A post on Facebook the other night led me to this random quiz: What American Accent Do You Have? Since we’ve always been fans of completely non-scientific online quizzes, why not take it for a spin, right? It was especially interesting for us to take since we get the occasional video comments like “John sounds soooo Southern” or “Sherry talks like Mila Kunis.” Not that Mila Kunis is an accent…
We both think we have pretty neutral American accents – although I’m quick to point out that the Jersey in Sherry likes to call the top of your face the “far-head.” And she gives me a hard time for not distinguishing between the pronunciation of “pin” and “pen.” So maybe this quiz would settle once and for all exactly how middle of the road our accents are (or aren’t).
I felt very validated by my result. Note the part that says “you don’t have an accent.” And the part that says “you have a good voice for TV and radio” (better than being told you have a face for radio, amiright?). I sat back as Sherry took the quiz and answered most questions the same way I did, expecting to see the same evaluation. That’s when this sprung up:
“YOU DEFINITELY HAVE A BOSTON ACCENT”??!?
We both cry laughed. Sherry has been pinned as New Jersey, New York, and even as South Carolina or Canada, but never Boston. But before I got to drop too many “paaaahk the cah in the Harvaahd yaaahd” jokes on her, we both noticed that she actually got an equal 83% ranking for both a Boston and Midland accent. So maybe she is still pretty neutral after all… just in a Boston-y kind of way. What do you Boston folks who met us at the signing think? Is there a little Boston secretly hiding in Sherry? Or is this quiz just way off?
Here’s the link again if you want to take it yourself. If you already did, what was your result? Was it spot on or not even close? Was there any question that you had a particularly hard time answering? I think Sherry repeated Mary, marry, and merry about 20 times before deciding that she said them all a little differently.
Samantha Cobos says
Darn I just got 100% North Central, which equals “Minnesota Accent” – I thought I didn’t have an accent but at least I don’t go around saying “Don’t ya know” and “ya betcha” :)
Jamie says
This is a deeply flawed quiz, as it seems to think I am also from Boston. Northern California 100% friends.
Brenda says
When I took it, I got North Central. Born and raised in Wisconsin, lived in Minnesota for nine years now, five of those full time (post-college). Most of the time I don’t think I sound like I have an accent, but now and then I catch myself drawing out my Os like only a MinnesOOOOtan can! A few summers ago I was in California for a friend’s wedding, and they teased me about my accent, which only made it come out more strongly because I was self-conscious.
Ang says
I’ve taken this test twice and gotten 100% and 87% Philadelphia… apparently my accent fluctuates. ;)
I think the 87% is more accurate! Born and raised in South Jersey, with the slightest Central PA muddle from going to college there. I don’t think I sound exactly like the typical Philly accent.
Emily R. says
I got The Inland North. I grew up calling carbonated drinks “pop,” though I’ve managed to break myself of that habit and say “soda” … only to find myself living in the land where everything is “Coke”!
Allisen says
It nailed me! Inland North.
“You may think you speak “Standard English straight out of the dictionary” but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like “Are you from
Wisconsin?” <– Bahaha! That is EXACTLY what used to happen to me when I was living in Colorado!
Rachel says
I got the northeast, which is where I’m originally from. I’ve always been teased about how I say ‘huge’ (uge) and ‘orange’ (ar-ange). Jersey represent!
Young House Life says
Yes! I say ah-range too!
xo
s
Leah says
89% Boston. Yuuuuuup! Most people don’t realize I’m from Boston, though, considering how hard I worked to lose the accent. Ditto for my husband– both of us only pick the accents back up when we’re mad or have had a few extra drinks! I took a linguistics class my senior year of college and totally missed my calling for analyzing language. So much fun!
Cheri says
This test is totally wrong!
I’m from California, currently living in Michigan and am constantly teased about my ‘accent’. Then this test tells me my accent is “Inland North”: You may think you speak “Standard English straight out of the dictionary” but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like “Are you from Wisconsin?” or “Are you from Chicago?” Chances are you call carbonated drinks “pop.”
WHAT??? Not even close.
Jennifer says
100% Midland (and 96% South) and I am from Charleston (SC), so that makes sense!
