Ranking which American Accents is HARDEST TO UNDERSTAND

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:00]We got 13 American accents ranked easiest to hardest to understand.

[00:00:04]>> the easiest American accent >> Let's get to it, man. and which is the hardest? Well, how y'all doing? I'm about to learn you something real quick.

[00:00:10]So, what's those 13 accents? Southern is the hardest to understand?

[00:00:13]>> No, I'm saying that Southern. No, the hardest would probably be uh Which one?

[00:00:16]What I don't think any of them are hard.

[00:00:18]Like, I'm not I'm not I'm not Now, if you're talking about that pig Latin [ __ ] from Boston, yeah, but that's that's a weird >> If it's just the accent itself and not the the words, some of the words they be making up, then >> think none of them is too hard for me, personally.

[00:00:33]>> Let's see, bro. Yeah. So, I've moved across the US and I've ranked them from easiest to hardest. Or Creole. Or Creole Yeah.

[00:00:40]Creole might be kind of hard. But I'm fascinated by accents, especially English accents [music] from across the pond. So, let's see how many of these you can recognize. Good evening. Your time now 3:42. This just in. Me. I'm sending things over to my colleague here, Robert Burton. You know, Robert, it was such a wild day at work. How did things go over on your end?

[00:01:01]Don't ever talk to me like that. Don't try this at home. Listen, you might think you've got a handle on the American way of talking, but trust me, it's a far more complex beast than you might imagine. Now, the easiest accent is so common, it's practically invisible. This is what people think of most when they think of the American accent. This is when you're going and you're watching movies and you're hearing an American, this is what you're usually hearing. Easy to follow, easy to imitate, and as American as apple pie.

[00:01:26]Think Jennifer Aniston.

[00:01:27]>> Now, I will say that the thing that I think that I know is actually the thing that I think that I know. The voice of any news anchor or your average Joe. Not only if we all began to wear suspenders would we increase the net masculinity of the American public. [music] And you're just sick and tired of always looking like a plumber when you bend over [music] to get your wallet.

[00:01:44]>> I wonder if it's difficult because y'all sound like garbage disposals when y'all talk.

[00:01:48]That's what I've been saying.

[00:01:51]So, you're so used to hearing trash that when you hear clarity, you know what I'm saying?

[00:01:55]>> not going to lie.

[00:01:56]>> [laughter] >> I'm not I'm not I'm not even going to lie to you in the slightest. If I hear any of those I think she's Irish but she's like a little bit of a lack here and and like she started putting subtitles on her videos cuz no one could understand.

[00:02:08]>> So I It's crazy like that the European accents obviously not >> are insane.

[00:02:14]>> But the European accents were the original ways of talking is what is crazy.

[00:02:19]>> Sometimes the sequel's better but Of course it's no accident they're speaking like this.

[00:02:23]>> English I should say.

[00:02:25]will all understand them is what's called the general American accent the gold standard for clarity. If you come from places like the Midwest or Northern California well congratulations you're probably rocking this accent without even trying. Now things can only heat up from here so as we go along I want you to keep eyes and ears open. There is one accent on this list that non-Americans voted as the hardest one of all to understand.

[00:02:45]Which one do you think it is? See if you can guess before we get to it and no cheating. So we're going to go back to the house and maybe chill for a minute or two.

[00:02:54]Then we're going to meet up with our pals East >> Is this West Coast [ __ ] Sounds like a plan dude.

[00:02:59]If you don't get this accent off the bat then you've probably never watched American TV. It is the accent of sun-kissed beaches tech giants California and toast and Hollywood loves it. There's no shortage of characters mimicking this accent. Dude.

[00:03:11]I wouldn't say so but a lot of other foreigners get confused.

[00:03:14]>> Just say what you normally say but just do it like in a slower chiller way. You know what I mean?

[00:03:22]>> Right okay I see it now. Nothing like a little bit of vocal fry to warm up.

[00:03:26]>> okay now now I'm picking up what you're putting down. I'm understanding Do you understand it Tway? where this is coming from. This isn't a scope from Americans to Americans. This is Americans to the Brits.

[00:03:38]You know a heavy on the vowels got a bit of a drawl and everything's a question.

[00:03:42]You know where we are? The words are stuck in the back of my throat. I have like a vocal fry but I don't know like it went away. People were like you know it's not that big of a deal.

[00:03:49]>> Southern California know, were right on the money. But by the way, as you can tell, I don't have a particularly American accent, not at all, actually.

[00:03:56]So, if I say something here that you disagree with, don't hold back. Let me have it in the comments. All feedback is welcome. Now, some American accents are straight fire, while others not so much.

[00:04:05]We've covered the smooth talkers, but now we're heading into trickier territory. Ears at the ready.

[00:04:10]>> I growed up talking like this. I just kind of had to learn how to chirp a little >> [laughter] >> That's That's That's where it is. That's That's here. That's Mississippi, Alabama. Well, that's the style.

[00:04:20]>> [laughter] >> I wouldn't even I wouldn't even say that goes up a little bit Midwest, too. You know what I'm saying? Country. That's country. Uh I growed up talking like this. Yeah, that's >> [laughter] >> Great. Understandable.

[00:04:33]>> In the rural areas.

[00:04:34]>> I understand it.

[00:04:36]But, it's always been here. I'm frankly a little bit more comfortable talking like this. So, this is what I typically default back >> It is friendly, it is popular. Everyone in the whole world knows it. And despite the drawl, it's surprisingly easy to understand, cuz as you can hear, nobody's in a huge hurry.

[00:04:52]>> And our accent is known for really drawing out its words.

