Accent of Detroit, both white and black

[gazhekwe]

I agree about the accents. I don't really notice huge differences between the speech of Pittsburgh and DC and here, for instance, but I am told when I am in Pittsburgh or DC that my accent is very strong. In Pittsburgh, when I ask for coffee, I often get Coke.

I was raised in the UP and I do know there are some definite differences in the pronunciation of vowels between the UP and here, as well as the length of the ending of some words. I may still have a smattering of that left in my speech, but I tend to be a parrot and pick up from people I interact with.

[pffft]

So how do you all say the word "roof"?

Do you say "ruff"? I always laugh when I hear announcers on the radio trying to sell metal "ruffs," but I may be in the minority if it's definitely a Detroit-ism.

[dtowncitylover]

So how do you all say the word "roof"?

Do you say "ruff"? I always laugh when I hear announcers on the radio trying to sell metal "ruffs," but I may be in the minority if it's definitely a Detroit-ism.

My family and I, as much as we are rooted Detroiters, have always said rOOf. When I first heard it pronounced "rUff", I was quite surprised. The when I asked my friends about it, they said the noun was rOOF, but the action is rUffing.

I ruff, you ruff, he/she ruffs, we ruff, they ruff.

[dtowncitylover]

Accents develop over time. Even though Windsor has had more contact with us than with Toronto, IMO, they speak the Canadian English accent. Funny though, their way of speaking has more influenced us than them. "Eh" is very common among our parts, and when speaking to a guy my age from Baltimore a couple weekends ago, he made fun of my ending with "eh". Even linguist are noticed that Detroiters, among the younger generation, are picking up the Canadian rising.

I am told the accent of Pittsburgh is quite unique among American English accents. "Yinzers" they are called. Our "you guys" is their "yinz", funny eh?

Words can also be important, but it was not the main point of my article. Pop is heard all over the Midwest, save St. Louis where they say soda.

Upon a visit to my Canadian cousins last month, a boyfriend of one of my cousines told me that throughout the day I dropped my r's, I was quite surprised.