The Fair

[1959hogryder]

WHY do most people from Away ASSume that all of Maine has ONE accent ?? ONE

THIRD of Maine is of French descent & has a distinct "Ack -SENT " [ accent ] . Also , let us not forget that distinctive Scotch-Irish Allagash accent which has distinct ties to the peoples all along the Appalachian chain of mountains . Course , it doesn't help that southern Me. promotes this D.E. thing --

I say , Promote Northern Me. to pull people THRU the state from Bottom to Top !

IT'S CALLED ...SHARING !

[tailsawsome17]

i love going to this fair every year :3

[lorrimaye13]

i find the Maine accents amusing but loveable. When i got stationed here in downeast maine 8 months ago (i'm originally from Alabama) i couldn't understand what people were saying, but it has definitely grown on me, and this video is a great way for me to show family back home what the accents sound like

[yuuutsu87]

Maine accent is so interesting! It sounds as if the speakers have something in their mouth when they talk. I'M NOT TRYING TO MAKE FUN OF THE MAINE ACCENT, just this is the best description I can give of my first impression of their accent.

Oh and it took me a couple of seconds to understand the way they said "fair" =D

[Keithbrent1]

Beyond the accent this is a gem of a slice of Americana. Excellent editing and film choices. I think you have the making of a great short, perhaps compare/contrast small local fairs across the US. I'd be in for 45 mins...the reoccurring thead could be the participants love for a vanishing event or at least how it has evolved away from the farm aspect and now emphises music and drink....hell I guess that element hasn't changed all that much, just more out in the open.

Keep filming

[rogermccord]

Thanks for watching! I may explore whether the farm animals have Maine accents too .. Then again, maybe "moo" is universal.

[melmade4nyc]

I love the accents! Nice way to capture them!

[MARINECORPS1251]

its not just old people from maine that have mainers accents, im 17 and i have one, probably because ive lived in maine since the day i was born

[IrisReola]

@MARINECORPS1251 I've also lived in Maine my entire life and have a "neutered" accent. I was going to say that the Maine accent was regional, but I went to high school with people who had the accent and people who didn't. The Maine accent is a mysterious thing, I guess!

[SpazzyLoLazzy]

Your accents own.

[TheBadger1967]

Great big LIKE

[frankcreasy]

While the "Bert and I" videos were a big help in learning a Maine accent, this particular one was most useful to prepare for my role as Charlie the mailman in Barksdale Theatre's (Richmond, VA area) professional production of "On Golden Pond". As the only "Mainah", Charlie is described as having a "thick Maine" accent. Mr. McCord's video record of real working native Mainers is a gem for sure! Ayuh!

[rogermccord]

@frankcreasy Hey Frank, so glad you could "use" the video. A perfect example of how YouTube is evolving as a new niche of the art world. Cool story.

rogermac

[Positrack1]

Boy, that's great; thanks for sharing. I went to school at Unity for a year, and after growing up on an Illinois farm, it was an experience. In some ways, it wasn't all that different from the rural midwest, but the accent does take some getting used to. I've got family from New England so I was sort of used to it but the girlfriend sometimes had trouble understanding some of the "real" Mainers with the heavy accent. I loved it though. Great folks up that way.

[Birdietweet]

nice job!

[3stanthony]

Thanks for uploading this, as a native Maine-ah I could never explain to my wife and inlaws in the western US what rural Maine is like.

[Daemonolatry]

What I really love about the New England English varieties is the sheer amount of accents. I don't hear just one Downeast form here - I hear at few. All the farmers they interview at the fair sound distinctly different to me. Not THAT different of course, they are all Downeasterners afterall.. but enough at least for me to notice. It's just little things like slight vowel differences and intonation. No more different than, say, Cambridge and Southie.

[DrKorn5]

@Daemonolatry Here in Maine we have at least 3 different main groups. These fellas all have the farmer accent. And of course there is variation like you noticed in the group. There is the "clam digger" one that you hear on the coast. I have this one. Then there is the "educated inland" one that you find in town and the more built up areas. And then up in the county "aroostook" they sound like a bunch of Canadians.

[Suolperos]

I just love the way these folks talk - I've read before that the Downeast speech is one of the least-changed dialects in the US and that it is one of the nearest to the New England colonists' speech patterns. Has anyone read anything to confirm or deny this? It would seem to make sense, considering how relatively isolated rural Mainers are from the metropolitan populations.

I've also heard that Roanoake Island's dialect is relatively little different from its 17th century form today (clarify?)

[DrKorn5]

@Suolperos The accent is originally from Cornwall England. There was a book written a long time ago I can't recall the name of it but it was a study of the different diallects and their origins. It essentially hasn't changed since then.

[Suolperos]

@DrKorn5 Wow, Cornwall? I wouldn't have guessed they came from that far southwest in England. If you do recall the name of that book, please let me know, I'd like to read it! If it's old enough it may be on Google Books by now.

[DrKorn5]

@Suolperos I look around my house to find it and i'll let you know the name of it

[bootlegapples]

..anybody else notice the similarities between the Maine accent and those by some Australians?

