okay, this will prove where you're from

[Duck on Wheels]

Hmm. I tried modifying my answers (sometimes two different answers both seemed to fit). I still came up as Inland North. Not. And my pronunciations never struck me as different from the other kids at school back in the day. So now I'm wondering ... When they ask whether you yourself hear your pronunciation as same or different for, say, cot and caught ... well maybe I hear my pronunciation as different, but that difference is not one recognized by linguists so the test is based on somebody else's "hearing"? Maybe? Or are they basing the California dialect on SoCal, which I vaguely recall as different from NoCal? Anyway ... can somebody from NoCal who got a result Western or California or the like say what answers they gave? I'm just curious.

[Crankin]

Haudlady, another MA town that causes those kind of jokes is Ayer. Pronounced "air," for all you non-New Englanders. When I first moved back here, I was driving around some of the surrounding towns to just sort of figure out how all the local roads were connected. When I crossed the town line, into Ayer, I said out loud, "Oh, we're in Ayer." My kids, who were about 6 and 9 said something like "Gee Mom, what do you mean? Of course we're in air. It's everywhere." This of course, from the child (Scott) who called Scottsdale My-dale for the first five years of his life and Miami, Your-ami. ..

[Kimmyt]

Anika, I've said that before, but it tends to be more of an expression instead of the normal way to say it. Most say it the way you do, but once in a while if I'm feeling over the top or I'm expressing appreciation for something I'll say it that way.

Hmm that doesn't really explain in which situations I would say that word, I don't know if I can describe when I say it that way... I just know that once in awhile it does slip out that way!

[KnottedYet]

Mine was tied: "no-accent" and "west". Grew up in the west just south of the Canadian border, but lived in Scotland for awhile.

Never thought a Canadian or Scottish accent made me sound midwestern!

[tattiefritter]

Mine was tied: "no-accent" and "west". Grew up in the west just south of the Canadian border, but lived in Scotland for awhile.

Never thought a Canadian or Scottish accent made me sound midwestern!

I'm Scottish, grew up near Edinburgh but now live in England. I have visited Boston once! I can perceive differences between American and Canadian accents but I think they are pretty subtle in comparison to British accents.

[Kimmyt]

Robyn, re: the directions thing

I think us east-coasters, especially those of us from near the old cities, give directions by landmarks because, well, with all those twisty turn city streets you can never be sure if you're going north, south, east or west!

My bf is from Indiana. He's used to going 'ok so I need to end up North of here. So I'll take this road North and it'll take me there'. Whereas, around here a N-S road may at any point in time turn into a W-E road, take you an infinitely long time to get you anywhere (but sure does look pretty doing so), or turn into another road completely! There's a few roads near where my parents live that have at least 3 names. When he first came here, it sure got him confused trying to get somewhere!

K.

[uk elephant]

I got placed in Wisconsin....not too out of place I suppose. Spent 4 years in Madison and almost 5 years in Illinois. Although my accent is getting more confused now. I'm picking up more and more English pronounciations, even Northern English (which always makes BF very happy as he is from the Wirrall near Liverpool). Our plan is to hopefully move to Wales next year. could give me a very strange accent....

[East Hill]

Born in Swinton, Lancashire. Dragged to the United States at a young age (10 months!). Started off in Norwalk, California. Up to San Jose, California by age 11. Shook the adobe off my heels around age 20 for the slightly greener hills of Santa Rosa, California.

After the week when the temperature NEVER got below 100 degrees Fahrenheit, I decided it was time to move on. Have lived in Puget Sound since 1980.

Quiz told me I was from the Northeast.

Could it be the British parents, who influenced my speech patterns until I started attending school?

East Hill

[Crankin]

Well, about the giving directions according to be what USED to be there. I had not run into that before, and I grew up in Newton and I lived in Tyngsborough and Boxborough before moving to Concord last year. I discovered that in my neighborhood, your house is referred to by the name of the original owner! So, according to them, I live in the "Jone's" house. Now this neighborhood is not a bunch of old Victorians from the 1700s. They are all contemporary houses built in the 70s. I got really mad at a woman at a neighborhood meeting when she asked which house I lived in. When she said "Oh the Jone's house," I replied, no I live in MY house.

[eofelis]

Haudlady, another MA town that causes those kind of jokes is Ayer. Pronounced "air," for all you non-New Englanders. When I first moved back here, I was driving around some of the surrounding towns to just sort of figure out how all the local roads were connected. When I crossed the town line, into Ayer, I said out loud, "Oh, we're in Ayer." My kids, who were about 6 and 9 said something like "Gee Mom, what do you mean? Of course we're in air. It's everywhere." This of course, from the child (Scott) who called Scottsdale My-dale for the first five years of his life and Miami, Your-ami. ..

I went ot high school in "Hayvrill." My mom grew up in "Glosstah." I've never been to "Wistah."

[SheFly]

Haudlady, another MA town that causes those kind of jokes is Ayer. Pronounced "air," for all you non-New Englanders. When I first moved back here, I was driving around some of the surrounding towns to just sort of figure out how all the local roads were connected. When I crossed the town line, into Ayer, I said out loud, "Oh, we're in Ayer." My kids, who were about 6 and 9 said something like "Gee Mom, what do you mean? Of course we're in air. It's everywhere." This of course, from the child (Scott) who called Scottsdale My-dale for the first five years of his life and Miami, Your-ami. ..

When I first moved here from Canada, the biggest challenge I had was passing road signs telling me No. Reading. I couldn't figure out why they didn't want me to read there... From there, I passed another sign saying Reading - so now it was ok? Totally flabbergasting until I figured out that it was North Reading (pronounced Red-ing)...

SheFly

[laughlaugh18]

Or are they basing the California dialect on SoCal

If they are, it's not the SoCal I grew up in. My answers made me "Midland", but I'm a born and bred Valley Girl, from long before Moon Unit came up with the song!!

OTOH, I took their Los Angeles quiz (under their State quizzes), and on that quiz I came up as "100% Angeleno and proud of it". Go figure.

And, yes, SoCal is different from NoCal.

[Crankin]

Surly Pacer,

Apparently only people who live in or next to Worcester say "Wister." I worked in Shrewsbury (Shoosbry to some) and that was the first time I heard that pronounciation. I spent some time in Worcester as a kid, my mom's family was from there, and none of them said that! Yes, my dad worked in Hayvril when I was a kid... I used to make fun of my husband when we first moved back here. He would pronounce everything like an outsider "Haver-hill."
When I had been here a week, I called a bakery in Lowell for directions to get there from Rt. 3 (I was living on the NH border at the time). First, all I heard was a muffled "blah, blah, blah." Then when I asked for the nearest cross street, the woman said "What's that?" I hung up in frustration. Here I was, a native New Englander, and I could not understand her. I was not used to giving directions by land marks. In AZ, especially in the east valley, people give directions by, well, direction; like I live one block south of Elliiot Rd., between Rural and McClintock. Well, now after 17 years, I am used to it! But, I have to say, around where I live, very few people have the Boston accent anymore.

[7rider]

I was not used to giving directions by land marks.

Old timers in Gloucester MA give directions by where things USED to be. Like "Oh, it's down by where the Finast was. Right next to the old Radio Shack." Well, uh....there hasn't been a Finast in town for 20 years, nor is there a Radio Shack nearby!!!