[00:04:56]>> Damn, nobody's in a huge hurry. drawing out a hay is a perfect example of this.

[00:04:59]It's kind of hay. But, I got to warn you, this accent's got more accents than a rattlesnake's got rattles. So, even if you can guess which state it's from, you'll have a hard time nailing down the exact region. For one thing, there's all the Spanish loan words.

[00:05:12]>> give up easy. You know, [music] in Spanish, they call it terco, which means hard-headed. It might take me a while to accomplish what I want to accomplish.

[00:05:22]>> [music] >> Bruce Wayne, THE CHINESE COWBOY?

[00:05:25]>> [laughter] >> WHAT THE [ __ ] I HAVE A GOAL, AND I'M GOING to try to achieve it.

[00:05:31]>> With all that history and all those forces, what are you going to get? Well, a bunch of Westerns, for one.

[00:05:35]>> I say let's us put our bread in some of that gravy while it is still hot.

[00:05:39]>> you can tell me where this guy is from.

[00:05:40]It's one of the oldest and most distinct accents of the whole state.

[00:05:44]>> Well, didn't find nothing for 30 minutes. I don't need to be out here. I don't need to be out here. It is the sound of It's in his name. tiny woods and we are obviously talking about the Texan accent. And in case you're wondering why I've got Texas in the easy bucket, well, it's only because we're so familiar with the accent from movies and this is what it makes it sound like.

[00:06:01]>> But bro, that's so many different >> Yeah, and that cuz like spread >> that sounds That's the southern accent.

[00:06:07]The only thing that doesn't have that specific accent is Louisiana. Because it's Creole. The Texas accent is in Mississippi, Alabama.

[00:06:16]>> That's all country. It's all country.

[00:06:17]Living in the woods.

[00:06:18]>> But [ __ ] Alabama sound like swamp rats, nutria rats, and [ __ ] alligators, [ __ ] easier to understand. Any Texans out there? Listen up. How good are you at knowing who's who in your state? The University of Texas did a study on this and more than 70% of Texans I know a Texan when I hear one now.

[00:06:36]What about you, DEAR BROTHER?

[00:06:40]ALL RIGHT, IS HE saying we can identify their area in Texas based on the accent?

[00:06:45]That's not a thing. That's not a That's not a real thing. I can tell you're from Texas or from the south.

[00:06:50]>> That's not Yeah, that's not a thing over here. Like yeah. We know. [laughter] If the University of Texas said this, I don't believe them. You're over here unless the accent is like very distinct.

[00:07:00]>> Like hell. Even the California people we talked to don't sound like what y'all think of the California accent. Yeah.

[00:07:05]Like unless you hear the one in a million that actually sound like that nowadays cuz everything because of the internet, [ __ ] is being lost in translation anyway. So, you know what I'm saying? Unless it's like very, very, very, very distinct, you don't know where a [ __ ] from. And if it's not If they sound like Texan, THEY MIGHT BE FROM ALABAMA OR MONTANA.

[00:07:23]>> [laughter] >> YOU SPEAK THOUGH. THAT'S PRETTY GOOD.

[00:07:26]How about you? If you think we're off to a good start, please like the video, subscribe, like the video, for more awesome accents.

[00:07:33]Coffee. I got coffee here. Now, them [ __ ] Was that Boston? Them [ __ ] >> [laughter] >> But that That whole region. That aw TO ME. AW.

[00:07:42]YOU AW. YOU AW.

[00:07:44]YEAH.

[00:07:47]DOOR MUST BE CLOSED AT ALL TIMES. WHAT THE HELL is that?

[00:07:50]It's internet CITY DOT STORE.

[00:07:53]IS THAT NEW MERCH? YEAH. ARTISANAL WORLDWIDE? OH, WAIT. I'M WEARING IT, TOO. OH, SHOOT. YEAH. OH, YEAH. YEAH.

[00:08:01]YEAH.

[00:08:02]YEAH.

[00:08:03]YEAH.

[00:08:05]Internet city dot store. Go ahead and get the new merch. Artisanal worldwide.

[00:08:09]Everything is rated R for autism. If you don't understand it, hey, it ain't meant for you, baby. Join the crew. Join the cult. Hop up in that, bro.

[00:08:19]What's What's wrong with you? No, I don't know. I was thinking of something clever.

[00:08:23]It's 4:00 a.m. We've been going all night. Yeah, we've been going all >> Buy the merch, bro. Yeah, go ahead and get that. COFFEE. I GOT COFFEE. DOES ANYBODY WANT COFFEE? FRANK, I'LL TAKE A CUP. A Connecticut Boston >> funny, you're not funny. New York >> up to your name.

[00:08:37]>> Welcome to an iconic accent. It's fast, it's loud, it's often very nasally, and it can often sound urgent or assertive.

[00:08:43]In other words, the accent is anything but laid-back.

[00:08:46]>> A nice sandwich with me, okay? We'll make a nice sandwich. Real sandwich.

[00:08:49]>> Well, that's just a dead giveaway. It was influenced by Italians, and a bit of news here. My list is my list, and I'm including American opinions, but this accent came up in that survey I mentioned earlier, remember? Which accent do non-Americans think is hardest? This wasn't the winner, but it's in the top five. Thing is, even Americans traveling abroad with this accent often say that nobody understands them. So, it's not as easy for everyone as [laughter] you might think. I think.

[00:09:10]In some neighborhoods, you might even wonder if you accidentally switched into a different language. I remember I lived on East 81st Street. Oh, that's awesome.

[00:09:18]Twice that. Twice. East 84th Street. Oh, yeah. My My mom's Oh, oh, man. And down at Tony's Diner. Man, Tony made a good meatloaf. That's that That's that Matilda mama.

