The state's well-known accent has come to symbolize folksy charm. But it has also been gradually evolving.
  • logicbomb@lemmy.world
    21·
    3 months ago

    Why do Minnesotans have accents?

    Everybody has an accent. It’s a weird question that seems to indicate that some people either don’t have an accent or have some sort of “correct” accent.

    If things had worked out differently, an accent like the Minnesotan accent could have been seen as the “correct” accent.

  • Yer Ma@lemm.ee
    8·
    3 months ago

    Fun fact: all Minnesotaean children are required to lick a light pole in their first winter

    • Spacehooks@reddthat.comEnglish
      3·
      3 months ago

      Many linguists attribute Minnesotans’ unusual single-tone pronunciation of long “a’s” and “o’s” to the influence of Scandinavian settlers, as those sounds are common in languages of that region.

      But Minnesota’s large number of immigrants from Norway and Sweden didn’t arrive until the latter half of the 19th century, Haataja noted. The first Europeans to settle the area were largely English speakers from the British Isles. And both Scottish English and Irish English speakers are known for those same long “a” and “o” pronunciations.

      Probably helped make it more distinct.