17-02-2003 23:09									#31
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quote: Originally posted by MRT144 imran, there is a differnce in southern and northern california accents. its like 2 different states... NCR UBER ALLES!

Other then using words like "Hella" I didn't notice to much of a difference between northern and southern California.

	17-02-2003 23:12									#32
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And "Hella" is just slang. Also I noticed that they use the word in southern california occasionally now too.

	17-02-2003 23:13									#33
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yeah, its slight, but its there. not " a grip" of differences

	17-02-2003 23:14									#34
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quote: Talking differently than someone does not mean you have an accent.

That's exactly what an accent MEANS! No one is un-accented. Everyone has a different accent. Accents are different prominence given to syllables of words. Unless you don't promote any syllable in words (which is almost impossible), you have an accent.

Like I said, New York should be unaccented by your logic, but that is clearly false. New York was never in isolation, but there are clearly distinct accents in the city.

Accents develop by interaction among the people in society. Accents soften or deepen by interactions with outsides, but they never evaporate.

	17-02-2003 23:15									#35
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you have no idea how many times norcal folks use the word hella...its quite emberassing.

	17-02-2003 23:20									#36
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I'm from Las Vegas and I have no accent. But I do have a southern accent on occasion. But I do that on purpose. Just something I picked up living in the south 8 years.

	17-02-2003 23:20									#37
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As in Shriner's? Hella Shriner's ?

	17-02-2003 23:25									#38
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example: "hella shriners were riding around in their little cars at the parade"

	17-02-2003 23:30									#39
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Right. I've seen those guys.

	17-02-2003 23:33									#40
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quote: Originally posted by DuncanK Talking differently than someone does not mean you have an accent. Regions have accents because of isolation from the other people who speak the language. The NE accent was created because to isolation from the South and from the rest of the English speaking world. The west did not have isolation, because people came from different places with different accents. Therefor, no one accent could establish itself. If only people from the NE would have migrated here we would have a NE accent.

what are you talking about? people from all over the world come to NY. There's defintely no isolation, yet there is clearly a NY accent.

	17-02-2003 23:38									#41
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And Imran, saying you feel sorry for Boris is like saying you feel sorry for poison ivy.

	17-02-2003 23:38									#42
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i don't think californians have an accent

	17-02-2003 23:40									#43
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I've spent half of my life in Southern California, and I guess I still have a twinge of that "surfer-dude" accent

	17-02-2003 23:44									#44
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well

surfer is an accent

I guess I was not including them

Jon Miller

	17-02-2003 23:50									#45
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quote: Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui Accents develop by interaction among the people in society. Accents soften or deepen by interactions with outsides, but they never evaporate.

How do you explain people losing their accent when they moved to the western state? Look Imran, if you did the whole thing all over again. If northerners and southerners migrated to a new state in comparable numbers, the result would be that the people in that new state would talk the same as Californians. That is why all the people in the west talk the same. Even Westen Canadians talk more like Californians than they do Eastern Canadians. New York is different. There has never been a time that people have moved to New York from other English speaking places in great enough numbers that the accent there has been affected. Although, there is a long term process, and yes eventually the english speaking world will speak western English as they lose their accents.

	17-02-2003 23:52									#46
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quote: Originally posted by MRT144 yeah, its slight, but its there. not " a grip" of differences

You're confusing slang with accent again.

	17-02-2003 23:57									#47
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quote: Originally posted by Jon Miller surfer is an accent

Surfer is not an accent. Californians don't talk like that. Only surfers talk like that, and we all know that surfers don't only live in California.

	18-02-2003 00:02									#48
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well

yah

but it is associted with cali

Jon Miller

	18-02-2003 00:38									#49
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If it makes y'all feel better, I read most Poly posts in the same Estuary English-***-RP accent.

Exceptions being prominent UK posters whom I can apply a distinct accent too, such as Provost Harrison.

	18-02-2003 00:47									#50
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*** is censored.

	18-02-2003 01:14									#51
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californians DEFINITELY have accents..the guys especially..they all have that slightly gay sound to their voice...and say doooood and whatever (just like texans say yall) and "right on" they elongate and kinda morph their o's.
Jon miller: people say the same thing about me. (except i do tend to get one when i become hyper)

	18-02-2003 01:24									#52
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quote: If northerners and southerners migrated to a new state in comparable numbers, the result would be that the people in that new state would talk the same as Californians.

Bullshit! Like said before simply because you live around it, you think they have no accent.

Fine, I'll just go ahead and say South Jersey has no accent . I don't think I have an accent, but I KNOW I have one. I tend to pronounce syllables in words.

Btw, the surfer thing is a reference to putting more emphasis on the end of the word, after de-emphasizing the middle of the word, more than other English speakers.

Seeing how EVERYONE else says that Californians have an accent, you have to give up your notions that you are unaccented (as if such thing is possible ).

Actually the most 'American' accent is considered the Midwest accent, which is the one you hear on the network news (Tom Brokaw, Dan Rather, and Peter Jennings all have it).

	18-02-2003 01:35									#53
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But Peter Jennings is Canadian!

Shouldn't be be going on aboot canoes and moose?

	18-02-2003 01:38									#54
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quote: But Peter Jennings is Canadian!

Much of middle Canada also speaks in a Midwestern accent.

	18-02-2003 01:40									#55
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quote: Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui Seeing how EVERYONE else says that Californians have an accent, you have to give up your notions that you are unaccented (as if such thing is possible ).

You're talking about every 'knowitall' here at poly. EVERY Liguist knows that there is no California accent.

	18-02-2003 01:44									#56
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Every linguist worth his weight knows that 'surfer' and 'valley girl' are established accents, and Californians pronounce words in certain ways.

When plenty of people say Californians do not talk like I do, that is evidence of an accent. Maybe their accent is similar to the Midwestern accent, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

And btw, it is STILL impossible to not have an accent, at least in English.

	18-02-2003 02:24									#57
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quote: Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui Every linguist worth his weight knows that 'surfer' and 'valley girl' are established accents, and Californians pronounce words in certain ways. When plenty of people say Californians do not talk like I do, that is evidence of an accent. Maybe their accent is similar to the Midwestern accent, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. And btw, it is STILL impossible to not have an accent, at least in English.

No one here is able to describe this so called accent. Doesn't that tell you something. Slang words don't constitute an accent.

	18-02-2003 02:27									#58
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I want people to post sound samples of their accent. Let us be the judges.

	18-02-2003 02:35									#59
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quote: No one here is able to describe this so called accent.

I went looking and found a Harvard linguistic class:

http://icg.harvard.edu/~ling80/lectures/california.htm

one cannot really speak of a California dialect (given the definition of dialect presented at the beginning of the term). There are a number of distinctive California accents, however, including "surfer" and "Valley Girl". These accents are characterized most notably by distinctive vowel systems and lexicons

Californians do consistently possess a specific suite of pronunciation features (merger of A and � , centralization and unrounding of /o:/ and /u:/), but these are not unique to CA, being found in many other areas of the United States.

The conclusion is that California accents are not much different than Midwest (ie, the American accent), since most Californians have not lived there long, but to say there is NO Californian accent is streaching things.


Btw, can you describe ANY New York accent?

	18-02-2003 02:37									#60
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Im from houston which is like the least accented of all texas along with dallas but "yall" is extremely common.

i personally dont talk at all like im from texas i talk like im from boston cause i slur and run my words together a bit but im not a common example