Sarah says
Got the South. NO surprise there. hahah. My kindergarten graduation video has us reading little books (I went to private school) and you could hear the people in the audience laughing at my accent. ;)
Sara D says
I got 100% Boston…no surprise there since that’s where I’m from and live. My husband is from Vermont though and cannot distinguish merry, marry, and Mary. They all sound completely different to me when I say it! Another one we argue over is ferry and fairy. I say thy are different, he says they sound the same.
Kate says
I have a fierce Boston accent (more so when I’ve either had a few, or have spent the afternoon w/ my family!) and I don’t think that is dead-on for Sherry. (speed of speech is something Jersey and Boston have in common) I took the quiz, and what I think is that it asks “do you say them differently” but not “how.” Boston? if you had a wicked bad (bahd) accent, you’d say these two words alike: shorts, shots; car keys, khakis. And if you had a few Boston generations in and around you, you would still ask where they keep the “tonic” at the Stop and Shop. Oh, and the whole “hah-vad yahd” thing– go ahead, park there… you’ll get towed ;)
Young House Life says
Hilarious! Now I know. The things I’m learning, now that I’m from Boston. Ha!
xo
s
Kirsten says
Apparently my Australian accent is equivalent to a Northeast American accent! Ok, I don’t think the quiz really works well for non-Americans but what accent sees bag and vague rhyme? Maybe they pronounce vague differently to us so it makes more sense, but that one had me stumped.
Young House Life says
I wondered who says bag like vague too! Anyone know?!
xo
s
Katie says
I’m from Wisconsin and now live in Michigan and, to me, vague and bag totally rhyme. I try to use a short a instead of a long one when saying bag, but I guess old habits die hard.
Janelle @ Two Cups of Happy says
I do! I grew up in a smaller town in Eastern Canada. I think urban/rural can definitely influence accents too.
amy says
okay…I’m from Boston and apparently I have a “North Central” accent (think Fargo) But like Sherry I was pretty equal on the Midland and Boston ranking. Go figure. That’s a pretty funny quiz though.
Oh, and I didn’t think you sounded like you had a Boston accent when you were here, but now that it was mentioned, definitely a yes on the mila kunis thing. LOL!
Darcey says
Just because I’m super nerdy and I think ya’ll will appreciate it- a meme for the pin/pen merger!: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/256705247483748942/
I love when people take an interest in Linguistics! I saw this on my facebook feed and couldn’t believe my eyes. I’ve been a fan of ya’ll since you replied to my friend’s tweet about hashtags because I was writing a Linguistics paper on the use of them! :)
It’s neat how an idiolect (the term for an individual’s dialect—which is the accent + grammar) can be affected by both the regional and ethnic influences, which is probably what this quiz is doing, but attributing it just to the regional variation.
Young House Life says
Haha! That pin/pen thing is hilarious! We love that nerdy stuff. Linguistics = so interesting!
xo
s
Darcey says
Quick Question- do you both say all three of the Mary, marry, merry differently? If not, which do you say the same? Just for curiosity–
Young House Life says
I say Mah-reee (marry), May-ree (Mary), and meh-ree (merry). I think John says Mary and marry the same way and merry a little differently (meh-ree instead of mah-ree).
xo
s
Cheryl says
result = northeast, probably NY or NJ
Just a bit off – I was raised in Pittsburgh until I was 13, lived in central PA until I was 25 and have lived in central FL for more than 25 years.
My accent might be hard to figure out but certain words give me away as being from Pittsburgh – gumband instead of rubber band, crick instead of creek (although it is spelled creek) and my football team sounds more like Stillers than Steelers. Other words will confuse the issue of where I’m from – I do say y’all like a southerner and have learned to say soda rather than pop.
Anna Kristina says
West, but Midland was only 1% behind (and apparently West is practically no accent). And Boston was next. Funny because I’m from the Midwest, but now live in Boston. But being around people with strong Boston accents, I don’t think I sound like that at all.