[yurismir1]

@bootlegapples Yeah, it's the way they say words like "farmer", "park", "car", etc. Kiwis say it like that too.

[NORTHERNRUCKUS]

haha yut!

[snower5554]

is this cumberland or fryeburg?

[rogermccord]

@snower5554 This is Cumberland. Fryeburg is much larger (I prefer the smaller fair here, frankly).

[lapballs]

I couldn't love this moah.

[GFantastic]

That was lovely. I now want to go to Maine.

[unitysucks]

this is really what maine is like.. i know trust me

[unitysucks]

yessah good boy

[PacoChicago]

You know...we really don't say "yessah bub". The only person I know that says that is this really weird dude who likes to think he has an accent. XD

Also, is that fair the Fryeburgh fair? That is the without a doubt the greatest fair on earth.

[BagOfGlass]

Yessah bub fella ayuh

Lobstahs

[dsrtflwr]

I've always found a Maine accent to be very difficult to emulate.

[nolanb123456]

im from maine.. if i didnt move down to southern maine when i was little i probably would have had this lol.. i can talk like these people pretty easily though x3

[deviousconkerer]

@dsrtflwr

You'd have to live here.

[appache123]

I miss the fair

[FrenchieMorin]

this video was beautiful! i left maine a few years back and I do Maine accent impressions for people (barely do it justice) and no one believes that people speak like this!

[cavalier1234]

I love how these old guys are as tough as leather, but they refer to past generations as being truly tough, hard working etc. If they think of themselves as being soft/weak in comparison then I think they would be shocked by how soft most of us are!

[mohsin59]

Sorry, I got posted before I'd finished! As I was saying, Jamestown and Chesapeake Bay also have accents were you can hear the old English from the south of England. Even though the two areas of America, that is Virginia and Maine are seperated by a great distance, they still speak a sort of Southern English. Another example is the Falkland Islands off the Argentinian coast. The Brits there all speak with a strong south English accent too.

[mohsin59]

I was raised in the south of England. When you hear them speak, you hear strong traces of the old English that was spoken in the south of England round about the 1620s. Some of the words are still very strongly English. If you go to parts of London or the West Country, you'll hear those exact words with a lot of the 'Rs' missing like 'fay-ya' instead of fair. The accent has more south English than American.

I've also read that if you go to Jamest

[deingeist]

You're very right, the new england accents are the only non rhotic american accents. Most american accents are actually derived from the vast numbers of irish and scots who moved here during the gold rush and industrial revolution, which in actually was when most of the country was founded/incorporated. Good observation. I have cousins from australia who find the boston and maine accents to be surprisingly familiar.

[normanlamont]

It's really nice to hear modern-day examples of the classic North East Yankee accent, as it's being rapidly lost to blander tones and the ravages of time. To my ear, these people sound like Kate Hepburn, who was also born in the rural North East in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. It really is too bad that mass media has helped water down regional accents as much as it has. I can't stress enough how cool this is! Thanks!

[rogermccord]

Thanks for appreciating the video. I went there not knowing what to show about "the fair," but as soon as I talked to the first Mainer, I knew I wanted to capture that accent, and some of the essence, of their Yankee-ness. I'm planning a longer interview with a 75-year old guy with great stories, but don't know if I can convince him to get on camera.

Thanks again.

rogermac.

[lizajeans]

Hey there,

Remember me? You commented on my video a while back and I on yours. Well I just went to Maine! It was cool. I went to the Common Ground fair...a little more hippy than this but cool just the same.

[Guthrie7777]

@normanlamont I agree, but I should tell you that linguists have long dismissed the idea that media change the way people speak. Deaf parents have long relearned that they can't teach their hearing children to speak by plopping them in front of a television. What's really happened to Maine, the Maine I admire, is something far more tragic. The old industries are gone. Young people are leaving, and tourists and rusticators are coming in. The accent couldn't survive such a huge demographic shift.

[ardvarkptj]

i live in maine and the fair is fun

[slowmaro133]

Nice!

[DeSlayer12]

hahah this video is friggiin halarious im from maine and all my relatives sound just like these old people

[truejabber]

Thanks for this. I never could really describe the fair that I grew up with to people who hadn't been, but now I can! Been going every year for almost 40 years now.

[rogermccord]

Over the next few years, I want to make Maine documents like this, that capture time, place, and most importantly, people. Thanks for watching.

rogermac

[SparkyCola3]

What did that kid say his name was? O.o I couldn't catch it at all!

[rogermccord]

Yer right, it IS awesome. We moved here from Virginia 12 years ago, w/ young kids, and as soon as I crossed the state line I said, "This feels like home." Whenever I hear the great accent I smile inside. Folks here are just plain regular ... even the nes with some money. Thanks for watching!

roger mccord

PS: go to my YouTube vids at "rogermccord" and watch Plow Day. More great characters!

[Enclave12]

i love main its so awesome! haha love ouah accents.

[beancore69]

aww man, I love the horse pull. I can't wait til next fall!!

gah!

