this post was submitted on 08 Nov 2026
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No Stupid Questions

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There is no such thing as a Stupid Question!

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This is the kind of sentiment I have when a question is asked on “do Japanese people talk like anime characters in real life?” And the straight answer is no. Is it the same with “do Americans talk like in Netflix” or is that a load of garbage? It happens with some people thinking anime speak is how Japanese people interact but in the end they appear stupid as no one talks like that IRL. Now, is the manner of speaking from US Dramas or TV representative of a real life conversation?

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[–] Z745812939054@lemmy.zip 7 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

for the most part americans talk like the people surrounding them growing up. if they intentionally want to change their speech, they may choose someone on tv to sound like, but generally speaking that's rare. southerners sound like they're from the south, no matter how much tv they watch, bostonians sound like they're from boston, same for new yorkers, minnesotans, cajuns, etc

edit: if you want to hear a fantastic minnesota accent, check out that movie Fargo

[–] wyldrstallyns@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

if you want to hear a fantastic minnesota accent, check out that movie Fargo

Seconded! And, right next door, you can get a blend of that and the Shicahgo accent throughout Wis'cahnsen, don'chanoh.

(O'hun, djeet-yet? Ya look positively hollow, ya do. Goan an' getcherself some hotdish now.)

[–] Trainguyrom@reddthat.com 0 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

The depressing thing is a lot of these wonderful regional accents are slowly dying off thanks to the significant exposure to national and international media that people consume. Like you'll still encounter older individuals with these regional Midwestern accents, particularly in smaller and more remote communities, but the accents are slowly disappearing (or more accurately, speakers are slowly subconsciously moving to a more generic Midwestern accent that's more widely understood)

I hear you there. If I may offer a shift in perspective: linguistic change is inevitable, though it certainly doesn't help that the US insists on calling them "accents" vs "dialects" —presumably to pin up the illusion of underlying cultural unity across the country. Whereas, defining them accurately could play a part in their preservation, instead of insinuating they're inconsequential, dispensable, fleeting, etc. 🥲