4 ms·
So, I actually grew up in the Mat-Su Valley. I lived in Palmer (a quick bike-ride from Wasilla) from 1987 through 2004. I was born in '86. My grandparents were
by erydo 13y ago
So, I actually grew up in the Mat-Su Valley. I lived in Palmer (a quick bike-ride from Wasilla) from 1987 through 2004. I was born in '86. My grandparents were some of the original settlers in the area in 1936.
Sarah Palin's accent is not typical there, nor even common. My own and those of my friends growing up would probably be classified squarely as "General American" and unaccented. I recall knowing exactly one person with a noticeable Minnesotan accent while I was growing up, and I think they were actually Minnesotan.
As far as I can tell, calling upon the influence of a portion of Minnesotan settlers 80 years ago to explain Palin's atypical accent is more of a back-justification than a real explanation of cause-and-effect.
- benaiah 13y agoToo bad I missed you - I've been growing up here for the last 18 years. Lived in Talkeetna for a while, now I'm near Wasilla, soon to be in Anchorage for school. And you're absolutely right. Palin's accent is very atypical of the accent here. The accents are very eclectic, because the population is, but it's generally unaccented. I might add that her politics are atypical - despite her being a very conservative politician on the national scene, she was actually among the most left-leaning Republican politicians up here.
- triplesec 13y agoshe's comparatively left-leaning there?! Maybe immigration came across the Bering Sea and there are a lot of descendants of Genghis Khan there! Seriously though, thank you: local crowd-sourced knowledge is very welcome.
- aaronbrethorst 13y agoThat's fascinating, thanks for the information.