Starbucks barista: “Hi, what can I get for you?”
Me: *places order*
Barista: Where are you from?
Me: Ohio
Barista: Oh that makes sense. Your accent sounds like my husband’s and he’s from Montana.
Me: Oh, that’s cool.
This exact conversation happened 3 times (YES 3!) before the barista remembered my face and that I was from Ohio. As you can see above, I will now be referred to as Ohio when ordering from that particular barista (who’s name I can’t remember, so we will refer to her as Montana husband). You guys should’ve seen the looks on people’s faces when they called out my drink order and “Ohio”….as in there is no way someone named that girl Ohio.
Question for everyone – do people consider Montana to be the Midwest? Because if so, that is news to me.
Secondly, “where are you from?” is the question I get asked the most out here. It happens anywhere from 1-3 times a week, and I have been asked by EVERYONE, and I mean everyone. The lady behind me in the airport, the guy that held the door open for me leaving the doctor, the woman who did my nails, my new hairstylist, the front desk attendants at the gym, any person I order any food/beverage from, etc.
It appears I say my A’s weird. And my co-worker Ryan doesn’t want to let me forget it, as he makes fun of my accent weekly. (Thanks Ryan!)
Tell me, do Midwesterners have accents? I’m definitely a bit self conscious of mine now, as it came out full swing when I said tacos a few weeks ago. Oh well!
PS. my favorite leopard kicks are 60% off here!!
xo, Maddy
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Lol, Montana is definitely NOT Midwest hahaha. There is definitely a Midwest accent, I never think I have much of one but people can always tell I’m from Chicago. I can usually hear Michigan accents which I find weirdly specific.
Kristina does the Internets
that is! Hmmm. I’ll have to listen around next time I’m back in the midwest!
Hello Maddy, I have been reading your blog on and off, but these questions intrigued me enough to require a reply.
I am not sure that Montana fits in the category “Midwest,” although I have heard people describe the Midwest as anyplace from Ohio to Nevada. Kinda hard to determine what it means. I think if you asked around, people would consider Illinois as the center of “the Midwest” which is kinda weird when you consider that Illinois is clearly in the Eastern Half of the United States. How can it be “west” anything? But if Illinois is the center of the Midwest, then Montana, which is pretty far east of the west coast, is still too far west to be considered part of any region in which Illinois is the center. Historically, anything west of the Mississippi is technically “West” so “Mid” west should be at least 1000 miles west of Illinois which is pretty much centered on the Mississippi except when it leans too far to the left, politically speaking.
I can’t really judge how you pronounce your “A’s” from the way you write, but when I think of solid, non -accented, Main-stream-media-talking-head, American English, the mid-west is about as good as it gets. My folks were from Seattle, born in Nebraska and, interestingly, Montana, I grew up in Pennsylvania, and I sound just like the American talking heads. I have visited Ohio a bunch of times, and I can’t remember hearing any accents except as you get closer to West Virginia or Kentucky, where the Southern drawl stretches English into liquid gooey-ness.
So, in the end, I have no answer, but I will reserve judgement until I hear you on the nightly news.
Thanks for the fun blog.
Thanks so much for contributing!! I’ll make sure to let you know when I’m on the nightly news 🙂
Love all the pattern mixing!
Liv
http://www.livforstyle.net
Thank you Liv!
You totally do have an accent! I’m not sure what type of accent it is per say, but definitely. Then again, maybe I notice because I’m Canadian? (And I apparently have a bit of an accent?)
Jackie
Something About That
I would say some Canadians definitely do. i think its so crazy that we can sound different just from different areas!
My college roommate was from southwest Ohio and she said her O’s like shorts A’s. For instance, the word “topping” came out like “tapping”. It was very different than anything I’d heard growing up in central Illinois.
hmm…maybe there is an Ohio accent that I’m just learning about haha
I am terrible at geography, so I have no idea if Montana is the Midwest, but I know it isn’t on the coast, so that is something, right? That is so funny people ask you that so much. I am southern, so everyone knows what part of the country I am from when I open my mouth… And I love that your Starbucks name is Ohio. My husband loves to give bizarre fake names at Starbucks … I should suggest Ohio!
Nikki
thefashionablewife.com
Haha yes, maybe try Ohio next time! I never realized I had such an accent but apparently its real!
Too funny! You should just have a shirt made that says “I’m from Ohio” on it. hah! The same thing used to happen to me all the time when I moved to college in upstate NY from southern New Jersey… but somehow my accent kind of faded! I def think different regions have accents – I’m not sure where in Ohio you’re from, but I wonder if you have a similar accent to Rochester where I went to school. They say their “a’s” funny too!
Also loving your outfit – those sneaker boots are so cute!
Annessa
http://www.seekingsunshine.com
Maybe mine will fade? haha I should work on that. And people tell me I say my A’s weird – maybe I belong in Rochester?
This opinion coming from an Ohioan, so take it for whatever it’s worth, but when I read what she said I thought what?! Montana and Ohio are nowhere close to each other so I don’t see the sense it makes for the accents to sound similar, but who knows! I’m not sure which part of the state you’re from, but I grew up in Northwest Ohio and when I went to college in Central Ohio most of my boyfriend’s friends were from the Southeast corner of the state and they constantly teased me about my accent. So much variation within our own state lines, maybe that’s why it seems impossible for me to think that Montana and Ohio could sound similar! 🙂
I also grew up in Northwest Ohio (Toledo)! Maybe thats it – who knows? haha
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