What’s funny about that Valley Girl speak is when that record was a hit, I had friends say my brothers sounded like that for years & we lived in NJ!

[@clg763]

Yeah, you just gotta travel more, that's definitely apparent, coming as someone who grew up in the chicago area, has a lot of family in the Pennsylvania and Boston area and married into folks who live in southern West Virginia. There are so many amazing accents you haven't discovered, love the content, thanks for doing your channel!

[@vancouvervixen4253]

This was fun! I’ll tell you what’s entertaining, is when my Swedish American family gets together for reunions, everybody comes in from all over and the Minnesota & Wisconsin accents blend with the NY state and Pennsylvania and Ohio and New England and Appalachian accents (yeah, we ended up all over haha)… and it even influences our Swedish! We always end up cracking up about the way some of us pronounce things differently. ❤ Ps LOVE your katt !! ❤❤❤

[@Serenity_Dee]

My dad, born and raised in rural Arkansas, had a permanent and pronounced corresponding accent… or so I was told by other people, because I couldn't hear any of his accent markers, since I'd been hearing him talk since I was a baby and to me it was just his voice. That is, with one exception: he pronounced "wash" as "warsh," and I was always able to hear it. I don't know why it was the only accent marker I could hear from him.

[@CometdownCat]

Interesting, whereabouts in Arkansas? Don’t need a town or anything but just a general idea or n/s/e/w direction…I’d wager below Little Rock and either central or westerly areas…to really throw a dart blindfolded I’ll say somewhere between Murfreesboro and Bradley….

[@nannettefreeman7331]

My grandfather was born & raised in rural SW Arkansas (Sparkman) & he had a few markers. Like you're saying, he always "worshed" his hands before dinner. Cooking said dinner was "worman's" work, which leads me to believe the added "r" sound was connected to the "w." Wait. Now that I think about it, there were a lot of "r's" where "r's" were not: That "feller" who lives over yonder in the "holler" with the "yeller" hunt'n "dawoog" offered me a chaw of "tuhbacka" (you thought I was gonna say "tobaccer") but "ah toe-dim 'nahthankya, ah doen dip.' Mah deddy toad us kids that chewn tuhbacka wurnt good fur nuth'n but cyurrin wurms. I think that feller's a bit titched in the head anyhow. No tell'n what he's fix'nta do." I miss my grandpa 😔

[@Serenity_Dee]

@@CometdownCat Northwest of Little Rock, as far as I can remember.

[@Dervraka]

As someone who was born and raised in southern West Virginia (Beckley area), your accent was pretty much spot on. You could use it the next time you're visiting your in-laws and everybody would just assume you were a local.

[@laineydavis00]

I worked near Beckley for a summer and I love that accent. Really reminiscent of the GA and NC mountain accents that I'm more familiar with but with its own unique differences

[@deaj8450]

Man I love that whole area, southern/central WV is awesome.

[@kristinagoforth2224]

I grew up in Fayetteville, WV... loved your accent!! I'm in East Texas now, where the accent is pretty close to my WV accent... I was quite surprised. 😊

[@mrs.h.l.g-b5814]

Boone county here! Now I'm a Buckeye but my dad was a coal miner at Westmoreland.

[@mrs.h.l.g-b5814]

​​@@kristinagoforth2224 I used to live on Ames Heights Rd and Huse St. Kicked outta Charlie's years ago. Lol.

[@donnagoring250]

This video ought to be shown in all theater, english, and American history courses. It is enlightening into the migration of people from East to West, coast. It reveals the richness of a country. Thankyou for this video!

[@johncarlos2196]

Hi Lawrence: recent fan! Love the channel - as a fan of the Atlantic divide in Spanish, your series on English is very entertaining. Video idea: difference between "high street/main street" clothes/fashion etc. Even hairstyles - I could call your "hairdo" in this video quintessentially British - think Boris Johnson (sorry!). I've never seen an American with the "British" ruffled boyhood hairdo

[@AllenUry]

I love the study of American accents and take great joy in hearing you stumble over our various regional dialects. I am originally from the Chicago area, am married to a lady from Milwaukee (or "M'Waukee" as the natives pronounce it) and now live in Orange County, California. When I (infrequently) return to visit the Windy City, I can DEFINITELY hear an accent that, as a youth, I was completely oblivious to. Accents are fun!

[@CortexNewsService]

I went the other way. Originally from Southern Indiana, which actually has a more southern accent than the rest of the state. Didn't really hear it until I'd lived in Chicago for a while.

[@daledeloriea6263]

A true Chi-CAW-goan can easily tell a North Sider from a South Sider simply by looking at their baseball caps.

[@PerlStalker]

I had a wedding reception in South Carolina but some of the guests were from New England. The combination of the slow southern drawl and the fast New England was a bit like aural whiplash. 🤣

[@jeanetteshawredden5643]

Was in Atlanta GA for job training, a VERY heavy southern drawl. And I was born & raised in Texas 70 years!

[@amyc6667]

Looking forward to your next video on Western American English, esp as someone who was born and raised in Washington state to a family that has lived here for a few generations. There’s definitely more variation in accents out here than people assume, my bf comes from central Oregon and says I say certain words funny - like pillow, milk, egg, bag, etc.

[@ashjankins960]

I was born & raised in Middle Tennessee. It’s strange that if you go anywhere else in the south, they’re confused about your accent. It’s not real southern but foreigners & yankees still hear the southern in us. My husband is from Mississippi & I love his super southern delta accent. He says “ol” one syllable for the word “oil”. ❤

[@mystica-subs]

My friend from Georgia says ol and we were talking about it today even going back and forth between ol and oyl heh

[@jacqulyndavis.7039]

my Dad was texan and he (and relatives) also said 'ol' for oil.

[@Talamasca124]

New Orleans area ... it's 'earl'.

[@mcmire]

It's interesting to hear you talk about which language features stick out to your ears. You must have listened well because your Southern accent was pretty convincing!

[@danhutson3460]

I was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1955, but my family moved to Clayton County in 1964. I have been living in Senoia, GA since 1988. My father was born in Lawrenceville, GA & my mother in Jefferson, GA. Used to when I would talk, some people & most would tell me I sounded so country. I'd tell them, that they should hear my extended family converse & then they would have something to talk about. Love your videos, Lawrence & thanks for sharing.

[@cameroneverhart6443]

Very impressed by your WV accent! Spot on