Understanding what a Twin Cities accent is


I grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and have lived in Arizona and California for all of my adult life, and it has recently occurred to me that no one ever has said to me, "Brad, that's an interesting accent you have, where are you from?" And it's because I don't have an accent (unless of course I were to be outside of the USA), I have a Twin Cities accent. And everybody all over the U.S. is used to hearing it, on TV, and on the radio. I'll see if I can explain.

Please don't ask me why, but for some reason the United States decided that the most neutral, and understandable, pronuncian was based on two cities in Minnesota: Minneapolis and St. Paul. And there is a distinction between the accents that are common there, and the accents you hear elsewhere in Minnesota. So it's a Minnesota accent, but not a non-Minneapolis/St. Paul accent. Well, you can include the greater metro area, so I just call it the "Twin Cities accent".

OK, calm down there, I know - no one has an accent, that's just how they talk there. But listen to the radio, listen to a newscaster on TV, they all have the same accent - mine. Some of them, like me, just grew up talking that way, and some learned it. It's actually kind of funny to listen to someone switch from their normal speaking voice to their broadcasting voice. For me, of course, it would be the same.

Of course, how we speak is influenced by our parents, and I'm no exception. My mom grew up in the Iron Range area of Northern Minnesota (think of a comedian doing a very exaggerated Minnesota accent, ya shure, and you have it), but she obviously became aware of it, and after moving to Minneapolis, it faded away. She always had a touch of it, but not much. My dad also grew up in northern Minnesota, but other than saying "ooff-dah" sometimes I never heard much of an accent from him. Of course my teachers were a very strong influence on me, and they spoke with the Twin Cities accent.

I think that it surprises some people that I just naturally talk the way that I do. You know, like someone on the radio. It does sound a bit stiff, and even affected, so when I started teaching I intentionally threw in some blurring, just to sound a bit more human. I still do this, and it's a conscious effort, and I can adjust it for the person, or group, that I'm addressing. It's actually easier for me to not intentionally blur, because it's just easier to speak with your normal accent.

Chances are very slim that I will be ever leaving the country, but I sometimes wonder what I would sound like in London, or Paris. Would the Parissene girls think that my accent was dreamy, or would I sound flat and stupid? I really don't know, and I suppose I never will.

Hang on, I think I can figure out how to upload a video from TikTok, so you can hear my accent. I have no idea if this will work here on Blogger. If it does, you'll hear a Twin Cities accent!

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