The Michigan Accent & Michiganders' Slang Words
98
Groups of people from every US State and, really, every place in the world have an accent and have their own slang. People from the great state of Michigan are no different. If you're not from Michigan and have heard our accent, it might seem a little bit odd to you. To top it all off, we also have our own words for things.
If you're not from the Midwest at all, you might think (as many do) that the Michigan accent is similar to the Minnesotan accent. I can definitely see why people might think that, but the Michigan accent is really one of a kind.
Growing up really close to Chicago, I have a sort of hybrid accent, a bit more on the Chicago side of pronunciation. I can't say it's fully Chicagoan, though, because I get caught 'Michiganizing' words. My mother, however, has a stronger Michigan accent, which is different than mine (sometimes we'll poke fun at how she sounds a bit like Michael Moore.) I'm going to share some of the colloquialisms and pronunciations that she and other Michiganders I've met (particularly those from the western/southwestern part of the Mitten, where I grew up) use.
Michigan Slang/Colloquialisms
There are some words and phrases we use in Michigan that aren't often used elsewhere around the country. Different areas of Michigan have different terms for tourists and for locals.
You Know You're From Michigan When...
- Michigan Stereotypes
You know you're from Michigan when... everything on this list of Michigan stereotypes applies to you! A fun guide on the strange quirks of the Mitten state and its inhabitants.
The Mitten: (proper noun, it's the name of a state for Pete's sake!) This refers to the State of Michigan because, on a map, it's shaped like a mitten. Mittens are of extreme importance to Michiganders because it can get fairly cold here.
Michigander: A person from Michigan (this is probably actually a nationwide term, not really just a local thing.)
The U.P.: I've seldom heard a Michigander say "The Upper Peninsula." It sounds so formal! Perhaps it's only said when teaching people what U.P. means. You say each letter like You + Pea, not like the direction "up."
Up North: This is where you go if you're traveling within Michigan.
The Union: "The Union" is so integrated in Michigan life that when I was a kid, I thought the student union at Michigan State had something to do with the UAW. When a Michigander says "the union" it means UAW. In my area, however, it's used to describe unions in/near Chicago.
 | Amazon Price: $7.56 List Price: $14.95 |
 | Amazon Price: $4.47 List Price: $17.95 |
In Michigan We...
...go tuh the store, not "to" it.
...usta' have jobs in Detroit, not "used to"
...go huntin' in the wuds, not the "woods"
...get our tires slashed for driving a Tie-ota, not a Toyota.
...say er' not "or."
...feel like we're ki-nuh like Minnesotans, not "kind of."
Words for People (Tourists & Locals)
Townies: A townie is a derogatory term actually used by non-Michiganders visiting Michigan. Michigan's coastline is lined by small tourist towns frequented by wealthy people. Calling a Michigander a townie is like calling someone a commoner or a peasant. But it's okay, we've got a word for them...
FIPs: This is what Michiganders in the southwestern areas of the Mitten (particularly in Berrien County) call people who visit from Illinois. There are a number of FIPs who are actually very nice, but some Michiganders feel they are rude. The term FIP is an acronym for *ahem* "F*cking Illinois People."
FOPs: FIPs from Ohio. This is less commonly used.
Fudgies: This is what Michiganders call tourists visiting the Northern parts of Michigan.
Trolls: This is what Yoopers call those who live in the lower peninsula. This is because they live "under" the bridge.
Yoopers: This is what people from the upper peninsula are called.
Flatlanders: What Yoopers call those from the Lower Peninsula.
Adding Syllables
Sometimes in Michigan, we like to add things to words to make them longer. However, we ONLY do this if it makes it easier to say.
Realtor is just too hard to say, so it's to real-uh-terr.
I live near Cook Nuclear Power Plant, nuke-yuh-ler.
Michiganders Like to Save Time
A big part of the Michigan accent is about saving time. We talk really fast here, so in order to do so, we do something similar to what the French call a liaison and elision. This is basically a way to mash up words in order to make pronunciation easier and faster.
The French language has a nice set of rules as to how to use a liaison. Unfortunately, there really are no rules for how we butcher our words in Michigan.
