After you've taken the quizzes, click here to listen to a 4-minute interview with Robert Beard, the author of the quiz, on National Public Radio.
What do you make of Dr. Beard's claim about what happens to accents once you get past Ohio?
Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
The questions for the quiz were well thought out. They were words that can change wherever you go because of the different pronunciations of syllables in the different parts of the country. The diagnosis for me was fairly accurate in that I had little bit of dixie in me and when I think of some of the words I use they are't really southern words.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree with Dr. Beards claim because there are many accents across the southern and western United States and each region has its own distinct flavor for example a person from Texas has a different accent than someone from California.
Well In on test I was 43% dixie and the other I was only 22%. So there is a bit of a difference in them. Of course wiith only 20 questions each their accuracy will be limited. Over all, I think it did a good job. Though Ihave lived in the south for the last 18 years, I did most of mt schooling (4th through 12th) in New Jersey. Those northerly corrections and lessons on my speach patterns have stuck with me fairly well.
ReplyDeleteOne problem I did have with the test (other than the name, which I feel promotes stereotypes) is that there were not enough questions that had "both" or "Neither" as a possible answer.
As for Dr. Beards assesment of the dialectsin the west, I agreewithhim. Though I would not include, Texas and Oklahoma as west, they are more of a South West. However, in my travels around the country, I have noticed that with One exception, that the people of Colorado do not speak much differently than those in Californy :)
The exception is from locations that have hispanic (Both Mexican and Caribean) influences. Many of these immegrants entered the country along the southern border instead of the east and many also settled in large Urban areas,bringing their language with them. So along the souther border, the accent has been effected and so has the 'inner city.'
I took both tests. On test (a) I was 81% rebel and on test (b) I scored 44% and they called that borderline yankee. So I guess that makes me a southern yankee. I disagree with Mr. Beard, I think every region has accents, even those out west. I just think that some of them are a little harder than others to catch. It thought the tests were interesting and I had to think about some of the answers, because I think on occasion I might use more than of the words listed.
ReplyDeleteI took both tests. Test A - 55% Dixie (barely in Dixie). Test B - 31% Dixie (You are definately a Yankee). Interesting, but not a very good analogy of my dialect. Why? There were a couple of things I pronounce totally different from what is offered. How can they put you in a certain area when the majority of your answers are "General"? Plus I "know" there are some words I distinctly say different because I am using them to reflect two different ideas. How do we greet people? Depends on who I am greeting.
ReplyDeleteI took both tests and scored the same on both: 60% Dixie, barely in Dixie. The gentlemen in the interview with Dr. Beard, gave the same answers on the quiz as I did and he was from Northern Indiana. Dr. Beard said this was not a complete test and I agree, because there were a couple of questions I had to guess an answer because there were no other options. I believe people in all regions of the U.S. speak with some sort of accent, I don't agree with Dr. Beard's claim. The test was interesting and fun.
ReplyDeleteI thought the questions, and especially the results, were interesting and entertaining. It was fun looking at how different regions pronounce words differently and in some cases use completely different words to express the same idea. As an added bonus if I’m ever in Massachusetts and someone want to grab a tonic on Cabbage night I now know how to react.
ReplyDeleteI agree for the most part with Dr. Beard’s claim. Overall the concept appears probable but not absolute. The majority of accents are on the East coast but a few exist West of Ohio. One that comes to mind is the Fargo accent.
Both quizzes were fairly interesting; I enjoyed reading about some of the strange expressions that I have never heard of. Both tests yielded completely different scores. On the first I scored a 65% Dixie, and on the more advanced Yankee or Rebel test I scored a 33% Dixie.
ReplyDeleteI mostly agree with Dr. Beard, but I find it hard to say that no accents exist beyond western Ohio, California has its own subtle accent, but for the most part "accents" are not as prominent the further west you travel.
I scored predominately dixie, 65% on A and 33% on B. Which I am not surprised for the amount of reading I do, so I am more prone to the more universal terms throughout the United States. But, when I see some of the terms that people use for common items, I laugh out loud for the entertaining name and the creativity. Who comes up with that?
ReplyDeleteDr. Beard makes an interesting claim, but that's only his opinion, not everyone is going to agree with him.
I enjoyed taking both tests, I scored a 55% Dixie on the first and a 28% on the second. I thought that the tests were fairly accurate. I think it all comes down to the way people enunciate their words and the placement of their syllables.
ReplyDeleteDr. Beard's opinion is his own, but I can't say that I completely agreed with it. There are subtle differences in everyone's speech you just have to be listening close enough.
I think that the quiz questions were really good and I liked that it told you what region the word is used. On the first quiz I was 63% Dixie and on the second quiz was only 21% Dixie, I not sure why it changed. I do not agree with Dr. Beard, I think that each region has its own accent.
ReplyDeleteI think the quizs were puncual for this time in history as we could or should remember our rural heritage. The diagnosis could be intinded humorus.
ReplyDeleteI thought the tests were very interesting, but subjective to various interpretations. I scored 81% Dixie on the first and 46% on the second. As far as Dr. Beard's claim about accents past Ohio, I think this generalization is pretty spot on from what I have experienced.
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