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Of course, everybody speaks in an accent. What is it, though?
Being back in Buffalo for a few days, when I hear a Buffalo accent, I fidn it to be incredibly grating. It's quite nasal, for one. There's the very pronounced "flat a," where the A sound in words like ... well, my name, Dan, would sound like "Dee-YAAN" or "Dee-YAAN-yul" if spoken by a native. Among males, there's an element of toughness, where everything is spoken with the same tone or inflection as a sentence like "I'm going to kick your ass!" The accent that comes closest may be the Chicago South Suburban drone.
Unlike other US cities, many local radio DJs, newscasters and other media celebrities have Buffalo accents. The accent isn't suppressed on the air, and a radio or television newscast could break a glass with the flee-YAAT As.
I don't have a Buffalo accent, for some reason. Dad doesn't have an accent, Mom has only a light accent, most of the relatives on my Mom's side of the family (the Protestant/Irish/Scottish/English side) have the flat-A, and Dad's side (the Jewish side) sounds Midwestern. There's a very slight flat-A when those trained in accents listen, but otherwise I have a Midwestern "Midland Northern" accent, what my friends describe as an "NPR voice."
Being back in Buffalo for a few days, when I hear a Buffalo accent, I fidn it to be incredibly grating. It's quite nasal, for one. There's the very pronounced "flat a," where the A sound in words like ... well, my name, Dan, would sound like "Dee-YAAN" or "Dee-YAAN-yul" if spoken by a native. Among males, there's an element of toughness, where everything is spoken with the same tone or inflection as a sentence like "I'm going to kick your ass!" The accent that comes closest may be the Chicago South Suburban drone.
Unlike other US cities, many local radio DJs, newscasters and other media celebrities have Buffalo accents. The accent isn't suppressed on the air, and a radio or television newscast could break a glass with the flee-YAAT As.
I don't have a Buffalo accent, for some reason. Dad doesn't have an accent, Mom has only a light accent, most of the relatives on my Mom's side of the family (the Protestant/Irish/Scottish/English side) have the flat-A, and Dad's side (the Jewish side) sounds Midwestern. There's a very slight flat-A when those trained in accents listen, but otherwise I have a Midwestern "Midland Northern" accent, what my friends describe as an "NPR voice."