What American Accent Do You Have?

Midland (full bar). Not surprising – though I’ve adopted something of a Canadian accent, I was raised in central Indiana.

I love this subject. I took a class in college that was all about dialects and regionalisms… and admittedly, I generally have a good ear when it comes to figuring out where people are from.
I was born outside of Philadelphia (both my parents were raised there), and when I was 11, we moved to the country in FL… so I picked up a little southern as a kid. As an adult, I worked hard to lose that southern, and now, I’m generally “unaccented” though my pronunciation of words let the quiz know that I am:
Your Result: Philadelphia
Your accent is as Philadelphian as a cheesesteak! If you’re not from Philadelphia, then you’re from someplace near there like south Jersey, Baltimore, or Wilmington. if you’ve ever journeyed to some far off place where people don’t know that Philly has an accent, someone may have thought you talked a little weird even though they didn’t have a clue what accent it was they heard.
Fun… thanks Stephanie!

Stephanie,
I loved doing this first thing this AM, before several hours of recording ahead of me over the next few days. I took the test.
I am regarded as “Midland”.
Having spent half my life in Milwaukee, and the other half in Southern California, I’ve made a conscious effort to lose the midwestern twang, so I wouldn’t sound too “regional”, and thus more “Midland”. I guess it worked. However, whenever I get together with friends and family from Milwaukee and Chicago, I can really hear the difference now in them. After a week or two, I begin to pick up the lilt again, unless I make myself stop and think about it.
By the way- I never called soft drinks “pop”, although my friends did!
This was a way cool diversion! Thanks for listening.
All the best,
Bobbin Beam

Hi,
I’m originally from Chicago but have lived in Alberta for many years. My quiz results say my accent is from the Inland North – kind of a composite, I guess!
Carol Kodish-Butt

Hi Steph,
I enjoyed taking the quiz and I tried to answer the questions as carefully as possible, but have to question its accuracy. Yes, I’m a Canadian; however the results saying that I was of the North Central and that if I had ever seen the movie “Fargo” that the accents used in that movie would not necessarily be that odd sounding. Nothing could be farther from the truth! Fargo stands out to be one of the funniest movies of all time due mostly in part to the outrageous accents. I thought they sounded like “Newfies” (Newfoundlanders) and I don’t believe that I sound anything like them.
Regardless of all that it has cemented the fact that I need to get some coaching on my dialects. Maybe this Vox Daily has triggered a change in my thinking about my sound and how much work I’m getting.
Thanks very much!
Greg Hamilton

It pegged me as a Bostonian which is correct because I am from Maine, but really you wouldn’t be able to tell because I pronounce my R’s with no accent.

Very interesting and accurate in my case. I have a Midland accent. Lived in Northern Missouri most of my life.

It told me I had a Boston accent, which is probably pretty accurate since I live in a suburb southwest of Boston. Although I didn’t think I had a Boston accent. But do people really pronounce “cot” and “caught” differently? and “don” and “dawn”? I thought that was just normal. But I don’t have a really bad Boston accent, like adding and dropping r’s to words, unless I’m tired and/or sleep deprived. Then, not only do I have a Boston accent, but I’ll start sounding like I’m from Minnesota too.
Very interesting and accurate overall.

I live in Kansas and it said I have a midland accent, which means no accent. They had it right on.

My father was from Chicago and mother from Kansas. The quiz said Midland. My daughter attended University of Wisconsin @ Stevens Point. When visiting I fit in pretty well , blonde hair , blue eyes, till we went shopping and opened my mouth. I didn’t use the long OOO’s. (Sounds like note). The store clerk said ” OOh, (long o) you’re not from around here are ye”. Sounds Alot like Fargo.

It nailed me. I come from a city about 15 minutes north of Boston proper and still considered Greater Boston. I have an accent as thick as baked beans.

Crazy, since I was born and raised in south Georgia, as were both of my parents!
Your Result: The Midland
“You have a Midland accent” is just another way of saying “you don’t have an accent.” You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.

Having grown up in Georgia and lived in Tennessee, North and South Carolina I found it amusing that it said I have a Midland North accent.