A great example is a phrase my mother uses:
Ja-eat? - When I was a teen, my parents hosted a foreign exchange student from Hungary. Before she got here, someone came over to give my mom a sort of linguistics lesson on how to avoid using phrases like "Ja-eat?" so as to not alienate the exchange student. So what the heck does "ja-eat?" mean? It means "Did you eat?" People from other states might shorten that to just "Didja eat?" but that's still not acceptable to a Michigander. Another one, very similar to this is "imunna" which means "I am going to." Again, others just shorten this to "I'm gonna'" but we're innovators, so we've shortened it further!
A Michigander Shares Her Accent
Quick Poll:
How do you say Chicago?
See results without votingYuh guys: In Michigan, we say yuh guys and this even includes women. Since many Michiganders won't say y'all, "yuh guys" is what we're left with. Note the time-saving "yuh" versus "you." Keep in mind that's it's a really quickly spoken word, so don't drag out the "uh" sound.
Secretariah State: In Michigan, we go to the Secretary of State to get our driver's license, not the Bureau/Department of Motor Vehicles as in other states. In order to save time, we just change the pronunciation of "of" to "uh" and mash it onto secretary.
Lookit! - This one is kind of tough to explain, but is definitely something a lot of people around here use (I actually don't do this anymore.) This is said when you find something cool or gross or something that's, otherwise, worth a look. You say, "Lookit." I think it's a combination of the words "Look at it" and is comparable to saying "check this out."
Where at? - This is NOT a time saver, but something my mom says all the time. Instead of just saying "where?" she adds the "at." In fact, I've noticed that a lot of people around here end their sentences with prepositions. I try to avoid it, but sometimes it slips out unnoticed.
Michigan Place Names
Pontiac - This is pronounced pah-neeack, if you say the "t" sound, you will give away that you're not from Michigan.
Dowagiac - You say this like "Doe-waah-jack" with an emphasis on the "waah" part.
Livonia - This is pronounced like "Lih-vone-yuh" so don't do an "ia" at the end, it's definitely "yuh."
Grand Rapids - The first part of this city name is apparently too much for Michiganders, so we just skip parts of it: Grrarapids.
The Michigan Accent
The Michigan accent is a strange breed of something from Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Ontario. I've been able to stop using words like "lookit" but I cannot stop myself from using my Midwestern accent. When my sister and I tease my mom when she says "car", she gets miffed and shouts, "Well, how am I supposed to to say it?" This comes out sounding like, "Well, how my spose'ta' sayit'?" (Note that "how am I" in her speech comes out like "how my.")
The letter "A" as in "car" is a kind of light ee-yeah sound. If you're familiar with diacritical marks, it would be kind of like ēă, but much lighter and less noticeable.
Crayons are crēăns (similar sounding to "crans").
Dad is dēăd (again, only a slight difference from "dad".)
More Fun Reads
- 13 Most Dangerous Airports in The World
Check out the most dangerous airports in the world! See which airport allows people to be so close to planes that people can be blown into the water and see which airport disappears in the summer! - 36 Funny Email Signatures
Need help finding a funny email signature? Try one of these humorous, witty signatures for the perfect sign-off on your outgoing email! - 36 Nerdy Wedding (& Birthday) Cakes for Total Geeks
Check out these extremely nerdy wedding cakes! It doesn't get any geekier than this!
The long "e" sound, like the "i" in "mirror" is a bit longer and really nasally. Also, we don't waste our time with the "or" in "mirror", so it's just "meer." Make it really nasally, though.
Glottal stop: This is when your voice kind of stops in the middle of a word and then starts again. Think of a kid saying, "Uh-oh!" In Michigan, we like to do glottal stops at the end of our words, which is kind of like a last bit of forced breath. For example, when we say Detroit, we don't say the "t" sound at the end. Instead, it's like Detroi and then a bit of forced breath.
If the word has a double consonant 't' in it, like "kitten" or "button", there is a glottal stop without the t sound actually being pronounced: kitten = kih'ihn, button = buh'ton or buh'ohn. (Thanks to from Doe·Wah·Jack for pointing this out!)
The letter "t": Leave it to a Michigander to screw up the pronunciation of a consonant! If the letter "t" occurs in the middle of a word, it has a "d" sound. This is so embedded in my speech, that I can't say a word like "city" with a "t" without sounding like I'm trying really hard for that "t" sound. It's "ciddy."
