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rcds23
Anyone in the Rockland/Westchester area also get caught in the traffic from the fiery crash on the Tappan Zee Bridge? I did and I was stuck in my car for about 2 and a half hours last night! I could not get home!
Answer
I saw the footage on Eyewitness News early this morning, the fiery crash of the tractor-trailer carrying a load of watermelons, when it collided with 2 cars, caused extensive delays along the New York State Thruway. The bridge was closed for about 10 hours, reopened early this morning at about 4:30 a.m. I sure glad I didn't got caught up in that traffic jam.
I saw the footage on Eyewitness News early this morning, the fiery crash of the tractor-trailer carrying a load of watermelons, when it collided with 2 cars, caused extensive delays along the New York State Thruway. The bridge was closed for about 10 hours, reopened early this morning at about 4:30 a.m. I sure glad I didn't got caught up in that traffic jam.
The different dialects of the US: my take on them as an American. Whats the diff b/w a midwest and cali accent?
watashikoi
I was born in NJ, but have lived all over the US. So i dont have a typical NJ accent, but a pretty standard American accent that you hear on TV.
I love studying accents, and their variations from place to place. Here is my take on certain accents in certain states in the US. Please add to this list:
Even though there is a significant difference between North Jersey and South Jersey (North Jersey ppl sound like New Yorkers, the south sound like Philadelphians), I have noticed some common things in the accent. Like, in the word 'off'; its never pronounced as 'ahhf'. Its pronounced as 'awwf'. The 'o' sounds in New Jersey sound like 'aww'.
The words 'talk' and 'coffee' vary from 'tawk' and 'cawfee' to 'taahhhk' and 'caahhfee' in different parts of NJ, and even NY. In the NY accent, two things sound distinct to me. The sound of the 't' and the dropping of the 'r'. The words like "two" have the same 't' sound like the sound 'th' in the word 'thesis'. The 't' is pronounced with the tongue. And with the dropping of the 'r's, the difference between the Boston/Providence/New England and NY accent is that the New England people replace their 'r's with 'ah's. So 'car' becomes 'caah'. In NY, people drop their 'r's and replace it with 'uh's. So 'car' becomes 'cuuh'. This results in the New England accent sounding a lot more nasal than the NY accent.
In the south, the vowels are VERY VERY different from standard American English. The 'i' becomes 'ah/ai', and stuff like that. In the midwestern accent, 'bag' becomes 'bayyg'; and soda becomes pop.
But what other difference is there between a midwestern accent and a Californian accent? They sound pretty similar except that one difference, and both sound like normal standard American accents to me. And could you focus a bit on the accents up north (Michigan, Wisconsin etc)? Thanks.
Answer
The up north accents are the ones I'm most familiar with.
An accent from anywhere on the West Coast is going to be "flat," where words are pronounced how they should be pronounced in English (though, that's debatable because words are pronounced differently between West Coasters and the British, like "zee-brah" versus "zeh-brah"), and by that I mean they're the easiest to understand. This is why national news channels and the weather channel typically hire people who can speak in that accent. Food Network's Alton Brown is a southern boy born and bred, but he uses a different (West Coast) accent for TV.
In the Northern Midwest, the accents are similar to those found in Canada, with a slightly less noticeable drawl. Instead of "about" being prounounced as "a-boot," you can hear it as "a-boat."
For the vowels:
Many words with A are pronounced as if it was a "EE-UH" like Yeah becoming Yee-uh or Cat becoming Kee-uht. It's not defined like I've written, but more fluid with no additional syllable.
Many times, E becomes a "yE," where the E is more pronounced but has a little lead into it. If you know anything about musical notes, the Y would be akin to a grace note...a non-note that is there for fanciness but doesn't take up any part of the measure. This means that Tell becomes Tyell.
I words become "EEy," the opposite of E. This makes Isn't come out as Iysn't or Igloo become Iygloo.
Many words with an O are pronounced by lowering the voice to say that part of the word, and are lingered on a little longer. Horse sounds like Horse, only it's closer to Hoorse.
Those words with a U are typically pronounced similar to a West Coast U, but with a lingering on the U to make it sound like an "ah." Duck sounds like West Coast "Dock," Luck sounds like a West Coast "Lock."
Unlike parts of the NE and ebonics, there are no consonants that are dropped off.
The up north accents are the ones I'm most familiar with.
An accent from anywhere on the West Coast is going to be "flat," where words are pronounced how they should be pronounced in English (though, that's debatable because words are pronounced differently between West Coasters and the British, like "zee-brah" versus "zeh-brah"), and by that I mean they're the easiest to understand. This is why national news channels and the weather channel typically hire people who can speak in that accent. Food Network's Alton Brown is a southern boy born and bred, but he uses a different (West Coast) accent for TV.
In the Northern Midwest, the accents are similar to those found in Canada, with a slightly less noticeable drawl. Instead of "about" being prounounced as "a-boot," you can hear it as "a-boat."
For the vowels:
Many words with A are pronounced as if it was a "EE-UH" like Yeah becoming Yee-uh or Cat becoming Kee-uht. It's not defined like I've written, but more fluid with no additional syllable.
Many times, E becomes a "yE," where the E is more pronounced but has a little lead into it. If you know anything about musical notes, the Y would be akin to a grace note...a non-note that is there for fanciness but doesn't take up any part of the measure. This means that Tell becomes Tyell.
I words become "EEy," the opposite of E. This makes Isn't come out as Iysn't or Igloo become Iygloo.
Many words with an O are pronounced by lowering the voice to say that part of the word, and are lingered on a little longer. Horse sounds like Horse, only it's closer to Hoorse.
Those words with a U are typically pronounced similar to a West Coast U, but with a lingering on the U to make it sound like an "ah." Duck sounds like West Coast "Dock," Luck sounds like a West Coast "Lock."
Unlike parts of the NE and ebonics, there are no consonants that are dropped off.
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