[hiiiitman]

I've never heard this accent before lol it's cool! Will be going to Maine soon! Yay

[rogermccord]

You nevah heard a mainah be-fo-ah? Yer right, tho ... I love the accent too. The best phrase I've heard is "spark knock," which comes out "spock knawk." I'm trying to capture before it slowly goes away.

[hiiiitman]

Lol! I'm gonna ask somebody to say that for me.

[n1dp]

Thank Roger, nice job!

[newhampshagangsta]

I must say that I am quite fond of Curtis Rowe from the town of Buxton.

[karenbell123]

"how do you think you did"

"fayah fayah"

[rogermccord]

Yeah! That guy was totally my fave. In fact, I kinda slipped into HIS accent a little bit. "

How bout the f-wheeler?" No, we don't have one those ee-tha..."

Yo, thanx for  posting. subscribe ... I got some good stuff upcoming.

[karenbell123]

i <3 maine haha

[globalgourmand]

3:20-3:40 is the best. I can catch about five words.

[WaWaTV]

Where's that?

[rogermccord]

Maine is a corner state, along with Florida, California and Washington.All the other states, well, they're just in-between.

[allieleigh16V]

Great video, but unless there's two Melinda Robinsons in Litchfield, the one pictures isn't her! She's one of my best friends, and while she'd definintly win a blue ribbon for her pair (winkwink:), this woman is someone else! Maybe you got her name mixed up?

[rogermccord]

the Melinda referred to is the woman with the red durhams (oxen), not the attractive gal passing out the ribbons.

right?

[allieleigh16V]

Right. I have a pair of red durhams myself in Melinda's Litchfield barn right now, and we work together. Melinda does have working steers and shows them at most of the state fairs, so it'd be easy to get the wrong name I'm thinking?

[1959hogryder]

@rogermccord Yeah , when I was in the Army [79-86 ] I always seemed to have to give that geography lesson to some of the boys that were totally ignorant of where Maine IS . Really simple concept but , rocket science to Them !

[mattforget12]

I'M PROUD TO LIVE IN MAINE lol

[CoriCori16]

awesome video. The Fryeburg fair is much better though.

:)

[nbbistudent7]

Good video- shows the mindset of the World War 2 generation and older who valued hard work, ingenuity and scruples to make it through. We've all got it pretty easy today! It's good to see that people can still see what life was like back then, and appreciate what we've got now.

[rogermccord]

Hey, thanks for "getting it." I've seen some comments here making fun of these people, but I find them to be substantial, praiseworthy and great role models. I love 'em! Hope our country can maintain their ideals and work ethic. Your views give me hope!

[ScoutieDog]

There are pockets all over of folks who talk like this. Mostly small remote towns.

[shanetrain71]

Im from Maine! Its awesome. But not everybody has a accent like that. Trust me!

[JMFricks]

I'm from Maine. Only seen a couple people with this accent.

[DrKorn5]

yeah i bet u live in york or cumberland county dont you?

[JMFricks]

yes.

[DrKorn5]

yeah thats why you havnt really heard it too many "outta staters" to have the accent in that part of the state.

[notyouraveragesmitty]

Oh, and I've got teeth, too.

Lots of them.

[notyouraveragesmitty]

Oh my god. I'm from Maine, and even most of us call these guys real, true farmer hicks.

Trust me. We aren't all like this. Hahaha.

[0239512057steve]

"best birth control there ever was, you come home, get tired, go to bed, and thats the end of it, you're not interested" people from maine are fucked up.

[Frowned]

Yeah, it's pretty fucked up that people from Maine actually work hard. I could see how that could be a bizarre concept to a few people.

[friscokid182]

Man, after years of reading Stephen King I kinda expected MAine to be like...infested with evil vampires and stuff

[CoriCori16]

lollll

[Depp4alwaysand4ever]

oh and yes i have teeth so that's one person in maine who does.

[Depp4alwaysand4ever]

I've been told i have a wicked strong maine accent but it doesn't bother me cause I think it's cool.

[tropicalscot]

er...doesn't anyone in Maine have teeth ??

[pinetreeshaw]

Go To MAINE

[marygee1390]

I miss Maine so much. Ayuh...I shuah do......

marygee

[nikazmer]

ahhh! the maine accents are awesome!

[dboraks]

A nice little film, great sense of place. Thanks for introducing us to some real Mainers. ... You ought follow some of them home and do more...

[mattcontihimself]

Fantastic! Real New Englanders!

[buzzmccord]

great film--loved those old time maine accents and the filming style. Real period piece.

[MissMorgano]

not so old time...I know kids my age (20-somethings) who talk like that.

[CoriCori16]

they're not really "old time". They're just real.

[rogermccord]

Amen to that. Hey, I do hear the Fryeburg Fair is bettah ... I just gotta get my butt up there (Woodsmans day!) Thanks for watching. Keep yer saw blade sharp, and your wits sharper.

[lizajeans]

Some of their pronunciations sound similar to older natives on the Va., Nc. islands - I'm from NC.

Some of the same ingredients I guess: early colonial immigrants from Southern and Eastern England and then relative accent isolation here in the colonies.

Cool.