Before I started living in Utah, I didn't really believe my dad when he said that people had a "Utah accent". I had visited before, and I hadn't noticed anything. But now that I've lived here for a few months, here are the slight differences I've picked up on:
Note: Similar-sounding words to the ones listed have the same mispronunciations...
both=bo(l)th
important=impor-an
peel=pill, and feel=fill
sale=sell
tour=tore
shouldn't=shou-nan(t)
false=faltze
across=acrosst
things=thingks
And from Matt, I found out that instead of saying "squeezed", it's a Utah thing to say "squoze" (like "froze").
I know don't pronounce every single word correctly, and not EVERYONE in Utah speaks like this. I've just heard the above pronunciations here way more than anywhere else. When I was having this conversation with Matt and Sarah, I found out that I (and one of Matt's mission-companions from the Midwest) both say "whenever" a lot of the time when we really mean "when". I wasn't sure I believed that at first, but since that conversation I've noticed that it's true. I'm not sure if that's a Midwestern thing or if it's just poor word-usage on my part...
Anyway, I've had a nice day so far, I think getting up a little early to make a nice breakfast helped. Also, I found my best friend from elementary school on facebook, which was really cool. She's getting ready to have a baby... I'll pray that all goes well for her. Off to do homework!
--Sannah
May favorite "Utah-ism" is the additional (though very subtle) 'n' in words like 'shouldn't' and couldn't'. Your pronunciation guide was pretty much spot on. Not only is the extra 'n' sound thrown in where the 'd' sound should be, but the 't' is more harshly pronounced than more typical American English.
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