Yes, Seattle, you have an accent
If you grew up in the in the upper left part of the U.S., you probably don’t hear it. But it’s there: a Northwest accent.
KUOW listener Molly from Tacoma never thought she had an accent until she moved to Virginia and was told she had one.
Some regional accents are obvious. But many in the Pacific Northwest describe themselves as speaking “standard,” “normal,” or “plain” English. But is that really the case?
Take our quiz: Do you have a true Northwest accent?
On this episode of SoundQs Deborah Wang talks to a linguist and we learn what makes our Pacific Northwest dialect so unique and hear what it sounds like.
Listen to the episode by clicking the play button above or on your favorite podcast app. SoundQs is a weekly podcast where our KUOW reporters tackle questions submitted by our listeners.
Have a question about the Seattle region for us to answer? Drop it here:
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Deborah Wang
Contributing Reporter, Editor, and Host
Deborah is a contributing reporter, editor and host at KUOW. Since joining the staff in 2005, Deborah has done everything from political reporting to podcast hosting and is now serving as Interim News Director. She is an award–winning radio and television journalist whose career spans more than three decades.
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