Southern accents, Eastern accents, Northern accents and Ebonics

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by AKA_DEUCE_1908

Oh, you're one of those Internet Smart Asses huh?

Yeah, right. No, I just have a hard time staying quiet when people say silly things.

Originally Posted by AKA_DEUCE_1908

I know what I'm talking about-the places in the Midwest with accents are either further South, or further North. PERIOD.

I assume since you're cutting "further North" from the Midwest, you've decided that Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota aren't really the Midwest. So what Midwest are you talking about? Chicago? Iowa? Nebraska? Ohio? Missouri? I've heard people from all of them with accents.

Originally Posted by AKA_DEUCE_1908

...anyway, the "neutral" or "newsanchor" accent is exactly what I mean, most people in the Midwest, have a neutral accent-it doesn't make us better, but you have to ask yourself why no matter where in the country a newsanchor is reporting, they seem to sound like midwestners...it's not an elite opinion, because my family orginates from Tennesse, Mississippi and Puerto Rico-a gamut of accents...it's an observation

But it's an overgeneralized observation. I have heard plenty of anchors in the South who do not sound like midwesterners.

Everyone who speaks has an accent. An accent is nothing but the way in which words are pronounced. The "newsanchor speak" you keep talking about is more commonly known as "General American" or "Standard Midwestern" (or even "American Broadcast English"). It is an accent; it's just the accent that is perceived to be the most homogenous and free and regional distinctives, but it is an accent -- a way of pronunciation.

Originally Posted by DSTCHAOS

What's the place where the "news anchor accent" stems from? There are a few states that claim they have a neutral accent.

According to The Telsur Project (as reported on The Wiki), it's eastern Nebraska, southern and central Iowa and western Illinois.