Why do some Californians sound Southern?
Parts of the dialect differences likely come from patterns of migration into California. People living in the Central Valley may have more Southern-sounding speech than people who live on the coast, largely because of farmers who moved to the Central Valley from Oklahoma during the Great Depression.
What is a Valley Girl accent?
Valspeak or Valley Speak is a social class dialect (or sociolect) said to have originated among materialistic young upper-class white women in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley during the 1970s. The dialect is characterized by “uptalk” or statements with a rising intonation that end in a way that sound like questions.
Why do people say they’re from the Bay Area?
It really just means you are from the Greater Bay Area of San Francisco. If you are from the Bay Area and people inside of the Bay Area ask where you are from, you usually say where you are from, i.e. South San Jose, or Mill Valley, or Walnut Creek.
Do people from San Francisco have an accent?
, lived in San Francisco. San Francisco doesn’t really have an accent, other than the generic California nasal drawl that you can find up and down the West Coast (in general, voices become more clipped as you travel North). However, this question made me remember a bit of unpleasantness in the mid 90s.
What is the difference between coastal southern and General American accents?
The vowel in words like thought and dog is diphthongized, as in Coastal/Lowland Southern, although here it tends to be a lower: IPA ɑɒ. The oo sound in goose is more fronted than in General American accents: IPA gʉs. The long-o in words like goat is also more fronted than in General American (as in Midatlantic English, described above).
What do you think about the California dialect project?
A lot of the dialect projects focus on the valley, for example, to try to get a sense of what the California dialect is all about. As a new state, there’s still a lot to learn, so keep your eye out for new developments on the key features of the California accent.
Are there different types of North American accents?
There are obviously many North American accents. For reference, here is a list of only the most common classifications in the United States and Canada. This refers to the spectrum of ‘standard’ English spoken by newscasters, TV actors, and a large percentage of middle-class Americans.