Look Who's Talking

I was raised in the suburbs of Detroit and went to college at the University of Michigan, so I thought it was pretty rude when students from other states made fun of my accent. First, I didn't have one.  Second, even if I did, it was like making fun of an Irish brogue in Ireland.

They said I said "car" like "caaaaaar" with a very flat "a." (For some reason "car" was the word they noticed--once again, if anyone knows how to pronounce that word, it's Detroiters.) I didn't hear it--I hear myself say "cahhhr"--and sometimes thought they said something closer to "core."

Anyway, turns out there is a big regional dialect around the Great Lakes, as Rob Mifsud notes in Slate.  It's called the NCS--Northern Cities Shift--even though it's spread beyond cities. He goes on to explain how it started and how the vowels are changing.  He also talks about research that shows those who speak in NCS don't even recognize it. (Though I find it hard to believe I wouldn't know the difference between "cat" and "cot.")

I admit when I go back home I don't really notice it, though occasionally when I'm in Chicago the people on the street do sound a bit like the SNL  Bears' fan parody.