[00:09:29]Sounds like Matilda mama, yeah. Let me tell you. Tony's Diner, oh, I it will it make a cat meow. Oh, it made a [ __ ] quick.

[00:09:36]>> [laughter] >> My grandparents, which is really nice as a kid growing up.

[00:09:41]>> accent. Where is she from? Which part?

[00:09:42]Well, these city folks always use a heck of a lot of idiomatic expressions all their own, and the regional identity is very, very strong. Last clue.

[00:09:50]>> Quick question, is there a supermarket or deli where I can get cold cuts around here?

[00:09:54]>> Boston.

[00:09:54]>> We're all hungry, hon. Let's settle in and we'll figure it out. I have no mascara on. Valentina, don't worry about the remote right now. We didn't travel 800 miles to watch Cake Boss.

[00:10:03]>> Go and pause the video and put your best guess in the comments. Here it comes.

[00:10:06]Bonus points if you've got Brooklyn and Staten Island. It's the iconic sounds of New York City.

[00:10:11]>> That's also Jersey, also Boston.

[00:10:13]>> whole [ __ ] area.

[00:10:14]>> Like that whole [ __ ] I think he's putting I think he's putting specific cities or states together.

[00:10:20]>> also more There are so many more New York accents than that.

[00:10:23]>> Yeah. Yeah.

[00:10:24]>> More like it's like 20 like Yeah.

[00:10:27]>> And [ __ ] just kind of mesh.

[00:10:28]>> Yeah, bro.

[00:10:29]>> If I missed this one, confession time.

[00:10:31]>> 7:45 [music] he wakes up. He goes down to church, St. John Chrysostom. Then he comes home and he puts on his black and gold. Heads on down to Heinz Field.

[00:10:38]Meets up with my cousin Natalie Carapena. They hang out there, have a good That don't really That sound like a dude's faking it.

[00:10:44]>> The bosses have a couple hours. Wow, that was in English.

[00:10:47]>> He looked like a dude faking it.

[00:10:49]I'm not joking. I threw this one in because when you mix all the local words in with the accent, it gets a little bit confusing. At least I think so. And they really seem to have fun with it.

[00:10:56]Examples? Well, first of all, forget you all or you guys. Here, it's all about yinz. It's a staple of the local lingo.

[00:11:04]>> Yeah, I'm going downtowner. I got my eye rock off of blocks, you know. I live up in Washington County. We're going to go downtowner and I check out the game.

[00:11:11]It's uh Sunday. A real good this year.

[00:11:13]>> They talk fast and there's a lot of squa Out here. Oh, yeah, that [ __ ] When they start using their lingo. I understood that.

[00:11:20]But I mostly not all of it.

[00:11:23]>> No, I got more I got Let me see. Let me see. Let me see. Let me down here. I got my eye rock off of yinz. It's a staple of the local >> for yinz to be honest.

[00:11:30]>> local lingo. Yeah, I'm going downtowner.

[00:11:32]I got my eye rock off of blocks, you know. I live up in Washington County, we're going to go down and uh check out the game this uh Sunday. They're real good this year.

[00:11:40]>> They talk fast, don't >> Okay, he live in Boston, he going to check out the game. That's second sentence, I don't know what the [ __ ] he I got my something down there. I got my rocks off. That's all. I'm going downtown, I got my eye rock off of blocks, you know. My eye rock off of blocks. I don't know what that is.

[00:11:54]>> does that even mean? You know, I don't I don't know what that is though. When they start using the words, that's when that I can see why foreigners be like, "What the fuck?" Unless he Unless he's saying he got cracked.

[00:12:03]I got my rock off the block. I live up in Washington County, we're going to go down and uh check out the game this uh Sunday. They're real good this year.

[00:12:10]>> They talk fast and there's a lot of squishing words together. We're not used to the pace. You'll probably be asking them to slow down a little bit. One more clue.

[00:12:17]>> Hey, you best watch that bush, it's full of jaggers. Hey, it's been raining all night. Be careful on them steps, they're slippy out there. Yeah, yeah, I'm just letting that out work right now. Meet me downtown, we'll talk about it. Place your bets now. We're talking about the funny, quirky accent of Here it comes.

[00:12:32]Pittsburgh. Did you get it? I knew you guys would. Bro, I don't know really Bro, THIS ALL SOUND THE SAME. I THOUGHT we was still talking about that same Bro, I was like I was like, "What the What's Boston?"

[00:12:42]>> I literally thought we was still talking about the same region.

[00:12:44]>> Yeah, bro.

[00:12:45]>> They All of them [ __ ] sound similar.

[00:12:47]It's not It's not too much to even >> Cuz even Philly sound like New York.

[00:12:50]Even Philly sound like New York.

[00:12:52]>> Yeah, they all mixed together because they're close by each other. They visit each other. It's two-hour drives apart from each other. I got a pig at home on the corn feeding my own. All I needs pretty little girl. If you win, I'm gone. Love it or hate it, this accent is very, very popular. It's just charming as it gets.

[00:13:08]>> southern like Tennessee accent.

[00:13:09]Tennessee accent. Nobody's going to argue with that.

[00:13:11]>> Three years later, I'm over here doing daddy stuff. Like my buddy called me the other day, he said, "Hey, man, bike night's coming up. You going to be there?" I said, "Oh, when?" And he said, "Friday night, 6:00 p.m." I was like, "Oh, me and my oldest, he got a bounce house party. I I I got to go to that one."

[00:13:26]>> What on earth is it number five though?