I took a class in college called “The Development of the English Language” and it was fascinating to see how accents have changed, why our words are what they are (for example, our current curse words started out as acceptable Germanic words, but with the Norman conquest of 1066, French became the high/table language, and the Germanic words were suddenly out of favor; this is also why we have different names for animals and meat served, ex. cow/beef, pig/pork), and even gender differences (apparently women check in with listeners more: okay? right?)
If you want a slightly more scientific look at accents an NC State survey (http://spark.rstudio.com/jkatz/DialectQuiz/ – quiz is closed but data is viewable) pinned me to the nearest city with uncanny accuracy. I’m bummed you can’t currently take it, but it’s still a fun site to explore!
Young House Life says
So interesting!
xo
s
bshine says
Ha! I just took the quiz – I’m 100% NorthEast – probably New York.
BUT – I’m actually 100% Irish, from Dublin!
zuzanna says
I was also midland but I am from Poland!
Danielle says
I got 88% Inland North….which is spot on, as I’m from Michigan. Though I was also 86% Midland…so there’s that :) POP!
Leah says
Sort of blown away. I’m from Boston. BUT, I have no accent. Seriously. I swear. Yeah, well, apparently I’m 100% from Boston according to my results. I even tried to cheat and answer the questions as if I didn’t have a Boston accent (which I don’t).
Leslie says
100% Midland. I’m from Alaska.
Jennifer W. says
It says I have a midland which is true. I live in southern Indiana. It is funny though because other people always say I have an accent. I’d actually be interested in how other people do pronounce the words. Like how do you pronounce “Mary”, “merry” and “marry” differently? And where do you live if you pronounce “bag” like “vague”? It’s very interesting.
Allisen says
I was wondering the same thing about Mary, merry, and marry! Someone people respond who pronounces the differently!
I think the bag/vague is from us Inland Northers. Some people but a lot of emphasis on the “AAAA” sound in bag.
Young House Life says
I say meh-ree (merry), and May-ree (Mary), and mah-ree (marry).
xo
s
Megan says
Oh my gosh. It had me at North Central – aka the Minnesota accent, and I totally have that I am from Minnesota, and everyone knows it. Awesome.
CC says
I also scored 95% Midland! The South was a close second at 82% which makes sense for me. I was born in Louisiana and currently live in Baton Rouge, LA but I lived up North during my elementary school days.
Trust me when I say, that South percentage gets much higher when I say certain words like “ya’ll,” “hair,” and “tire.”
Not to mention I say coke instead of pop or soda.
Brittany says
me too. what is pop & soda? ;)
Tiffany says
This was absolutely 100% on! I got Philadelphia and have lived in the Philadelphia suburbs my whole life!! Impressive for an online quiz!
Danielle says
I’m from Jersey (the shore..whoop whoop! fist pump) and my test results were the same as Sherry’s. Apparently I’m really from Boston..or New Hampshire..or Maine..Go figure! But at least I had a 77% Northeast rating. lol
Julie says
I got 100% Philadelphia and I’m a Philly girl who spent the last four years in Tennessee, so I’m glad I haven’t lost my Yankee roots.
betty (the sweaty betty) says
I don’t have a accent, like john :) I was raised in nova and now live in rva, so I guess that makes sense :)
Erin@VintageKC says
Oh man I love tests. Nerd alert…
Just saw this one and I’ve always wondered how you two landed on the left brain/right brain scale. I’m definitely a creative person, but still got 67% left brain, which makes sense, too…you know these highly scientific things ;)
http://en.sommer-sommer.com/braintest/
Young House Life says
SO much fun!!
xo
s
Lindsay says
I got 100% midland, but I wonder what they would have said if they asked me to say “pillow” (I pronounce it “pell-oh”) or “bagel” (“beg-el”). Not sure why I say them that way, but my husband makes fun of me all the time for it.
Carol Ponton says
My dad says beg-el (he’s from Illinois)! When we were little, we found it hysterical to make him say “bay” “gull” “beg-el”
Steph says
I got Midland but I’m from Boston. Hmmm… this test seems to be confused. Maybe it gave you my result, Sherry?
Young House Life says
Haha! It just mixed us up. That must be it!
xo
s
Jaimie says
I scored 94% Boston, which is *wicked awesome*.