"Ah" as in father has to be drawn out. In Michigan, you don't have a mom. You have a "maahm." And after school, you go to "haahckey" practice. On a slightly related note, Chicago is "Chic-aah-go" not "Chi-caw-go"
vote upvote downshareprintflag
- Useful (83)
- Funny (340)
- Awesome (391)
- Beautiful (69)
- Interesting (172)
CommentsLoading...
Hi Melbel, another great hub. I agree with all the above, except I still call my mom, 'Maah'.
My husband cured me of the habit of saying "at" at the end of my sentences such as Where is my coat at? Guess I've been out of the state for way too long (and not nearby for lots of visits home) but I don't remember much of these, or else my husband also cured me of them!
My husband is from MI and you nailed it! So funny!
I have been married to him too long, I pick up on the accent! It drives me crazy! I'm from SoCal! LOL.
Great people in MI!
~Allie
It's a rough ticket avoiding the accent. Growing up around others who had the same accent as me, I didn't even know I HAD an accent until I heard someone making fun of the accent.
In fact, my mom still holds that she doesn't have a think accent. I showed her a YouTube video of a guy talking in a really think Michigan accent and she says, "I don't get it."
What do people not from the Midwest think of our accent? Cute and endearing or annoying? Be honest!
Its all Greek to me. I don't know what kind of accent I have. I guess its kind of southern and northern with a little bit of this and that sprinkled in. Interesting hub. Thanks.
Here in "Sacramenno" we don't think we have an accent at all, just like the rest of us Caulifyonians. There is a definite Californian accent that I didn't notice until I went to a Messianic Jewish service where the pastor, a Californian Jew, recited a Hebrew prayer and it sounded so weak, it occurred to me this was a California accent!
Then there was this business aviation convention where I talked to a woman from Fargo, who at my prodding answered my question about how real the accents were in the Fargo movie with, "oooh knoe, we defeeneetlie doewn't taulk like that."
This country is so diverse, I love it!
My boyfriend likes to say 'them guys'...What is that? And how do I get him to stop! He's from Detroit. Anyone heard of this?
This hub is amazing! I lived in Michigan till i was 11 and then moved to California. Im 17 now and my friends used to tell me that i have a Michigan accent but I kept denying it becuase i didn't think i had one. I always asked them what this so called accent was and they said they could never explain it...just that i said certain things weird. I found this hub and started to crack up and realize that everything on it is true and that i still say all of this stuff. I showed my friends this and you should of seen their faces they literally were rolling on the floor. This hub explained everything to them and me. THANK YOU!!!
Spot on! My brother lives in KY now and they tell him he talks too fast. You have some great observations here.
I'm from the UP myself, and when I went to college down in southwest Michigan, at WMU, people used to make fun of me from down there because I had an "accent" like I was from Canada.... ohr sumthin... It used to make me mad because we Yoopers don't like when the Trolls or anyone else call us Canadians.... We are YOOPERS!
It's a fun read that you got here! But can you distinguish the different parts of Michigan? like the western end of the UP from the eastern? and the UP from the Mitten? It'd be interesting to know what differences you notice!
As a Yooper, I'm a little offended that the "Michigan accent" apparently only refers to the Lower Peninsula. The UP is also part of MIchigan, and has a TOTALLY different accent!
I have lived in Michigan all my life. I have never heard the terms FIPs, FOPS, Townies or The Union. Guess, I'm out of the loop. But I believe there are several other Michigan-specific words/phrases that you may have missed. None of the come to mind at the moment, because they are so ingrained in my speech. But I’ve heard that we end a lot of sentences with yet.
I met some people from Oklahoma once. They kept telling me to say the word “Wisconsin.” They cracked up laughing every time I said it.
And Baird Campbell is right. People who live Up North & The UP have different accents. Also there is probably a difference between rural verses city. I live with someone from Manton, MI. She talks differently that the Yoopers and those of us down in Grand Rapids.
However, the section on pronunciations is very true for those of us who live in Holland and Grand Rapids (the only cities I can truly vouch for).