[00:13:28]Well, that drawl might be so smooth, so cool to our ears, but easy to understand? I don't know about that. It starts off all and then things get gradually trickier the further south you travel.

[00:13:39]>> My God, living breathing Yelp review coming in here pitching a fit before he's even had a bite to eat yet. I swear to Conway Twitty, you make me want It's not the accent, it's the word. I even understood what he said. THAT'S VERY THAT'S VERY UNDERSTANDABLE.

[00:13:53]>> WELL, FOREIGNERS. FOREIGNERS. But it's like >> It's the same we would say for some of the British stuff that they say or European and we'd be like, "What the [ __ ] did you say?" And they'd be like, "I said." But their people would understand it easier than we would understand them.

[00:14:06]>> He's Okay. It's cuz we're used to it.

[00:14:10]My God, living breathing Yelp review coming in here My God, a living breathing Yelp review. Someone who reviews food. A food reviewer.

[00:14:18]>> Or he's making critiques on the food.

[00:14:20]>> He's making critiques on the food.

[00:14:22]>> pitching a fit before he's even had a bite >> You're tripping or making assumptions or saying negative things before even trying the food. to eat yet. I swear to Conway Twitty, you make me want >> [gasps] >> It's like I swear to God.

[00:14:34]>> Hotter than grease, I just peace.

[00:14:36]When you're pissed off Just calm down.

[00:14:40]Where are you from? North Cackalacky.

[00:14:42]>> North what? Listen, you guys occupy a huge area of the I don't know where the [ __ ] that is. That's and you have so many accents that some are borderline dialects. So, easy or hard definitely depends on which neck of the woods you are in.

[00:14:54]>> It's currently 78°. I'm bound to contract malaria, get snake bit, and my feet are might even start making popcorn. Get anything out your front to me the whole thing. I don't understand that though.

[00:15:04]He's going to beat the stuffing.

[00:15:06]Rip that thing I go back at him I don't eat.

[00:15:08]>> With all the sub dialects hiding in the valley, things can get pretty crazy.

[00:15:12]>> My best friend got this man and for the life of me, I cannot find any like in my heart for this man. I ain't got no like in my soul for this man.

[00:15:23]>> Yeah, that's that Tennessee Dolly Parton as country talk. Alabama, South Carolina It's strong.

[00:15:31]>> Try losing your friend in the woods and you'll know all about it. I knew I shouldn't HAVE TOOK MY MONKEY TAIL OUT HERE WITH YOU DOWN ON MY FOOT. DON'T LET ME OKAY, that was a terrible example.

[00:15:40]That's a terrible example. She That's a terrible example. [laughter] And it's it's so like it's so bad cuz you don't understand why, but that's not She's that's not a good example.

[00:15:52]>> is something else. Yeah. [laughter] Yeah. Yeah.

[00:15:55]Yeah. DAMN WOODS. HURRY UP. HURRY UP.

[00:15:58]COME GET ME. SURE. RAGE. It is, of course, a southern accent. What's next?

[00:16:03]That's it.

[00:16:03]>> [ __ ] YOU SEPARATED TEXAS THEN SOUTHERN?

[00:16:05]WHAT THE [ __ ] I WAS GOING OH MY GOD.

[00:16:08]>> [screaming] >> I WAS WAITING ON HIM TO SAY THAT CUZ I WAS LIKE, you wouldn't hear this accent across the whole south. All these So I did so LIKE HE HE COMBINED IT WITH WHY DID YOU SEPARATE TEXAS? BRO, THIS IS TERRIBLE SEPARATION, BRO. You just made this video longer to make it longer. I thought I seen my friend Wyatt walking road John Deere GT 170 down the front yard. He was wearing some So his dad's welding mask he had on. I went over to him. He was like, "You want to see something?" I was like, "Of course. Of course I do." I don't know. It's like Wisconsin. Yeah. Like Wisconsin. Yeah.

[00:16:35]We're scrolling through Netflix to get a clue. Now, some people say this accent is much more rugged than others from the region.

[00:16:42]>> I think.

[00:16:43]>> Midwest like Quora. But I couldn't tell the difference between that accent and the next one if my life depended on it. Got three lawn mowers, four four-wheelers.

[00:16:53]Oh, [music] buddy, way to cut us off.

[00:16:54]Yeah. That's up there.

[00:16:56]Six dirt bikes, couple boats, you know.

[00:16:59]>> Now, let's say for instance you're hanging a picture on the Right by Canada, baby. That's them up there.

[00:17:06]Wisconsin.

[00:17:08]>> And it's it just needs to move just a bit.

[00:17:10]>> Yeah, you can hear it in that move. It needs to move just a dite. It just over over over just a day. Not that much.

[00:17:19]Just Yeah.

[00:17:20]>> Move it over.

[00:17:21]>> Right up there. Just a day.

[00:17:23]>> And then there's this other place that does strange things like adding R's in weird places. We headed to the beach for some coffee, milk, and grinders. Well, you know the Providence Place Mall is the largest covered mall in New England.

[00:17:34]Pretty cool. What do you think? If we go to Providence, go downtown? It's only like 20 minutes away. What do you say?

[00:17:38]Awesome. Write down your guesses quick cuz I know Bro, ALL THESE PLACES SOUND THE SAME. It's country versus big city.

[00:17:43]If you guessed Vermont, Maine, and Rhode Island, you got them. But did you get the order right? Uh-huh. There was a survey about this. Yep, here comes This is only so real. I thought he was going for something else. But >> eat man. These things we What happened, Troy? We eat it. But that's THE RIGHT WAY. LIKE THAT FOR REAL. YOU COULDN'T even understand what I said, you sad excuse for an English person.

