After moving to New York City a few short months ago, I have become painfully aware that I have an accent. I always considered myself to have a typical way of speaking, void of any distinctive regional twang. However, as New Yorkers have kindly pointed out I have an “Upstate New York” accent. What is an Upstate New York accent, you might ask? That is a very good question. I have no idea. Apparently, it’s something to do with the way I pronounce words like bagel, dog, or the name of my hometown Syracuse (for the record it’s pronounced Sara-cuse, not Sira-cuse).
I thought New Yorkers were the ones with the accents. When I lived in the Midwest people with western accents would ask me how a person from New York didn’t have an accent. Now that I live here, when I talk to people they say, “Where are you from, because you can’t be from around here.” And they are never surprised when I tell them I hail from good ol’ Upstate New York. They reply, “That makes sense. I can tell by the way you talk.”
I’ve always wanted an accent. When I lived in Australia a few years ago, I secretly hoped I would start to sound like an Australian. Sadly, that didn’t pan out. I guess beggars can’t be choosers, so I’m learning to embrace my Upstate New York accent, whatever that might be.