Sherry – even though I grew up near and currently live in Boston, I still have a hard time differentiating between some Boston and Jersey accents – they can be very similar.
Young House Life says
That’s funny! Maybe that explains it!
xo
s
Jennifer says
Too funny. 88% Midland.
Lived 10 years CA, 10 years Chicago, the last 13 in CT. Scored 24% northeast lowest percentage. People always think I’m the CT native and think that my husband, who is the CT native, is from the south….
Sara says
Born and raised in northern Va yet I got a 100% Philadelphia accent.
“If you’re not from Philadelphia, then you’re from someplace near there like south Jersey, Baltimore, or Wilmington.” yeah rural Lovettsville, VA farmland was hardly South Jersey or Baltimore!
K says
I got Inland North… Being from MN and now living in ND I think it is dead on. I know i talk with an accent only when i go to other places, im accent compared to some people here is hardly anything! So many farmers from small towns!!
Cher says
My result waws 89% Inland North. When I lived in Michigan and traveled other places, I never got called out for having an accent. Now that I’ve been in Chicago for 6 years, I’m CONSTANTLY being asked “Where are you from, Canada?” I blame the close proximity to Wisconsin for my altered speech (sounds “aboot” right, yes?).
Of course, when I spend time in the south, I often pick up their drawls and end up lazily pushing out words and eliminating the “g” from “ing” endings. Does this happen to anyone else? No? Ok, then I’m calling it: I’m an accent ninja!
Young House Life says
You’re like Madonna! You go to the UK for five minutes and you have a British accent!
xo
s
Joy says
North Central
“Outsiders probably mistake you for a Canadian a lot.” Funny, as I am a Canadian, originally from Niagara and now developing an Ottawa Valley accent. I thought I’d try the quiz, as I did live in New England for half a year and travel quite often around the States (and notice the regional accents as I travel). It worked! ;)
krys72599 says
The quiz is right on the money:
http://krysworld.blogspot.com/2013/11/theyre-right-take-this-quiz-and-let-me.html
Signed,
Another Jersey Girl
Carol Ponton says
Inland North for this Maryland girl, but then my mom is from Michigan and my dad is from Illinois. I don’t “call carbonated drinks ‘pop.'” but many of my cousins do!
Camille says
I got 85% South which is correct – it’s not 100% because I’ve tried hard to lose the less charming parts ;-) Haha
Sasha says
93% Inland North – Interesting, now I know where, language wise, I will fit in if I move to the US (Am Danish with a British/non-distinct accent). ;)
Tammy Roe says
100% the West and 95% Midland… I grew up in Texas. That is all.
Katharine says
90% Midland — I get told all the time that I don’t have much of a Southern accent (I’m about 2.5 hours south of RVA). I’m always amused at how much the accents vary even within my small town!
BTW, my high school geometry teacher used to use the “pin and pen” example ALLLLL the time. One poor girl in my class just couldn’t escape his ridicule (good-natured, of course). Imagine getting a grammar lesson from Michael Keaton wearing mesh deck shoes and holding a coffee mug and that’s pretty much Mr. Fielder.
Young House Life says
Hilarious visual! Thank you for that!
xo
s
Shirley says
I’m from Canada and got 93% North Central too!
Katie says
I got 86% North Central – I am from Fargo so this was correct!
Leslie says
The West… 100% accurate, but I love Southern accents, and I can pick one up very quickly when around a Southerner :)
Kana says
I got Inland North.. whoa! totally off. I grew up in Portland, OR and now live just outside of Boston, MA. As a neurolinguist myself, I can recommend a different test: http://spark.rstudio.com/jkatz/DialectQuiz/ (looking at it now, I guess the site is temporarily closed!! sad face! ) This quiz got my husband’s accent down to the next town over from where he grew up and for me, it told me my accent is from Eugene, OR (couple hours south of Portland). Once its back up, I’m sure you’ll definitely be some city in NJ and John somewhere in VT!!
I would totally love to hear Sherry with a Boston accent though ;) My husband (born and raised near Boston) tells me “ferry” and “fairy” are pronounced differently!! (WHAT!?)
Young House Life says
That link is so much fun too! Thanks for sharing!
xo
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