I definitely didn't think I did the "ope" thing. Then, AFTER I saw this video, I was in KrogerS one day and bumped someone's cart and without even thinking, said"OPE". I stood there dumbfounded. Also, it's MELK. (SE Michigan here) Took me awhile to find this video to leave the comment...
Haha, I’m a Michigander and this is spot on! Heck, even Michigander Eminem uses the classic “Ope!” in ‘Lose Yourself’ (“Snap, back to reality. Ope! There goes gravity. Ope! There goes Rabbit...”) 😁
I was asked to repeat myself in a rural part of South Carolina because...and I quote, "I can't understand you through that thick Michigan accent". Which I still find a bit absurd. It was years ago, so I can't even remember what I was trying to say to this stranger at the gas station, but it was apparently indecipherable.
Haha I had this same thing, I didn’t realize I had an accent until I talked to a girl from Indiana and she started playfully laughing at me and said I talk funny lol
I have a coworker from the U.P. (we're in ann arbor) and she INSISTS that up north refers ONLY to going to the U.P. and we argue about this all the time. I tell her that to those of us from down here, anything more than an hour north of us, is up north and that if going way up to the u.p. we usually specify that.
I’ve heard a lot of people say that our Michigan accent almost sounds Canadian. Sometimes I catch myself where it does sound Canadian with certain words. Anyone else?
@@RyanRedoute Kinda, but at the same time its completely different, like for example, I'm swedish and Italian so my accent is a little different than the rest of my family's accents
I moved out of Michigan in 2000 to the West Coast. And over the years I felt like I’ve been losing my accent. But every now and then people will tell me that I sound like I am from Minnesota. That makes me smile. You can take the boy out of Michigan, but you can never take Michigan out of the boy. Mitten Made and Mitten Proud!
Never realized I had a Michigan accent until I moved. I notice confused faces sometimes when I start combining words that I don’t even know I’m combining. I’ll have to stop and start over and break everything up.
Same here. Moved to Florida a few years ago, and people kept asking where I was from. I'm a black person too, which made some people assumed that I was from The Islands
i feel like no one notices "ope" because its always used in passing. like accidentlly running into someone and ur just quietly "ope" or both of you do it at the same time lmao.
Live in Ohio, from Michigan and my boyfriend gets annoyed when I talk with my accent. Doesn't help his best friend is from Minnesota so we go back and forth just to annoy him lol
I didn’t realize I had an accent until I had an accent until I had kids. They were born in Colorado and when I say things they laugh or ask “what does that mean”. I didn’t realize how we don’t say t’s and shorten our words hahahaha. Love it. So glad I found your channel.
I never thought michiganders had an accent until like 10 years ago when I met another American in the Bahamas that asked me if I was from Michigan. I say "OPE" all the time and every once in a while I catch myself in an awkward situation where I'm thinking "Is OPE even a word? Why did I say that? Does this stranger understand the OPE thing or am I crazy? " We live in a special place.
Not to mention that lots of stuff in Michigan (basically all the cities and stuff) how it’s spelled isn’t how it’s pronounced ex. Mackinac, Sault Ste. Marie, Gaylord etc.
Fun! I grew up in Detroit close to the Tunnel, and we got several Canadian television channels. Despite having moved away more than 30 years ago, I still add "eh" at the end of some sentences. I suppressed all those wonderful Michigan pronunciations when I moved to central New York and became a teacher. Now my Michigan friends laugh at my "accent" when I go back on visits.
Curious, are you from the west side of the state or east? I wonder if it's more common on one part of the state than another. I find there are several different linguistic areas within Michigan: the west coasters (lots of dutch influence), the yoopers (almost minnesotan), southeast michigan, etc.