[00:18:05]You don't know English. You don't KNOW MY LANGUAGE.

[00:18:07]>> [laughter] >> WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU, BRO?

[00:18:12]BRO. And as it turns out, when Americans are traveling overseas, us foreigners understand you least if you're from Rhode Island, followed by Maine. Stephen King will be proud. Okay, you can stop holding your breath for the big city accent. Here it comes. And you're right now, there's going to be another Dunkin' Donuts. Okay?

[00:18:29]You go straight up like over the hill, across the street used to be another He said there's going to be another Dunkin' Donuts. Donuts slash like Baskin Robbins combo. You know what I'm talking about.

[00:18:36]Well, that's J's. It's gone now.

[00:18:37]Anyways, on your left is a is a Stop & Shop. That's where my dad likes to go.

[00:18:41]My mom likes Roche Bros, but she says it's too >> for sure. He just sound ridiculous. He's just talking fast. Yeah, it sound like he just trying to talk fast to talk fast. Don't sound like anything special.

[00:18:50]Anyways, that's where my dad goes, Stop & Shop. There's a Dunkin' Donuts in that Stop & Shop. We can go straight through to >> to be honest. What's your accent? I've been parking cars. Okay. I'm walking around. My dogs [music] are barking.

[00:19:02]>> [laughter] >> There we go.

[00:19:04]Have you been to the Charles River? I've been to the Charles River. I saw Marky Mark there. Beautiful. Boston, baby.

[00:19:11]Wicked cool town. I have And on the StoryLearning team has run the BOSTON MARATHON.

[00:19:14]>> ONCE AGAIN, THEY ALL SOUND ADAM, YOU SOUND THE SAME.

[00:19:18]>> THEY ALL SOUND ALIKE, BRO. It's very It's But IT'S LIKE >> FROM PENNSYLVANIA UP THROUGH MAINE, JUST PUT THEM TOGETHER. THEY ALL SOUND the same. AND THEN YOU TAKE US FROM FLORIDA to Texas, PUT IT TOGETHER. And then you go from New Mexico South Carolina to Texas.

[00:19:32]>> Well, I'm just saying from the You know what I'm saying. And then from New Mexico to California, put them the same.

[00:19:37]>> Wisconsin got their own [ __ ] going on. I don't know what the [ __ ] going on up there. But Does Does like the Oregon-Washington area have a accent for real?

[00:19:46]>> Probably sound like them, too. Yeah.

[00:19:47]Yeah. Yeah. Oregon-Swain, if you know your geography, we are in New England.

[00:19:52]It sounds like they're rebelling against the [clears throat] rules of American.

[00:19:55]By the way, did you know that American accents are actually getting further away from each other, not closer?

[00:19:59]Experts say so, and who am I to argue? I just love accents, don't you? Accents and telling stories, and that's why I make all these videos.

[00:20:06]But here at StoryLearning, we actually teach languages: Spanish, French, Korean, and Mandarin Chinese.

[00:20:11]>> 15 [clears throat] languages, in fact.

[00:20:12]And we teach languages in an interesting way, through stories. Stories are a great way to learn a new language, cuz when you're engrossed in a story, >> That's actual factual. www product and a w plug, bro. And do you want to come over to the backyard and have a little cocktail? Um are you kidding? It's 33° and raining.

[00:20:31]>> I know. It's like spring break, eh? No.

[00:20:33]That's not what I was looking for.

[00:20:35]>> That's Wisconsin. That's what I was looking for. Okay. What do you say, bro?

[00:20:38]That's not it. Hey, I haven't seen you since last summer, eh? Uh Wisconsin, uh Green Bay. Where's Green Bay?

[00:20:44]Wisconsin. That's Wisconsin? That's the cheese heads. Okay. Isn't there another state up there that's right by Wisconsin?

[00:20:49]>> Ain't Michigan up there? Yeah, but I don't really think it's >> it's Michigan. It's another one.

[00:20:53]>> It's another North or South Dakota, Wisconsin, Michigan, uh I'd have to see the map.

[00:20:58]>> Yeah. The lake. How goes it? If you want a pop culture phenomenon, here we go.

[00:21:02]Prepare to laugh. What are your accents?

[00:21:04]See if you can pick up some fun regional differences. So, these guys are known for their good manners, strong family ties, Scandinavian blood, and a sing-song sound as any soccer mom will tell you.

[00:21:14]>> I was driving down the road the other day, and I was in my van, and this mini this uh this deer That's Swift? I thought she was from like Tennessee or some [ __ ] >> This dang deer just jumped out in front of my van, and I didn't even know She American now? I never thought I'd put Taylor Swift in my videos, but she deserves this one. How about that accent though? Not so hard to copy, right? That be followed. Try this on for size.

[00:21:38]>> So, where are you going to go for Christmas? Well, well, first we're going to get the family together. We're going to go to Finley >> That's hard to copy, you know. Brooke there This again is another like e-thing. This one right here is just get She's like "Christmas." around Calhoun Square.

[00:21:50]>> Oh, haven't you been to heaven? Cuz heaven's so nice, especially around this time of year. You go to Finley, or maybe you go to Gramercy. You know, I have I actually we're going to go to Hinckley.

[00:21:57]Have you ever seen the museum there?

[00:21:58]Apparently, the whole city caught fire once. Do you take the Ford in the Ford in America? Tell me what she said.

[00:22:04]>> [ __ ] this. Thank you so much.

[00:22:06]He was just mumbling.

[00:22:08]>> you, the accent is from Well, it's from Minnesota, also known as >> Minnesota's the one we was thinking of.

[00:22:13]Minnesota, Wisconsin. It's right there.

