Does Cleveland have a distinctive accent? (Toledo, Akron: live in, beach, vacation)

[Trimac20]

I have a friend who was born and bred in the Cleveland area and he has quite a distinctive accent, almost like New York or Boston. But Drew Carey etc doesn't seem to. Is there a Cleveland accent?

[HopeToComeHome]

I am a native Clevelander. I never noticed it until I moved away. My husband was born and raised in the DC area. He swears I and my family have accents. He always pokes fun at my o's. "Oh my gosh" sounds like "oh my gAHsh".

If you listen hard, you can hear it in Drew Carey's voice sometimes, too. His o's especially.

Along the same lines of accent, I never noticed how often I and my fellow native Clevelanders say "Geez, oh man." I have heard Drew Carey use it, too. (so I know it is not just my family!)

[Alaskapat528]

Originally Posted by HopeToComeHome

I am a native Clevelander. I never noticed it until I moved away. My husband was born and raised in the DC area. He swears I and my family have accents. He always pokes fun at my o's. "Oh my gosh" sounds like "oh my gAHsh".

If you listen hard, you can hear it in Drew Carey's voice sometimes, too. His o's especially.

Along the same lines of accent, I never noticed how often I and my fellow native Clevelanders say "Geez, oh man." I have heard Drew Carey use it, too. (so I know it is not just my family!)

Native Clevelander here also. I never thought I had an accent. My husband swears I have a mid-western accent (not sure what the heck that is lol). But as far as us native Clevelanders having an accent such as N.Y. NO way, my husband is a native New Yorker and we sound nothing like they do. Your right about the "oh my gAHsh."

[cavsfan1129]

I never noticed it unitl I was on the phone with a client and he told me that he liked my accent. I'm thinking "I'm from Cleveland and we don't have accents". I guess we do...Can't even describe it :-)

[CortlandGirl79]

I'm not from Cleveland, but i do live in Northeast Ohio. Most Clevelanders as well as some in Toledo, Akron, and Canton have what i call the "Great Lakes Accent". It's not so crazy that it's extremely noticeable, but you can definitely hear it on certain words.......mom, Parma, etc. LOL

[BelieveInCleve]

Ive came to the conclusion that everybody has an accent. So yes we do have an accent, I suppose.However, Ive never had anybody tell me that I had an accent in all the places Ive gone.

It might not be that noticeable because the Cleveland area (and a lot of the Northeast and Midwest) has an accent pretty close to what the news stations use across the country.

[OhioNative]

I never thought I had an accent until I moved away from NE Ohio - I now live in GA. Now, I can spot an NE Ohio accent a mile away (although it's really not easy to differentiate from Detroit or Buffalo). When I talk to my brother in Cleveland, I think "geez, he sounds like a Clevelander." Everyone at work (which includes people from all over the country) makes fun of how I say the names "Don" and "Donna", and they really laugh when I say the word "pop!" It is sort of a "clipped" vowel sound that is hard to describe. Google "northern vowel drift" or "Great Lakes accent" for some interesting articles.

[Kasey77]

been back and forth for years from Cleveland to So. Cal. I'll be walking the beach in San Diego and casually talking with some one and they will say "are you from Chicago". I still can't hear it!
There is a radio station here that phoned London and asked them if we as Americans have an accent. The man was laughing and said "you sure do, that Yankee accent".
think we all do to others outside an area.

[andrew61]

I agree that the Cleveland accent is basically a "Great Lakes" accent. Very similar to Buffalo and Detroit, even Chicago. Kind of hard to describe except that vowel sounds tend to be overexaggerated and somewhat nasal.

Here's an interesting take on the "Cleveland accent":

What is a Cleveland Accent?

[andrew61]

Originally Posted by Kasey77

been back and forth for years from Cleveland to So. Cal. I'll be walking the beach in San Diego and casually talking with some one and they will say "are you from Chicago". I still can't hear it!
There is a radio station here that phoned London and asked them if we as Americans have an accent. The man was laughing and said "you sure do, that Yankee accent".
think we all do to others outside an area.

Heh... Reminds me of that scene in National Lampoon's European Vacation, when the Griswolds are dining al fresco in Paris... The waiter says to them (in French, of course), "Interesting accent... Chicago? Perhaps Cleveland?"