Ope! An Iowa Accent? Yep, You’ve Got One!

It's so secret that in the U.S., there are many different accents.

Southern, New York, Boston, and then whatever the heck they call the "Fargo accent" that's been parodied so many times.

But what about us Iowans? Do we have an accent? To quote the above clip, ya sure, you betcha.

What is an Iowa Accent?

What exactly do you call whatever our accent is? As someone who grew up in Minnesota, I can tell you that in broadcasting school, "Midwestern" accents were always in demand.

READ MORE: Sound Off! Are These Iowa Attractions Overrated?

It turns out that Iowa falls into the “General American” accent zone, especially in the central and eastern parts of the state. This means:

• No strong drawl like the South

• No harsh vowels like Chicago or Boston

• Pretty neutral... to most ears

But it's still considered an accent. I guess every form of speech is, technically.

Get our free mobile app

It's Not Quite That Simple

It's not as easy as saying, "Okay, Iowans have a General American accent," however. You see, while our population is small, our state isn't.

Northern Iowa sometimes picks up a slight Upper Midwest or North Central flair (think Minnesota or the Dakotas, as I joked about earlier).

• Example: Long “O”s (“bOAt” sounds more like “buuht”)

• "Bag" might sound closer to “beg”

Then, there are my in-laws. They live in Northeast Iowa, a very rural area. My determination after spending a lot of time in NE Iowa is that they, too, have an accent.

READ MORE: Your Fav. Pixar Characters Are (Kind Of) Coming to the State Fair

There are some vowel shifts, and, with my father-in-law at least, the letter "R" is often added to words when it's not normally present. Take, for example, the word "wash."

What Do You Think? Here Are Some Examples That Will Make You Agree

What do you think? If you're not a native Iowan or Midwesterner, do you think we speak differently?

A few words that I noticed when I first moved here still stand out...

• "Roof" is pronounced like "ruff.v
  (Not as strong as Wisconsin, but it’s there.)

• "Milk" = "melk"
  "Melk and cookies" is peak Iowa.

• Crick instead of "creek" - another big one my in-laws use.

Ope, did I miss any? Please let me know.

And, enjoy these Iowa-inspired fireworks!