I realized when I moved the east coast that I say it allll the time -- but it's more like oop (rhymes with scoop). I don't know think we really say it "ope" (rhymes with pope). An example, "oop, like me just squeeze right past ya"
The Michigan "ope" comes from the French "hop." (pronounced "oup") It more or less means "whoa." One thing I noticed in another of your videos is when you said "Pordo Rico" Being born in Michigan, It took me a while to transition to "Puerto." Also my "Orlando" was really drawn out and there was a tinge of excitement in the "land" part of Orlaaaaaaando. Most of my accent is gone unless I'm tired, have been drinking, or I'm speaking with my cousins. "Oh my Gaaaad. Taaaam's in the haaaaspital in Chicaaaaago with a baaaattle of pop!"
Us Michigander's also say "wuhjammakin?" haha instead of "what are you making?" 😂 great video! Favorite hilarious part was "Ohhh it was the Fuuudddgge" in the deep voice. 😂
This is great! 'Secretariahstate' is the big winner here. It just rolls of the tongue that way lol Also, 'mih-in' for mitten. One of my old buddies is named Keaton, but it's almost pronounced as 'Key-in'. There's smallest hint if a the -t sound, so it's not just 'key'
Omg. I never realized I say “oop”. I think we say it out of kindness. And yes. We have a hardcore French in our background. It’s deep but we don’t follow it. But we shorten everything
I am 71 years old and have lived in Michigan all my life (except 4 years of college in Indiana) and I have never heard or used "ope"! I definitely say "meer" for mirror, and my Indiana friends have commented on that to me!
I have found a new love for your channel! I'm from the downriver area myself. Most people not from the Detroit area would not understand what that means, but since you said you're from the Detroit area, you do. :) You really had me laughing. Thanks!
@@RyanRedoute I'm not quite that far downriver... lol. Although... back in the day [the 90s], I hung out with people that were from down that way. A friend of mine used to live off of Will-Carleton.
Also! In Sacramento, I once said to my boss "could you just scooch over?" And he was like "I don't even want to know what that means!" 🤣 And it kinda freaks me out when I hear people on the radio from Michigan. Most sound like they are speaking correctly to me. Like we could be friends. They sound smart! (Except for George Noorey, who says he from Detroit but he's from Dearborn Hills.) He doesn't even sound like a Michigander.
Lifelong Michigander here! Just yesterday I was working with the kids and needed them to all move over a little bit, so said, "Everyone needs to scoochy scoochy!" 😂
I was born and bred in Michigan and once said to my cousin who lives in Colorado to point out to me whenever I said a word with a Michigan accent so I could try to "correct" those words. Right after I asked her she paused for a second or so and then simply replied "okay... 'aaackcent'. I didn't expect such a swift correction. LOL
"Ope" was probably one of the first ten words I spoke growing up as a proud Michigander. I say it daily. Multiple times. I make mistakes sometimes, what else would i say??!!!✋
Melk is a recent development in the Michigan accent and it's not everywhere yet. My mom has it the worst in our family and she also pronounces pillow as pehllow
I feel weird. I'm from Michigan (born and raised) and I always say soda, I don't like saying pop because it's too slow. The p sound takes too much time, while the word soda is just quicker, it flows better for me.
From my experience, "Fudgie" is used to refer to anyone in the southern lower peninsula who come up north. Usually for like, getaways and that usually implies getting fudge as well lol
Fudgie is also used by Northern Michigan natives when they crap talk about Southern Michigan Michiganders stealing their hunting land. I've heard my dad say: "Look at all those Fudgies backin' up 131 again."
Mom from Hancock/Houghton, dad from Grand Rapids, we lived in Traverse City for a while when I was in grade school. Fudgies are very much a trope in TC. I still talk super fast and elide all my Ts (winner/winter being the worst one!). And I say "ope" probably 300 times a day. I live in Italy now and no one knows what the hell I'm talking about in English lol. It's not a clear accent for ESL speakers. Also? You are the cutest, keep posting. Mwah!
Yah I lived my elementary years in Adrian MI which was the town my dad was born and raised in till he moved out of state to go to college. My dad is now in his late 60’s and lives in Missouri and still to this day says MELK when he wants to put milk in his coffee. I don’t live in MI anymore but just go back to visit my family there from time to time, and I still say almost all of these words still to this day. Your two videos of “Things Michiganders say” was awesome!!
