I found this in the back logs of a friend's blog, interesting enough.
I've been thinking about where I get my expressions from, not the ones like in the post that I mentioned the other day- the things I say all the time, the way I pronounce certain words. I most certainly get all this from mom and dad. My mother is from Southern California, my dad from Maryland. Both have lived in New York for 25+ years, my dad for more than 30. Now, neither of them have any sort of accent, Californians are known for not having any accent inflections in their spoken English, Maryland is not far enough south I suppose-- therefore, no accent for me.
Take this test, then finish reading the post.
Your Linguistic Profile:
60% General American English
30% Yankee
5% Dixie
5% Upper Midwestern
0% Midwestern
What Kind of American English Do You Speak? Take the last question for example, Mary, merry, and marry are all pronounced the same in my book; I can't even figure out one would pronounce the three differently. Aunt, pronounced like ant? That's what I do. Pajamas, with a hard "a". I was aware of the other pronunciations but have no idea what they have to do with region.
Region aside, the reason that one pronounces these words in one way or another is based on the consistency of the way that one's parents pronounce the words.
This happens in the same way with word choice but I feel there's a difference. The words I use, mostly as interjections, change frequently. I have never used the term "bubbler" for a water fountain, but some people do. If I lived in a community of people who used that word, I would probably begin to. Thus, accents are derived from parenting and what you hear around you at an early age, while vocabulary is constantly changing. So interesting.
A thought for you to ponder though: I cannot hear it, but people say that Sarah has a New York accent. Whenever she goes to camp she comes home saying that people have told her this. I have never been told this, and quite believe I don't.
How is this possible?