What American Accent Do You Have?

I just took an online quiz which tries to find what American accent I speak with. The results are below. Considering I was raised in New York City and have lived in Connecticut 23 years, the results aren’t too shabby!

I’m curious if that was a lucky stab, or real. If you take the test, will you please leave a comment telling me how you did?

What American accent do you have? (Best version so far)

Northeastern

Most people don’t know it but this is actually what dictionaries are based on. If you don’t believe me, pick up any American dictionary and look up “source” and “sauce” and you’ll see they are written with the same vowel pronunciation.

Personality Test Results

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23 thoughts on “What American Accent Do You Have?”

  1. I’ve only been up here in the “North Country” for a year and it says I have an accent from up here ??????? I don’t think so.

  2. Always lived in California, it had me NORTHERN…

    Maybe we’re a hodgepodge of everything out here, eh?

    We don’t have accents in the West, only people from the South or East have them!

    Jim

  3. My results:

    Northern

    You have a Northern accent. That could either be the Chicago/Detroit/Cleveland/Buffalo accent (easily recognizable) or the Western New England accent that news networks go for.

    The second half is on the money, as I have lived in the lower Naugatuck Valley my whole life. My wife, a Chicago native, has always commented on the NE accent…strange that this accent quiz lumps the two regions together.

  4. Northern

    You have a Northern accent. That could either be the Chicago/Detroit/Cleveland/Buffalo accent (easily recognizable) or the Western New England accent that news networks go for.

    Pretty accurate as I’ve lived in Western CT for my entire life!

  5. My result: Northern

    (I won’t restate what that means as others have already done so.)

    The result makes sense to me, having 2 parents born in Illinois, and, with the exception of 6 years in France, living within broadcast range of NYC television stations all my life. I’ve always thought of my accent as “neutral American.”

    I took a quiz like this once before with similar results, but the map feature they’ve got with this one really makes the result even more comprehensible.

    Thanks for sharing this, Geoff!

  6. Northern

    You have a Northern accent. ……or the Western New England accent that news networks go for.

    Life long CT shoreline. Got a job for me at WTNH? “Film at 11…….”

  7. My accent: Northeastern.

    Having grown up about 30 miles south of Albany, NY, I’d say the test is pretty accurate.

  8. OK, So mine was totally OFF! Born and raised in Connecticut, but they’ve pegged me from the strip Ohio and to the west and south of Chicago! Geez, do I talk funny? LOL

    Midland

    (“Midland” is not necessarily the same thing as “Midwest”) The default, lowest-common-denominator American accent that newscasters try to imitate. Since it’s a neutral accent, just because you have a Midland accent doesn’t mean you’re from the Midland.

  9. Northern…

    Which is correct …born, raised, and lived most of my life within 8 miles of Saint Mary’s Hospital, 56 Franklin St., Waterbury, CT. (I don’t get out much.)

  10. I was also pegged as a “Northern” accent, which is accurate for me, having lived on the Connecticut shoreline all my life.

  11. I have lived in CT (Hartford county) for my entire life, so I guess that is considered Western New England.

    “You have a Northern accent. That could either be the Chicago/Detroit/Cleveland/Buffalo accent (easily recognizable) or the Western New England accent that news networks go for.” (youthink.com)

  12. “Northern”–(western NE, Buffalo, Chicago etc) 100% correct.

    Lived In Danbury CT my whole life; have lots of relatives in Buffalo (but they have Long Island accents–after living in Patchogue NY)!! This was fun…Evi

  13. As a CT Native, I guess Northern was OK… It also says “the Western New England accent that news networks go for.”

    Does this mean that I qualify for a job at WTNH?

  14. I got “Midland”. Which I guess makes sense, since I was born and raised in Maine and have lived in CT since 1988 and yet have somehow managed to avoid picking up much of an accent at all.

    I do, however, take exception to the glaring omission in this test: there is nothing to indicate how the “r” sound is pronounced. And that, my friends, is how you determine whether or not someone has a Northeastern accent. (I was 6 years old before I figured out that “hospital” was NOT in fact spelled h-o-r-s-e-p-i-t-a-l!)

  15. Seems like most everyone, me included, is getting labeled Northern.

    I have lived in CT all my life, but for a temporary stint in FL and Rochester, NY for business.

    I do agree however, I definitely say “coffee” like a New Yorker!

  16. Mississippian = Southern = Correct results. However, I must argue with the statement “People used to hate Southern accents but now everyone wants one.” I have always mostly hated it (well, I would choose this one if my only other choices were Boston or Bronx accents). But I take a little consolation in being often told that I “don’t sound nearly as bad” as many Southerners during my wide travels.

    As a young child, I would point out to friends that “we don’t sound like the people on TV”—and would be stunned that some professed to not have noticed. I was always acutely aware of it, and I’m sure it helped that I had West coast and mid-western relatives. Despite the fact that many still sound painfully bad, I have noticed a shift during the past couple of decades–collectively many of us have improved a bit.

  17. My result was: Midland. This makes sense, considering I’ve lived all over the country over the course of my life, and served time in the military which further diversified my linguisitc exposure. I have to admit, though, when I get tired I fall into a bit of a Southern drawl – thanks to being raised by parents from North and South Carolina. And if I spend too much time with the in-laws, the Long Island influence slips in from time to time. Put the two together, and you wonder what foreign country I came from! Ha!

  18. I ended up with Western. I grew up speaking Southern Appalachian English and Cherokee side by side, which accounts for some of the tones. I also worked as a broadcaster for ten years, which basically rid my sound of the Cherokee sing-song tones (it’s tonal like Chinese is.)

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