Consider doing a show on the different accents in Michigan. Yooper vs East vs West. Gretchen Witmer has a VERY Michigan accent, but on the west it isn’t as extreme, we take after Chicago a little bit more, and then there’s the Dutch influence.
@@oneofthosecreativetypes24 very little, I know there’s a slight vowel shift on a few words compared to Chicagoans, but I can’t remember which ones. I think the biggest difference is that we have less influence from migration from New York, than other parts of Michigan, and more influence from Chicago.
I'm from Toledo, and we definitely speak like Michiganders. Even though Ohio won the "Toledo War", I think Toledo is really culturally more a part of Michigan. BTW, we always said "Melk", not "Milk".
I'm from west Michigan, i got a friend who grew up in the southern/ west coastal states (think California and Texas) and when I asked her "Jeet?" She looked lost. Like we're talking Kristoff lost in the woods lost 🤣 i always kinda knew we have an accent, but I didn't realize how much a one we had till I met her. And i find that quite often we're just lazy with some words, and a little outta the box with others. Like jeet vs secrataryahstate. It's very entertaining to notice these differences good video bro
People from the upper peninsula call those from the lower peninsula trolls as well. I use you/hey guys all the time to my friend group of all girls. I said it once and one girl from out of state got so offended😬 I also have found that when I get worked up or angry I start talking southern, even though I have all ways lived in Michigan, and I say y’all and ain’t. Watching this video made me realize our accent and I think I do it because both accents speed up talking. Sorry this was so long, but your video made me laugh so much, it is so relatable 😂
I live in northern lower Michigan.. in a very touristy area.. and yes, Fudgies refer to downstate-ers coming up here on vacation. I think we use the term downstate-ers a lot too.
That French thing makes perfect sense. I spell colour with the u in it sometimes and omelette instead of omelet but I'm not part french and wasn't taught to do so
I'm from Detroit Michigan and I was in Inkster visiting my cousin talking to him and he couldn't understand what I was saying said I was speaking Spanish i ask him how much ya pay for em
Vershawn Newborn when I was in Denver someone asked if I was British and I pulled a line from Mean Girls and said “uh, I’m from Michigan” haha The accent may come across very weird to some folk
@@RyanRedoute cause I'm steady Repeating myself over and over he kept saying huh talk English your talking Spanish I'm like no that's because your from Inkster
It always sounded more like "Oop" to me. Like "Oops", but.... singular. It does fit our midwestern toungue to not hit that last letter too strong. Other accents complete their words. Ours just kinda run out of gas and trail off at the end.
I was raised in Ludington MI. It’s a tourist town on Lake Michigan. Fudgies were what we called the tourists. Lol and the accent there is much more thick than in Detroit. (I have family in both places) Great video!
Why is this all so true??? I’m from Kalamazoo and I went up to Cadillac a few months ago, and I was telling everybody “Oh yeah I’m going camping up north.” 😂
I laughed so hard when he said fudgees! I am from the north east part of michgian (pretty much where the tip of the pinky meets the ring finger) and we use the term fudgees ALL THE TIME! Our area is sort of a touristy spot and it is also known for their fudge. People come up north to get the fudge creating the term "fudgees." The thing is we call people fudgees even if it has nothing to do with getting fudge. There is this spot where locals never use their blinker.. it is weird if you do. If you are driving in front of me and use your blinker in this spot I will say "ope, thersa fudgee!" The rest of the video is pretty spot on and we do NOT say melk.
Fun video. Ive actually never heard 'up north' used for heading anywhere but up north. "Melk".... this might be more regional within Michigan. I hear this in the townships around where I grew up, which originally had many Danish settlers, and milk in Danish sounds like MELkeh.
Back in 2005 I went to a local Blockbuster in Michigan and my mom and I were talking amongst ourselves about a movie we were looking for (The Cave) and a clerk overheard us speaking and looked puzzled. They then looked at us with awe and genuine curiosity, proceeding to ask us what language we were speaking. We said English lol. We are Michigan natives so perhaps the worker was not from here 😂
I’ve never even visited Michigan. But I pronounce every single one of these examples exactly this way. I’m a native Californian of 67 years. Any explanations appreciated!