I would agree that the U P sounds very different from the mitten. I'm from Lansing and a lot of us use G R for grand rapids. And we never say the "We're headed to the U P for vacation," we say "We're goin up north." Now that my husband and I live in Vermont we just say we're going away. In the north east people in vacation are from 'away'.
I also know that some areas of the U P like to call us lower peninsulaians 'flat landers'. I never really understood that. There are a couple of mountains, but nothing too big.
This is great, girl! You're right--Michigan is shaped like a mitten! haha Enjoyed this hub. Wonder if I should do one about Arkansas? :-) Many votes, melbel!
I never knew that I had an accent untill I came to VA to go to school, and I would laugh when people said i had one. But reading some of this i was like wow i never relized that i said it like that.
Don't forget about "sposta" instead of supposed to!
Also, don't forget that Michiganders put an s at the end places such as I work at Cords, I'm shopping at Meijers, etc.
I'm from northern lower Michigan and my boyfriend is from southwest lower Michigan, this could not be anymore correct! Although, our accents are slightly different. And, I never heard of a FIP until visiting south haven, mi.
I loved this article but there is so much I could add!
1) we never go away for a vacation we "go up north"
2) when people ask us where we're from we tell them the city and show it to them on our hand
3) we know what vernor's is and not to inhale when we drink it
4) we play euchre
5) when somebody asks us how far away another town or something is we answer it in time, not in distance
I have lived in Colorado for 13 years but grew up in GR and I still can't get myself to pronounce the t in mountains. It takes way too long.
Apparently referring to a liquor store as a "party store" is Michigan-specific, too.
I agree with a lot of what you wrote. However, Dowagiac is pronounced "Duh-wah-jack" by the locals that live there and "Doe-wah-gee-ack" by a lot of outsiders. Townies are a lower form of local. They can usually be found hanging around outside the Shell station at 1 a.m. with their baby, in a stroller, and their baby's momma.
I'm from The D and I've never heard of a FIP or a FOP. And I've managed to cure myself of the realtor and nuclear problem, but I've been listening to a lot of Canadian radio lately and started using "eh" a bit.
I had an international student once tell me (I went to Western) that they come here to learn most because while we talk much faster, our English is way easier to understand than down south
You forgot about Yoopers and Trolls; if you're from the UP you're a Yooper, and if your from the Mitten you're a Troll (from under the Mackinac Bridge)
I grew up in Mich , but moved to Texas in 2007 . I cant tell you how many times I have been punched in the arm for saying I am going to get POP from the store. Down here its a Soda.
Hey melbel. I notice that your page name sounds alot like my family's last name. Are you by chance related to the Michigan Kelbels?
I made up the Melbel name out of letters in my first and last name. Thank you for asking, though. :)
Never really noticed we have an accent. I say suhtum instead of some-thing, or some-thin. I don't know if that is part of the Michigan accent or not lol. Very interesting though.
Speaking as a true Michigander.. This article is amazingly acurate!!!
I didn't realize how much of a Michigan accent I had until I moved to a foreign country to teach English this year. I can consciously "switch off" my accent but sometimes would get lazy in classes - I knew I had to pay more attention when my students couldn't understand "Harry Potter" because I kept saying "Harry Podder" and they started calling "water" "wadder".
I like how the yoopers where like... Don't forget about us ):
I moved to Ohio several years ago and immediately started to notice how nasal and overall different my accent was! It started to bother me and now I can say most ppl no longer ask if I'm from mich (or Chicago or Cleveland as Ohioans think Michiganders sound like clevelanders). When I visit my family in flint the accent is so strong even the newscasters have the sound. I can turn it on and off and while people in Ohio have accents depending on their region, Columbus is almost devoid of distinguishable accent because we're mostly transplants. I love how the mich accent ties us all together!
I thought I was the only person to recognize the glottal stops in our accent. My family always looks at me like I'm nuts for pointing that out--they don't hear it. I think that, over most other things, set the Michigan accent apart from the mid-west / west-coast neutral American accent.
Another thing to note (since you brought up locations in Berrien and Cass counties), rural Michiganders have what can only be considered a "Yankee drawl". I don't hear it much in most of Berrien county but it's prominent in Cass.