[00:22:15]Yeah. Yeah, that's the one we was missing. North Star State. Nice one. Did you know they have the oldest rocks on Earth here? True story. I'm going to sneak in another one here, and I'm going to I'm kind of cheating putting it in with the number eights cuz things look very different when we touch down in the city where they don't have Scandinavian blood, and they're famous for the very particular ways they say their A's.

[00:22:34]>> travel in the country, which I did mostly by illegally riding freight trains.

[00:22:39]>> [laughter] >> Which some people might have a problem with, but yeah, whatever. It worked great for me. I mean, it's habitat for wildlife if anything. For me, it just makes me feel nice when I've been outside.

[00:22:48]>> Sound like a mobster a little bit.

[00:22:49]>> Dealing with most of the human infrastructure that I normally find so revolting, this is uh I don't know what you guys are >> calms me down a little bit.

[00:22:56]>> No doubt about it, he's from Chicago, one >> Yep. Sound like a [ __ ] mobster. God damn it.

[00:23:02]>> wonderful in the Great Lakes region.

[00:23:04]We're past halfway and I had a hard time choosing which accents to include because there are a few really divergent ones out there. If you know any of these immediately, better write it down quickly in the comments. As I'm stringing up my fourth bass, a woman catches me. She tells me to stop. It's your father's business. I tell her no.

[00:23:19]>> Father, father.

[00:23:22]A woman catches me. She tells me to stop. It's your father's business. I tell her no. She starts casting with me.

[00:23:28]We spend a whole night packing pasties on the fishing I just came What does it? Well, I'm not tricking you. The people who speak like this actually have very different historical backgrounds to other Americans. A hard part though is shoveling the roof off all the time, you know.

[00:23:43]Last year I fell off the roof and you know what? The snow there it's a cushion, you know, and you fall in All there you know.

[00:23:52]All there you know. Let's go on some [ __ ] That's one of the one of the folks about Canada. Yeah, is it connect Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's kind of a little Canadian. Yeah, it's up there. That all there you know. And then it buries you and and you just lay there and laugh, you know.

[00:24:06]>> wanted to come out here and check on my friends down in Texas. Are you guys okay? Got some snow down there? You need some help? Need any advice? Okay, I know you're thinking I already showed you the snow and the snowy accents. Yeah, calm down. This one's not even in the same state, guys. Last year we still had 45 inches in the month of April.

[00:24:24]And so it's the >> like this is going to be Wisconsin which is there this this with Minnesota. late spring and the length of the season and that wears on you mentally.

[00:24:36]including a heavy dose of Finnish, French Canadian, Scandinavian, Cornish, yeah, German and Native American. Throw more in the pot of snow and what do you get? A lot of fun sounds that you only hear in the Upper It is the Yooper accent courtesy of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I'm going to give you a hint about the hardest American accent of all so you can Bro, all [screaming] of this is the Them [ __ ] go together, bro.

[00:24:59]>> Bro. They mashed like Well, I feel like he's breaking it down more than it needs to be. At this point, they're kind of One in the same.

[00:25:09]>> Yeah, from from the Until you get to the city like Chicago.

[00:25:19]Don't hold me up for the big boy. They all got [ __ ] and pieces of that.

[00:25:27]I don't think so.

[00:25:40]This is Louisiana. This is supposed to be New Orleans. That's supposed to be Louisiana. Yeah, she she not the best example. That's way This is one with deep cultural roots. A non-action but a non-accent but a cultural one. Very significant influence on American pop culture too. And there are so many different versions I couldn't count them. Some easier to follow but others sound like it's all in code.

[00:26:06]I love Missouri.

[00:26:10]Missouri uh Missouri Mississippi? What the [ __ ] was the last girl supposed to be? I think the last girl sound like Louisiana. She sound like but she this this girl don't sound like Louisiana.

[00:26:19]Mississippi or Missouri? Get the name of the city, just try.

[00:26:23]St. Louis. Yeah, that's What? No, I'm saying You got to earn your clothes. I got to earn the clothes. Like a Memphis type of deal. They my clothes already. What I got to earn them for? No. I'm not finna work [clears throat] hard for no clothes that's mine already.

[00:26:39]I think St. Louis. What's fascinating about this accent is it's actually a legitimate dialect with its own grammar rules and so on. Remember we're talking about the cultural accents so this is all over the states. It's called African American Vernacular English. One interesting thing about the pronunciation is back in history most immigrants from Africa didn't have the the sound in their native languages. So when they were learning English words like >> That's >> [laughter] >> Hey man, that's that's actually incorrect.

[00:27:12]>> That became that. Interesting, right?

[00:27:14]Pretty to level up to baffling.

[00:27:16]>> I'm at the corner store the other day you understand I had to get some blunt you feel me. I'm finna get high slide Okay, I see what he did. I see what he [clears throat] did.

[00:27:24]This is this is just Ebonics. That is AAVE which would explain why it went from Louisiana to the erm and now this.

[00:27:34]That's not an accent though.

[00:27:35]>> an accent.

[00:27:36]>> That's not an accent. That's Ebonics bro.

[00:27:38]>> [laughter] >> That's not AAVE is not a [ __ ] accent.

[00:27:41]>> Yeah, it's not bro. I bet you the Korea then the whole comment she talking about I'm trying to slide through. I said you trying to give me that air man you feel me. All right, I don't know. I did not catch a word of that. Now where are we exactly?

[00:27:53]>> That's Texas.

[00:27:54]>> And granted most people not going to catch it. That's but that's Texas. That air man then the whole comment she said I had to get some blunt she feel level up to No, no, no, no, no, no.