Yes! Pop I mention in this video or should I say “pahp”. Party store I mentioned in my Michigan alphabet video. Doorwall I did not mention yet but is def. some Michigan slang that I say a lot haha
We say Mirror we just say it fast so they don’t hear it right. NOW apparently when we say Mom or Mop it sound like Mahm or Mahp to non Michiganders. We also apparently tend to say cranz and not crayons.
YungTokyo Def. Cranz, m-ah-m and m-ah-p. The o to “ah” is exemplified well in my newest video by Cecily Strong from SNL impersonating Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Haha.
I didn't realize how much I say "ope" until trying to figure out what the "ope, I voted" stickers meant. I thought "that's not even a thing", but... then I started looking for it. I use it so much I was blind to it.
OMG! lol I am from and in Midland, MI. And I will be darned because I say jeet and I carry that word up... not down. I say the majority of what you said. I was laughing my butt off. I didn't realize. It is a good thing I finish typing each word out. But...I do type very fast. LOL Some tell me I sound like I am from Wisconsin too. But both of my grandmothers were born and raised there so that is understandable. And my Mom was half Swedish. UFTA! lol :D
MELK is common in the Holland, MI area at least. MELK is the Dutch pronunciation of that word. My suspicion is that it's so close to the English pronunciation that it was perhaps one piece of the old accent that snuck through. I used to tease my mother about it all the time, and then I started studying Dutch and went OHHHH... both of her parents spoke at least some Dutch and were raised by fluent Dutch speakers. Here's the one I got teased about when I moved to Los Angeles. May Not = Mayn't= Maint (rhymes with paint) "You maint do that here." Also, Too Yet. "I went to the bank, the church, and gotta go get groceries too yet."
I never even realized the "lookit", but, yeah, that's absolutely a common thing in Michigan. 😋 Some things you didn't mention... the Michigan accent is smoooooooth and soothing... we tend to hold conversations like a late night radio DJ, or how we might talk to our partner in bed, or how we might talk laying back in a recliner smoking a joint. If you listen to your own videos, I think you'll see what I mean. First time I was out of state, people would always ask me if I was high... "because of how you're talking". My answer was, "nope, I'm just from Michigan." 😋 The other thing is there's always some level of playfulness, whether there's a lyrical rhythm, or whether there's some element of sarcasm/teasing/irony. This is even true when we're angry (although then it's mostly sarcasm... very biting sarcasm.) Again, you can hear the playfulness as you talk in your videos. 😊 The actor Tim Allen is a great representation of that kind of playfulness in normal conversation. (Also the fast-talking and smoothness, come to think of it.) All of the above might be the French influence. Per your question, "Fudgies" is definitely a term that Northern tourist towns use to describe people from downstate Michigan. However, it's not a widespread term, and most often heard around the straits of Mackinac. Northern towns that AREN'T tourist traps tend to call Lower Peninsula folk "trolls". (They live under the bridge.) As regards "up north"... Lower Peninsula folk (a.k.a. "trolls") almost NEVER mean the Upper Peninsula when they say "up north", which REALLY irritates da Yoopers. 😋 To Yoopers, anything south of the bridge is "down South", so how could anything in the Lower Peninsula be "up north"? Yes, "melk" is a thing. It's how I pronounce it, grew up in the 'burbs west of Detroit. It's kind of Yooperish, too, MAYBE? But in Yooper, it's because they skip right past the vowel altogether. They focus on the M and LK sounds, with a lot of "h" sound following the "K". Not like "kuh", but there's a bit of hiss following the "K". It would take 4 or 5 videos to cover the Yooper accent. 😋
So much great info. Thank you! Didn’t realize some of this but feel I can agree 😁 do you know wheee I could get more info. On a yooper accent to research and possibly make a video on?