Final note (for visitors to the state): The bridge and island are pronounced Mak-ih-NAW. We are all aware there is a "c" at the end of the name, but it's only there for looks--it's to be seen, not heard.
Lol, I wasn't overly aware of our Michigander accent, although I suppose on some level I was cahgnizant of it. I've been all over the country and noticed other accents and lingual nuances, but always kinda thought of ours as relatively normal. I can't help but laugh, as all the points made are true to the best of my knowledge and experience. My mother, a lifelong Michigander, uses y'all and soda, and has an accent u cannot for the life of me place yet. I think I myself have a mixed accent/dialect, but the tongue of Michigan is soo familiar to me that I barely noticed until reading this.
I grew up in a small farm town in mid-michigan and we would always tease the 'city' people for putting the -s on the end of any store (Meijers, JC Pennys, Walmarts). I guess I always thought that was a city thing over a MI thing.
I never heard the FIP thing here in Montcalm county north of GR but my mom always warshes the car instead of washing.I have had others ask what I was talking about when I say I want to get some pop. We drink lots of pop not soda? what is that :) I listen to way too much country music and that kinda messes with my accent too.
What about the strange "l" sound people add when they say, both? As if it's "bolth". Has anyone else heard that?
Thanks. Great article and very true. I agree with Julie Ann, too.
For someone living in the Detroit suburbs, 'Up North' means Northern Michigan which is north of Midland, south of Mackinac. The U.P. is north of Northern Michigan. If your readers have never been to the UP, they're missing something special.
BTW. I say 'Y'all'. It just makes more sense.
Nice! I'm actually from Ohio and couldn't stop laughing at how many of these apply to us. And it's only made better by the Ohio-Michigan rivalry. Thank's for sharing :)
I have a new one, I tend to say the word Phone as F-oon, sort of like a Canadian would say it. A bit nasally, drawing out the oooww sound. I do the same sound with the word know, it's not no, it's ya new but with more of an o sound. Hard to explain, easy to say. I guess that's what all accents are though anyways.
We're a mish-mash of all sorts of accents here. I've never heard anyone pronounce the letter "A" like "ee-yeah", I say "y'all", and around here we do call it "DEE-troit." And probably only us southwest Michiganders along the lake know what a FIP is.
And if someone ever asked me, "Jeet?" I'd seriously have no idea what they were asking.
I grew up on the other side of Michigan across the river from Canada so my Michigan
accent has a little Canadian flair in it.
Some-a-the word shortnings must be kinda universal. I'm from SoCal and grew up say'n things like:
Jew eat yet?
No time, god-a go-da the DMV.
O.K., whatever. Later guys.
Let's not forget "Dint" for didn't. "Doancha" for don't you. Wanna, gotta, gonna, hafta, arn'cha and always just adding a Y to the front of a word, and not say the whole word You. Example.. Y'ont to.. for you want to? or Yought for you ought. We DO always measure travel in time and not miles. I live 20 minutes from Flint and 30 minutes from Lansing.
Wonderful! I have exactly the accent you described and have lived in MI or my whole life.
However,I do want to add in that bridge area tourists are called "fudgies."
I recently had a guest a t the hotel I work at tell me he loves people from Michigan, because of their unique pronunciation! I have moved away but my husband says he can hear it in me and I can now hear it in my parents. I wouldn't change a thing, we're lucky to have been raised in such a warm inviting state!
Hey~ don't forget the terms "Flat-landers" or "Fudgies"... Those of us from the Northern Lower Peninsula have our own nicknames for the tourists that come to our area!
wait, you mean ta tell me tat pee-ple dont tal like thss in evry state??
lmao!!!
i love and proud to be a michigander!!!
Ok, so my husband and I are from MI, and we are stationed in WI. I can tell the WI accent. Plus, because I work I have to call pop soda. It's POP for crying out loud. The looks I get make it seem like I created a new word they has never heard before. Also, in MI, even I'd you go on vacation further south than your home, it's still Up North, but maybe that's just a southeast MI thing. I laughed at the distance comment. We really do say time rather than miles.
Dexter Yarbrough Level 7 Commenter 6 months ago
Well, I guess I am one of those FIP's, being that I am from Chicago and visit New Buffalo from time to time. But hey, great hub and I love the accent!
Voted up, up and away!