What are the characteristics of a Connecticut accent? I have been told that people from Connecticut (including me) don't have an accent, but that's not possible because everybody does. I just think that our accent is more neutral than the other states or countries. What are everybody's thoughts about it (please answer nicely)? Some answers from non-American, and non-Connecticut residents would be great.
Also, I have heard that people with foreign accents call the American accents "nasaly" (sp?). What does this mean/sound like?
Thanks!
2007-03-21 08:38:51 · 7 answers · asked by Rachel 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Other - Cultures & Groups
Connecticut's a small state but there are several Connecticut accents -- probably because we're located between Boston and New York City. Katharine Hepburn was from Old Saybrook (on the eastern shore). William F. Buckley is from Fairfield County (in the southwest on the New York border). John Ratzenberger (Cliff Clavin on "Cheers") and Kevin Nealon grew up in Bridgeport. "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane is from Kent (which isn't anywhere near the Rhode Island border).
I grew up in south central Connecticut, and everyone I went to school with drops the "r" in the middle of "quarter" so that it rhymes with "water" and "daughter." Most of the Connecticut natives I know drop the "t" in the middle of words like "cotton" and "eating."
There was a pretty good article in the New York Times on September 5, 2004, by Gary Santaniello: "Accent? What Accent?" It's not free on the NYT site, but I found it reposted here: http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0409b&L=ads-l&P=5962 and here as a PDF download: http://www.speechdr.com/SundayTimesSept2004.pdf
According to the article, that dropping of the "t" is called a glottal stop. But I have never heard it used when the "t" sound in the middle of a word is followed by an "l." The examples in the story are "CAH-uhl'' (cattle) and ''BAH-uhl' (bottle). That sounds like a British Cockney accent to me!
2007-03-22 14:40:58 · answer #1 · answered by editorgrrl 5 · 4⤊ 1⤋
Connecticut Accent
2017-01-12 14:59:24 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
im from ct and i dont know about an accent, but some people from connecticut say humor (and some other words beginning with 'h') without the "h" also, ive heard that "idear" is something from ct, but to be honest ive never heard it
ive heard that ct has the least amount of accent
2007-03-21 18:05:44 · answer #3 · answered by royalt63 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Listen to Kate Hepburn for an excellent example of Connecticut accents.
I don't think our standard American (think newscasters) accent is nasal especially when compared with the French.
People are so familiar with the way they and the others around them speak that it seems normal to them and that's why you hear so many people express surprise when told they have an accent from people who come from another locale.
2007-03-21 08:44:52 · answer #4 · answered by justa 7 · 0⤊ 3⤋
I live in Fairfield County, and friends from other states have said we sound like New Yorkers, but we can hear the difference. I went to college in a different part of the state, and they sometimes sounded like Boston people.
2016-10-16 12:46:00 · answer #5 · answered by TriStateGirl93 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
People from Connecticut do not have accents. We are more neutral than others (like New Yorkers or people from mid-west or the south).
2007-03-21 08:44:27 · answer #6 · answered by Kabu 5 · 3⤊ 5⤋
CT has no accent because Noah Webster, the guy who formalized spelling and pronuciation in the first dictionary, lived here.
2007-03-21 08:45:38 · answer #7 · answered by lint 6 · 6⤊ 3⤋