[00:28:02]corner store the other day you understand I had to get some blunt you feel me. He at the corner store had to get some blunts. That was literally what?

[00:28:09]>> I'm finna get high slide that Finna get high he go back home.

[00:28:13]>> The whole comment she talking about I'm trying A [ __ ] call him. She talking about She ain't call him a [ __ ] Jesus Christ.

[00:28:18]>> He said hoe I mean She trying to come through. She trying to give me that air man you feel me. And she trying to give HIM THAT. HOW THE [ __ ] IS THAT HARD TO UNDERSTAND? BRO, CALM DOWN MAN. ALL RIGHT, I I DID not catch a word of that. Now where are we exactly? Well the city names are coming up in 3 2 1. These two are from St. Louis, Missouri and the last guy is from Florida. How many did you get right?

[00:28:41]Florida you win this round hands down.

[00:28:44]But then one day you get All right, all right, are we finished or what?

[00:28:47]Austin is going to be wondering in the foothills.

[00:28:49]>> got water in the in the man trip we was riding. We was having to back up it and that water had 12 brakes of water backed up. And it just flowed that coal out just like a explosion, you know. You know, I used to go to Indiana. First my little brother my Well, my ex's little brother stayed [clears throat] with his grandma. A bunch of her friends come over. I sit there saying something to him. Well, they started laughing and then they come over and started telling me to say silence. Every time I'd say it, they'd start laughing.

[00:29:18]>> Do you just love the rhythm flowing from their mouths? I love that country accent, right? It's deep. It's thick, though. I've got him out a minute, but I might take a long time getting to town in that old that old buggy. He tell me to work the brake.

[00:29:31]We start to go up the hill, I kind of push the brake and he tell that old music, "Get up there. He get."

[00:29:37]And he's scooting the wheel, but he look back and HE TELL ME, "TURN THE brakes loose." He take three years of corn to pay did it lunch. He start back home about 4:00.

[00:29:45]>> There's a lot to unpack in these accents, so I will keep it short. Ever heard that this brand of English has a really old Elizabethan sound left over from centuries ago. It does, but it has a much stronger Scott-Irish heritage.

[00:29:56]Both of these things gave this English accent that amazing twisted Shakespeare sound that we love. There's a lot of eccentric words and pronunciation going on. But when some people hit that Smoky Mountain twang, you're going to need subtitles.

[00:30:07]>> We know we didn't have no electricity.

[00:30:09]Didn't have no electricity. We were running water in it. We These [ __ ] is missing teeth, twerk. These [ __ ] >> [laughter] >> THESE [ __ ] THEY DEEP THICK COUNTRY MISSING TEETH.

[00:30:19]LIKE, you know what I'm saying? Got [ __ ] tobacco in their mouth. That was all.

[00:30:24]Got it out of the spring. And older.

[00:30:27]They eventually got to electricity up through here. It is, of course, deep Appalachia. Appalachia, I get corrected on my pronunciation every time in the comments.

[00:30:35]>> Just by the way they look, I was like, it's got to be Appalachia. But once again, That's a giant reason.

[00:30:41]>> could go across the It could be [ __ ] down here in Texas that talk like that.

[00:30:46]They just live in the COUNTRY WITH NO CITY FOLKS. AND THEY TALK JUST LIKE THAT.

[00:30:50]>> YEAH. Guess who BACK [clears throat] BACK BACK BACK AGAIN GET GET WITH GAMER SUPPS.

[00:30:57]What's up, chat? You might be asking how >> [snorts] >> how did Conor McGregor get here? You're asking too many questions. The boys over at Internet City have teamed up with Gamer Supps. If you go to gamersupps.gg/internetcities RIGHT NOW, >> [screaming] >> YOU CAN GET 10% OFF. I'M TALKING FLAVORS LIKE RAW MEAT GUACAMOLE GAMER FART.

[00:31:24]AT LEAST YOU right here, ladies and gentlemen. We got the nuclear sanctions and chugzies.

[00:31:30]You either go or I'mma go with you.

[00:31:35]Guess who's BACK BACK BACK BACK AGAIN.

[00:31:39]IT'S AN AREA THAT'S ALWAYS HAD limited because of the mountains and valleys.

[00:31:42]So, I guess if you live here, well, you're going to be well versed in mountain talk.

[00:31:46]>> What's going on, son? What's happening?

[00:31:48]WHAT'S HAPPENING? DYNAMITE HERE, BABY.

[00:31:51]WHERE IS MY CRAZY BIRD? WHERE THE [ __ ] IS HE?

[00:31:55]WHAT'S UP, BABY? JUST TO BE CLEAR, THIS IS NOT about stereotypes. Millions of voices out here.

[00:32:00]>> Home to me is just basically wherever family's at. No matter like if you've grown up with them for a long time or just gotten to know them, family's family.

[00:32:08]>> I'm starting to think this corn ain't too supreme at all, y'all. I don't see any sour cream, any tomatoes on this corn. This ain't even a regular corn. I would call it a value menu corn, but value menus actually help people who struggle. So, I don't know. If you've never thought about where your own speech habits come from, you >> didn't have to be 13. This could have been like six. I'm not going to lie.

[00:32:26]This could have been like six old.

[00:32:27]>> Come up later and tell us what you learned.

[00:32:29]>> is as deep as the deep south gets.

[00:32:31]Surely, there's no trickier accents still left out there. Wow. Well, there must be.

[00:32:35]New Orleans, baby.

[00:32:38]That French Creole to the land of We say sha, and that's a term of endearment. And you say that when you are say you look at a baby or a little puppy, something small and cute. You say, "Aw, sha, baby. Sha, bebe. A mighty gwen." We have a lot of mighty gwens here. Mighty gwen is a mosquito.

