Do Washingtonians Really Have an Accent? Results Are Surprising
Do you think you have an accent? I was born and raised in Washington State and I've always felt that Washingtonians don't have an accent or at least not as thick as other areas of the country.
I've been to the south and yes I can hear the Southern accent when I was in Atlanta and Nashville. Accents across our country vary and I remember the first time I heard someone from Massachusetts speak when I was a kid and couldn't make out a word of what they said.
Do People From The State Of Washington Have Accent?
I know that the United States is a melting pot of accents. Cajun, Bostonian, Western, and New Jerseyan are always emulated in movies and TV but what about the Pacific Northwest? As a native Washingtonian, do I have an accent?
I know we have different words for things like pop versus soda here in the Northwest.
We call it pop in the Northwest but when I was in California and Tennessee, they call it soda. Southerners just say "Coke" for any type of soda so good luck getting a Pepsi down south.
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Words are different than an accent and I've always wondered if I sound different to a life-long New York resident than I do here in my home state of Washington.
I don't think I have an accent and I've never been told that I've got an accent even after traveling the country through my broadcasting career.
You'd Be Surprised To Learn That Washington Residents Believe They Have No Accent
I was surprised to discover that most people from the Northwest don't believe they have an accent.
The video below has regular Washingtonians saying they don't have an accent but we did discover that linguists think that there might be a Northwest accent after all.
It's a big MAYBE but according to an article from Thrillist.com, the Pacific Northwest accent might be "no accent" at all. Of all of the regions of the United States, we seem to be the blandest and most vanilla when it comes to accents.
It's A "Maybe" On A Pacific Northwest Accent According To Linquist Experts
I think it might be a plus if you have to move somewhere else besides Washington because who needs the question "where are you from?". I've noticed in my travels no one mentions me having an accent so I'll chalk it up to being a non-accent Washingtonian.
I'm sure if you moved elsewhere in the country and over a long period of time, you'd pick an accent from the region and say goodbye to your Washingtonian "non-accent".
You can more details about accents and their regions here