Just catching up with the Vox emails. I took the quiz it is uncanny. I grew up in Texas my first 18 years. Then moved to Rhoad Island for a year, Maryland for 4, Florida for 2 and have been in CA for 28 years. It said I have a Midland accent by 100%. The South was second by just a little. Of course, what convinces me of its accuracy is its opinion that I have a good voice for TV & radio!

I have lived in the South (Memphis and central VA) for 32 of my 34 years. The other 2 years I lived abroad. I have spent approximately 2 days in the Northeast, which is where I am from, according to the quiz results.

Full bar for southern, no surprise there born in Florida and there all my life.

I’m actually not from America but I watch American tv series and movies a lot. And it says I have Inland North accent..

I was amused that it said I have a Midland accent. Although I have been in Oklahoma for 7 years, I spent most of my life in southwest Louisiana. I will admit to 12 years in the Dallas area.

Interesting test, my results were midland accent, but I have lived in So. Cal. all my life. hummm…..my parents were from Dallas, Texas and Sioux City, Iowa.

Midwestern

Southern – no shocker there.

Lundgreen None. I’m european!

Midland! I could have a job in radio! Oh…yeah…done it. I also worked hard to sound like I’m from “nowhere”. Great test.

I came out 93% inland north (?) Not bad for someone born in Germany, lived in Jersey City and Newark and moved to upstate New York. But I have lived in New Mexico, Indiana near Louisville,
Maryland near D.C., Savannah, Ga. and now Central Virginia. It sort of tempers any accent, Ya’ll here what Ima a sayin?

I dislike my strong Texas accent (89%) on quiz. How can I at least soften it? What habits do I need to develop in order to not sound so there? I have felt looked upon as less intelligent based upon my accent. I would like the opportunity to prove or disprove that assumption solely on capabilities or the lack thereof, please. Makes me just want to pitch a fit! LOL Texan enough for you? Any suggestions out there?

I scored 100% midland, a part of the country I’ve never seen! I was raised mostly in Germany, around other army-brats, and have lived in south Georgia for 40 years. Go figure!

I live in Philadelphia. It nailed me as being Philadelphia as a cheesesteak. But I don’t eat cheesesteaks. That is to say, it is a very good test (if taken honestly) because it identifies the truly crucial items. We all think we don’t have an “accent.” My own speech, to the extent that it mostly sounds like those reading the national news, is closer to “standard.” Peter Jennings used to have some Canadian attributes in his speech, and of course Dan Rather has some southern identifiers. (But compare him to Bob Schieffer, who is that much more “folksy” and “twangy” sounding, at least to this Northerner. Both men are from Texas.) What I’m getting at is that, while I am “guilty as charged,” there are degrees to things. My parents, growing up, were from England and the Midwest. Though white, I grew up in black West Philly, so I have some southern identifiers in my speech (though not, apparently, the key identifiers used in this highly accurate test). A couple of times, people from the South asked me if I had lived in the South. There are Philadelphians who have an accent that we Philadelphians would really consider “Delaware Valley,” a real Philadelphia accent. One of my friends who grew up here says “liggle” instead of “legal.” That is why the Eagles, our football team, are jokingly referred to as the “Iggles”. This pronunciation seems so starkly colloquial to me when I hear it and very far from my own. Because, as I mentioned, I grew up among black kids more than white, I don’t have any of the working class white sounds that we within Philly would identify with various neighborhoods, and perhaps being true “Philadelphia.” None of the white boys who were from my neighborhood had them either. Black dialect in Philly of course owes more to the South, and thus might be less “Philly,” but presumably the test could work for a black Philadelphian whose parents or grandparents were from the South, because the key identifiers would still hold true? So, the irony is that for an expert attuned to the variables identified in this quiz, my accent would be “Philadelphia.” But to someone from here, a more true Philadelphia native speaker, I might seem to be from somewhere else.

Midland -southern OH IN MO or possible Atlanta and south. Weird it’s correct. Grew up in Cincinnati & Ky, have lived in GA for years.
Just curious why it asks for age group.

I think I have a weird accent

That quiz is FREAKY! My results say Philadelphia and/or southern NJ. I was born in Philly, grew up in S. Jersey. I’m surprised it didn’t tell me what street I live on! ???? I’m really trying to reduce, if not lose this dialect, despite the fact that I’m over 50.