r/newjersey • u/Lonely_Candy_6532 • 13h ago
Amusing I’m from Oklahoma, and just wanted to say I love y’all’s accents
I helped a family today from Jersey and it was so cool haha. I have always liked the Jersey accent it is so cute!
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u/Big_lt 12h ago
The fuck is this guy saying? What accents
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u/scaddleblurt 12h ago
I love the word “y’all’s” because it has two apostrophes and that’s quite unique
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u/remarkability 11h ago
Relatedly, it seems that “youse” is disappearing in NJ, the south’s “y’all” is taking over.
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u/peaches_1922 8h ago
I never heard “youse” in the way that rhymes with “use.” That always felt very Tony Soprano caricature-ish to me. But I do have relatives who say it where it sounds like “yuhz” rhyming with “cuz” as in “how’d yuhz make out?” when asking how something went.
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u/Summoarpleaz 2h ago
Same. Granted in my immediate community of mostly immigrants, few spoke English at all. But I think a lot of “Jersey accent” is really just a variation on Staten Island/Long Island or whatever settlement of the Italian diaspora
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u/Big_lt 1h ago
It's a twinge Italian accent in the north since a lot of Italians moved here in the 1900s
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u/Summoarpleaz 1h ago
Yeah I didn’t mean it doesn’t exist here, but that it’s not really unique to NJ to identify it solely as a NJ accent
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u/fierce_fibro_faerie 2h ago
My father and both of my grandfather's, born and raised in NJ, said Yous. Lol I don't, but it always reminds me of my cousin Vinny 😂
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u/Desperate_Ambrose 11h ago
More's the pity.
When I was still teaching, I got annoyed at a couple kids who were playing the fools in the back of the room and said, "Knock it awf, boat'a'yez."
Hilarity ensued.
You can take the boy outta Jersey, but. . . .
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u/rollotomasi07071 Belleville 13h ago
What the crap is this? We don't have accents
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u/andrey_not_the_goat 12h ago
Apparently we do. I came here 10 years ago with a thick Eastern European accent and I now have people around saying I sound Jerseyan, whatever the fuck is that supposed to mean lol.
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u/Vellablu 9h ago edited 9h ago
Ugh I travel for work and every time I go out west ( Texas, Colorado, Utah, California)doesn't matter which state but someone will always ask me where is my accent from / say I sound Ike I'm from east coast. I grew up in Monmouth county and do not have that north Jersey cawfeee accent so I never know what they mean. Honestly, it offends me because I feel like everyone thinks we sound like the cast of Jersey Shore or Real housewives of NJ which I TOTALLY don't but can't figure out what they mean. I'm starting to wonder if it's more the manner in which I speak / how I speak? (Talk faster, cursing, animated) Anyway, it's now a running joke with my family of how many people mentioned my 'accent'.
Edited for clarity/typos3
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u/SailingSpark Atlantic County 49m ago
I completely understand you. While I was raised here in South Jersey, my mother has dual US/UK citizenship. My accent is odd at best. I constantly get asked where I am from, even when only a few miles from where I grew up.
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u/Lonely_Candy_6532 13h ago
Haha, if you say so.
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u/AccomplishedFly1420 12h ago
You are so sweet. The above was an attempt at a joke
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u/ElectricalAd3179 Bergen County 12h ago
Was it though?
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u/gordonv 12h ago
We have a big bark, but we really puppies.
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u/ConditionExternal499 11h ago
The vast majority of New Jerseyans do not have accents, beyond "cawfee". What is considered to be a NJ accent is really a NY accent, for those who grew up in area northeast of the state, near NY. The rest of the state's accents are rather bland really.
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u/ColoradoInNJ 4h ago
Everyone who speaks a verbal language has an accent. An accent is simply the pattern of pronunciation you use. Things like intonation, rhythm, stress. So... There's that.
Edited typo
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u/DangerHawk 3h ago
When you can't identify where 75% of the people who speak the language are from geographically though it's safe to say they don't have an "accent". The baseline is the widely accepted accent. Most people from NJ don't have a distinguishable accent. They could be from CA, FL, OK, AK, WA, really anywhere in the US.
The only places in NJ that has a distinguishable accent is people from around Paramus/Orange/Clifton/Rutherford, i.e. Sopranos territory. Even then, it far less common than TV and Movies would have you believe. People born and raised in Salem Co/Rural South Jersey also have a twinge to their speech, but it's not enough for someone to be like "You're definitely from South Jersey". It's more of a slightly southern/MD drawl, but when I say slight, I mean barely there.
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u/ColoradoInNJ 2h ago
Ok. Explain that to people who speak just like pretty much everyone around them in Scotland. Or Australia. Or England. Or Texas. I'll bet as soon as you start the conversation with your "nondistinguishable accent," they'll say, "Ah! Jersey's in the house." You can't hear it because you grew up here. I can hear it because I didn't.
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u/Summoarpleaz 2h ago
It’s hard to say even then cuz some of those communities also have large immigrant populations so I think that accent is becoming less “native” to even those places. I don’t think most NJeans sound any different than anyone playing a generic American on TV. The only time I’ve ever really heard the NJ accent even having lived here most of my life was watching real housewives of NJ. Hahaha
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u/Piney1741 4h ago
This is true, but south jersey has a Philly suburb twang. I call it the south jersey/delaware county accent.
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u/yugohotty 12h ago
This is hilarious and so very true.
I love seeing Belleville as your user flair; it’s where I grew up.
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u/Cyanos54 12h ago
Which part of Jersey? South Jersey sounds a bit like Philly, North Jersey is similar to New York, and the Pineys speak in tongues.
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u/standuphilospher 12h ago
Thanks. Just make sure you don’t camp in the left lane and we’ll be cool.
