Minnesota. I mean c'mon. We've all seen Fargo. People from Minnesota sound funny, like Terence and Phillip from South Park and all those canadians(Peter Jennings has a slight case of it). Whenever I hear Prince talk, he doesn't sound like that at all. How does he avoid it?


Footnote: I have nothing against Minnesotans or Canadiens. But y'all do sound funny, just like southerners sound funny too.

Does "sounding funny" include the way he pronounces the number twenty, making it sound like "twunny"? As in the song "2020" and the line "it was twunny to eleven" from "Supercute"?

I've never worked out whether that's his natural accent or him playing up.

Max

BobGeorge999 said:

He doesn't go out man, that's why. He stays in his little house

[i][i]I uunderstand what you mean by not knowing how he has got around the whole accent thing. I moved to Georgia in 1999 and not only do people constantly ask me where I'm from (New York), but they say they love my accent and even my two little ones (ages 2 and 4) don't sound like they were born here. They sound just like New Yorkers. I don't think I'll even sound like a southerner (at least I pray I never do.). [/i][/i] [i]

Igo2DaMax said:

I say twunny and I'm not from Minnesota. I'm from Cali...most people say twunny. I hardly hear aywhere people pronounce the second "t" in twenty. The most I've ever heard Prince sound like he was from minnesota(besides the minneapolis sound) is in that interview on the Back 2 Back picture disc from the European leg of his Dirty Mind Tour(I think) where he was being interviewed by some european guy in the back of a cab or car or summin.

BobGeorge999 said:

Maybe it's because I'm English that it sounds really odd the way he says it. I tend to say "twen-nie" (with the "wen" rhyming with "ten") rather than "twun-nie", (with the "wun" rhyming with "one").

Hmmm, describing accents in writing ain't easy!

Max

MonaLuvsYou said:

Don't worry...it'll happen...it's innevetible. Southern accents are like cockroaches. They get anywhere and survive anything. My mom lived in the Louisiana 'till she was 16(she's 50+ now). Normally she sounds almost normal now, but the second she gets on the phone with one of her sisters, she immediatly falls sdown the evolutionary ladder, god forbid if she flys down there for a couple weeks or so . One thing she still says though(I'm not sure if it's because she's southern or what) but she always says that she's "gon' make some gorceries". I'm like mom...U don't make groceries...U buy them .

Igo2DaMax said:

For real...U got that right! I have difficulties reading books where the dialouge is from someone who has a thick accent. It's almost undecipherable. Imagine most Stephen king books that take place in New England.

Here is the answer to your Minnesota accent question-

In general, people with the hardcore accents you hear in the movie "Fargo" are from Northern Minnesota. Once you get about 1/2 hour North of the Twin Cities this accent grows stronger and stronger. People from Duluth to Fargo in particular have this accent. People from the Twin Cities do too, but usually only if they are from Northern MN orginally.

There is also a variation of this accent which is the Wisconsin accent. It is slightly different and can be heard in the movie "Miracle" as being used by Kurt Russel, who plays the Hockey Coach Herb Brooks.

skywalker said:

Lets throw another acccent in there....Gracias Senor.

Serious. Thanx...That answered my question.

Just an FYI from a born and raised Minnesotan, I do not a have an accent nor 'talk funny'. When I travel, people are often surprised to hear that I am from and live in Minnesota as I do not talk with a midwestern accent. I do not understand where this assumption comes from. Many people I know here talk without any detection as to where they are from and I rarely come across someone who has a noticeable accent.

liebdinge said:

my bad then...

maybe it's not as noticeable in african american minnesotans??

BobGeorge999 said:

Believe it or not, MOST people from Minnesota do not sound like they are from the movie "Fargo". I do not sound anything like this.

Do you believe EVERYTING you see on T.V.?

Besides, Fargo is in North Dakota....

I've lived in Minnesota since I was born, and I haven't met a single person that has that stupid Fargo accent. We don't all sound like that, guys.
[This message was edited Mon May 10 13:57:53 2004 by HobbesLeCute]

another thing I've always noticed is that tv and movie minnesotan characters are always portrayed as dumb...like Rose from the Golden Girls...there's another one, but I cant think of him right now...

SquarePeg said:

Sinclaire (sp?) from Living Single was from Minni

SquarePeg said:

Jesse Ventura our former Governor?

skywalker said:

My wife was born and raised in Minnesota (and she's got the accent!). And I definetly hear Prince's Minnesotan tone and gesticulation

i always thought Prince sounded like the sound you'd get if you grabbed B.A Baracus' testiclytes. Good example is on 'housequake'

HotThang said:

THAT'S IT!!! thank you

there's still another one...

skywalker said:

not all minnesotans have that stereotypical accent. there is a definite accent amongst most folks here, but like it was mentioned above the accent gets more distinct the further north you go. p ain't one of 'em though--his accent's sorta similar to mine, what i call the 'midwestern-southern hybrid'.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

You betcha.

ALSO, WHY ARE THERE SO MANY SEX CRIMES IN MINNESOTA.....

MoneyMade said:

There are??

I didn't do any of them!

I didn't notice everyone having an accent.

Did nebody notice how he said/sung "Cream" when he wuz playin' the acoustic version of it on 'The Art Of Musicology' & 'Music And Words: Prince'?

On'em he said it like "Crame"-sound pretty country-like 2 me.
& on da song he said it just like many would usually say it or sing it.

Also in 2001 when he wuz on Jay Leno's show(P prank called Jay & Jay gets him back) newayz...he says "band" sorda proper-like.

*All IMO

It's fun noticing Prince's different accents..

Well, it'll also depend on how the person was raised also. Family class can change things, so will the amount of schooling. Not that people with less schooling/lower class families talk 'funny' or anything, I've just noticed this that's all.

But I'm also an Oregonian, and I like to mess with words myself, and I live in a 'Ghetto town' (Untill this year, our High school hallway floors were concrete with dirt on it ) so I usually notice when there are changes in speech.... unless I'm spacing out. Which will happen often.

Ok. I'm rambling, I'll summarize it. I guess what I'm trying to say is, that some people can have 'the Fargo' accent, while others around them don't. It can vary on upbringing etc. I have one friend who even calls her parents 'Mother' and 'Father' while I'll even go and call my mum, em mum. (and I am in no way British. Not that every one in Britan calls there moms 'mum,' but yeah)

Ok. shutting up now.