[00:33:00]Um I can go outside right now and get tore up by a mighty gwen. Beautiful.

[00:33:05]This one is super hard to understand because it has so many curious little bits that are completely different from what you hear in the rest of the US, but very, very cool. The rhythm, the expressions. But wait.

[00:33:16]Come on, man.

[00:33:19]What is going on? Well, the most characteristic feature of the accent is that there is no the sound. And they say things like laissez les bons temps rouler. Right there, French Creole.

[00:33:29]What?

[00:33:34]And [ __ ] literally speaking >> [laughter] >> is French Creole. He's literally speaking French. Creole is just French.

[00:33:40]Yeah, he's literally speaking a different language.

[00:33:43]Yeah, it's a kind of English that's full of French. But not only French, also Spanish, British English, and there's even a layer from various African languages. That's not how you say it in the regular French, by the way. But who speaks like this? Well, it's the Cajuns, of course. The Cajun people have French Canadian descent and they speak their own French Creole language or Cajun French.

[00:34:09]Put them together and what do you get?

[00:34:10]Well, you get a Cajun English accent.

[00:34:13]You'll mostly hear this cool accent down in rural southern Louisiana. Wildlife and fishery agents a fat little tibideau showed up at Miss Boudreaux's house.

[00:34:20]Miss Boudreaux was so upset crying.

[00:34:22]>> it's crazy that [ __ ] look mean as hell, probably nice as [ __ ] >> You know it's crazy a lot of my family talk like that. For the Creole? Mhm.

[00:34:30]Damn, ROCKY, SHUT UP.

[00:34:31]>> [laughter] >> I'M GOING TO OF THE [ __ ] ROCKY MOUNTAIN OYSTERS.

[00:34:36]MISS BOUDREAUX, MISS BOUDREAUX FOR SO, FIND OUT TO BE THE wildlife fish and I said we're going to find them, Miss Boudreaux, don't worry. We're we're going to find them.

[00:34:44]>> Quite distinctive, huh? Unless you're one of them, good luck understanding anything. Do you think they deserve Yeah, that's that's They're rich cuz rich people are rich.

[00:34:51]>> is the That's a whole 'nother language.

[00:34:53]>> They be mixing the the other language with the English, so it's like you can't >> like people who speak Spanish. Yeah.

[00:35:00]Like who don't They don't know some words in English, so they default to Spanish while talking.

[00:35:05]>> And the accents, well, almost, but not quite. The winner of most difficult American accent of all is, drumroll, please. If I go to Beaufort and I talk to somebody and they order something in the thing, they ask me two or three times two or three two or three times, what is it? What do you want? And I I had a I want >> I we had a tea to go to for the um for the present.

[00:35:26]>> [music] >> I want I Well, I wanted to iron the dress to get the crease out of it where he had been on tape up. This literally sounds I'm not GOING TO LIE, THESE [ __ ] JUST SOUND SLOW. SHE said >> [laughter] >> I had to iron the dress.

[00:35:37]>> They just sound older or literally like they can't open their And that that sounds like every other like Southern Yeah. every sweet in that room. If you live in Alabama, you'd be thinking that we'll forgive you for thinking a piece of Ollie's backyard drifted out to sea and ended up here.

[00:35:54][clears throat] It's got some real Britishy vowel sounds. Listen.

[00:35:57]>> We had blown really hard. He said blown blown hard in the up car right there, you know.

[00:36:01]>> [music] >> So, you're taking a ride around island.

[00:36:04]Mississippi a little scud. Isn't this amazing? It's an accent that came from pirate sailors, Africans, and Native Americans who were isolated here a very, very long time ago and is still isolated. No wonder the local English is so unusual. The biggest thing that stands out is a totally one-of-a-kind vowel pronunciation and archaic words preserved from old English just a mess with our modern ears. Where are we?

[00:36:25]Well, not too many options here. It can only be the Outer Banks Island. Whole bunch of these here with NAMES LIKE OCRACOKE.

[00:36:35]>> [screaming] [laughter] >> SO, ANOTHER ANOTHER SOUTHERN ACCENT.

[00:36:49]ANOTHER SOUTHERN ACCENT.

[00:36:51]I DON'T think Well, in my opinion, when you say accent, I don't think the words that their region says should count.

[00:37:00]>> Yeah. It should be the Their lingo shouldn't count when you say accent.

[00:37:05]NOW, THE LINGO That [ __ ] you know what I'm saying? Lingo varies per per region.

[00:37:09]Every region is different. But the accent, MOST OF THAT SOUTHERN [ __ ] JUST SOUND LIKE SOUTHERN [ __ ] EXCEPT for Louisiana. Most of that Northeastern [ __ ] sound like Northeastern [ __ ] That Canadian [ __ ] sound like Wisconsin, Montana [ __ ] except for Chicago. The West Coast [ __ ] sound like West LIKE IT'S REALLY LIKE SIX IF WE BEING HONEST. WHAT THE [ __ ] DO THE middle of them Utah [ __ ] in Colorado and [ __ ] sound like? It's about the same. It's It's all like where what they're close to. So, like those closer to Boston sound like Boston. The ones closer to the South sound like the South. Those closer to >> I'm talking about like the mount- the Rockies. Yeah, it's whatever they're near type [ __ ] Yeah, yeah, nah. So, they all have a There's a singular accent around each side of Cuz you That's why you would go up there and they have somebody who sound like they from the valley.

[00:37:56]>> That I would understand cuz they all look in the West. But nah, it shouldn't have been 13. It should have been like six of them [ __ ] bro.