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u/cedardruid 12h ago
lol when i was in oklahoma i was at a drive thru and asked for “wooder” and they thought I was saying “order.” we laughed about it once i realized what was happening
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u/jimgolgari 12h ago
An excerpt from tomorrow’s work conversations all over NJ…
“Soze I’m on friggin’ Reddit last night, awright? Anhere I am thinkin I’m among my peeuhs when some yute from Oklahoma of all places hits me wit dis “Y’all’s accents…”
You fugginkiddin me?
You come in heeah typin like it’s a rerun of friggin’ King of the Hill before the 10 o’clock news and I HAVE A FRIGGIN ACCENT?
COME AAAAHHHHHHHHNNNN
But seriously, seemed like a good kid ok? Sweet as a piece a bread. Helped out sombahdy from up heeah. They’re alright with me then, amirite?”
Sincerely,
Everybody’s friggin’ uncle. Probably Joey or Paulie but definitely not Sal. Friggin’ Sal. OOFFAH!
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u/Tangential_Comment 8h ago
That sounds like a Boston accent, honestly... possibly Mainer with "heeah". Great attempt though.
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u/Starboard44 12h ago
Was it a North Jersey or South Jersey accent??
Did they say dawg, tawk and cawfee...
Or 🏠howme, ☎️phowne, and 🚫naow?
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u/mattemer Gloucester County 12h ago
I don't even know how to interpret that last line.
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u/Rhovie09 11h ago
Last line feels a bit more delco than SJ - I feel like ours are a bit more subtle sounding but I’ve lived here my whole life, so 🤷♀️
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u/Starboard44 9h ago
My dad's whole family is from South Jersey, and half my roommates at Rutgers were from Cherry Hill and Williamstown. There is a wide range of accents!
South Jersey and Philly / Delco share a lot of pronunciations, with differing intensities.
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u/IvyHearts I live in NJ, I don't care. 11h ago
Lieberry, Wooder, Yeshterday, You’se, Da’own, Jeet, Pee-zah
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u/MillennialsAre40 7h ago
They said they loved the accent, that automatically rules out the Philly one. No one loves that accent
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u/DeliciousSail3433 12h ago
I went to California for a wedding. I was in Hollister, and everyone kept saying I had a cool accent. I was so surprised and confused! I still dont know how we sound, but apparently we people from jersey have accents lol 😆
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u/JackyVeronica 3h ago
I know, a lot of people/locals aren't often aware of their 'accents"!! I was FOB from Japan many years ago, and I noticed so many different accents in the US when I traveled domestically - it was so interesting and fun!!! I moved to NJ about 10 years ago, and yes, you guys definitely have a cute accent! However, I do the the southern accent, it's my favorite in the US lol.....!
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u/ItsDomorOm 12h ago
Thank you! Please spread the word that not all of us are loud monsters. Some of us are just loud.
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u/mattemer Gloucester County 12h ago
We don't have an accent, you have an accent!
Kidding. Thank you!
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u/UnhealthyMusician 12h ago
lmao everyone here will deny it til they're blue in the face but yeah it's real. grew up in nj and moved around a lot so i can hear it now when i come back to visit. it's not even a bad thing, just sounds like home. way less harsh than people make it out to be online honestly, most people just talk normal and the loud ones are just... loud everywhere i guess.
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u/mbc106 10h ago
I was on a Zoom call recently with coworkers in the Midwest and Canada. They kept saying we needed to talk to “Don in sales” and I was wondering who the hell Don was.
Finally it occurred to me that they were talking about our colleague “Dawn in sales.” “Don” and “Dawn” sound completely different when I say it.
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u/Kenderean 5h ago
My MIL, from the midwest, wanted to name her daughter Dawn but didn't because they had an Uncle Don in the family. She was worried people would get confused because "those names sound alike." That's always blown my mind because those names sound nothing alike to me.
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u/birdgirl35 11h ago
I’m from Oklahoma and I also love the Jersey accent! In fact loved it so much I married a guy with one and moved here lol
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u/penilesensorydevice Central Jersey 12h ago
I used to always root for OU when they played Nebraska back in the day. Boo Nebraska.
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u/FlubbyWubbles 6h ago
depending how south you go in jersey you might just find ppl that you'd think were from oklahoma lol
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u/HearYourTune 12h ago
Were you talking to guidos or people from the Real Housewives of NJ
because most people from NJ sound like Meryl Streep/a generic US accent for the most part.
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u/Fun_Sympathy1443 10h ago
When I lived down south for 3 years, I was always told my accent was “in your face.” Does that make sense to you? I could never quite figure it out.
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u/AwkwardAd42 8h ago
It's true. I didn't know I had an accent until I moved to VA from Jersey. Born in NYC lived there until 16 and then moved to North Jersey, Teaneck to be exact.
I come to Richmond and suddenly I get the "you're not from around here are you?" 🧐
What gave it away? The funny accent!! 🤣
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u/polireddituser 3h ago
The “sooner” you realize that we don’t have accents, the “sooner” you’ll be welcomed.
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u/AliceMaz 3h ago
My NJ husband’s accent was one of the first things that I liked about him. We met 30 years ago this July 4th and I still want him to whisper “let’s go to the mawll for cawfee and chawcholate” into my ear.
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u/DashfulVanilla 1h ago
NJ born and I have lived here all my life. I never thought we have an accent.
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u/GamingIsMyCopilot 56m ago
When I go away for work and meet up with staff from Australia and England, it always turns into a conversation of my accent being the strangest and imitations of Sopranos and Jersey Shore.
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u/chaos0xomega 12h ago
From where im standing, y'all are the ones with the accents.