@@RyanRedoute Hehe, my personal research has been time spent living in da U.P... some 30 years on-and-off. 😋 I do know of a woman who researched the history of the dialect - Kathryn Remlinger. This might be helpful: ua-cam.com/video/RnEDRANCHUw/v-deo.html Perhaps a good place to start. In that video, she explains some of the phonological features. There are some similarities between the Yooper accent and what you find in parts of Canada, Northern Minnesota and North Dakota, but some distinct variations as well. There are even variations between the East end of the U.P. and the West end. The West end is especially thick/rich, with a heavy Finnish influence. Good luck, if you tackle it!! They take great pride in the accent up there, so you'll want to be sure you have a good sense of it. It's a real hoot of an accent if you're fortunate to run across a deep-woods true-blood Yooper you can listen to for a few hours. 😋 Truly a gem in Michigan.
Hey Ryan. Loved the video and I also don't think we say "melk" here is Michigan, However, I too, had that one friend in college that said it that way. Wonder if it was the same person. LOL
@@RyanRedoute From what I can tell traveling around the eastern US whenever I am outside of MI and tell others how far I am away from them they always ask me to give them the miles rather than the time. Friends living in other regions of the US have confirmed this with me as well. Ask around, it might surprise you just cause of how deeply ingrained it is into us, any other way would seem abnormal. PS I ate a whole bag of easter candy in bed at 4 AM last night and it felt great.
I just found your channel! I am a Michigander removed and now living in another country. I was looking for a little piece of home. Love all of the love your showering on us. As I'm writing this, I'm thinking in the back of my mind: 'Do I really talk that fast?' I'm mentally saying what I'm writing comparing the two. If I were to say all of this, I don't think there'd be any spaces and yes, all of the"'t's" would be dropped or become "d's". It's kind of ironic that we don't want to waste time with extra words because I feel like the majority of Michiganders (including me!) could talk the hind legs off a donkey. One thing I noticed working abroad is our pronunciation of "tr" (or at least mine and the people I know) sounds like "chr". So it's not tree is chree; it's chrain. Chry azai mai, I lideraly canpronounce "tr". :)
Awe that warms my heart. So happy I could share a bit of Michigan love with with. Feel free to check me out on TikTok for more Michigan content. I might just make a Michigan accent video with what you described below haha
@@RyanRedoute Reading through the comments, I can see I was right about Michiganders being chatty. :) Although, I'm not sure if it's exactly chatty or just having a warm way of talking. AND a friend of mine who lives down in Monroe says 'melk'. Maybe it's a southern thing!
I think because of when I was younger I had to go through speech therapy and now been living abroad for over two years I lost much of michigan accent, still can't say mirror though
The melk thing is definitely true! I'm not originally from Michigan but after living there for a few months a friend pointed out to me that I've "lived in Michigan for too long" because I said melk instead of milk which I didn't even notice😅 After that I noticed that a lot of people do say it like that
Ryan Redoute I used to be an international student at MSU☺️ Now my accent is a mixture between the Vermont accent (I did a semester abroad there in high school) and the Michigan accent so basically whenever I travel to other European countries people have a really hard time understanding anything I'm saying😅
Step Closer to Success You def. should! The Detroit area is great, but I would recommend a Summer trip to the west coast of Michigan. There are a lot of cute little beach towns (Saugatuck or Frankfort for example). The UP is also great for a nature fix.
I find it difficult to talk to some southerners because of the "bance". Banter really grinds on my nerves on am odd way. We called Detroit "de twa", I grew up there.
Fugies are ppl who visit Mackinac Island. Worked at the Grand Hotel & this is what the locals; those who live year round on the island call the tourists
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Ope is absolutely something I say all the time... ALL THE TIME. and I'm from Michigan.
Jhonnykaboom It’s def. a Michigander thing. Haha. Thank you for confirming.
Ohio OH!
agree
yep yep yeppers Michigan is life
I definitely didn't think I did the "ope" thing. Then, AFTER I saw this video, I was in KrogerS one day and bumped someone's cart and without even thinking, said"OPE". I stood there dumbfounded.
Also, it's MELK. (SE Michigan here)
Took me awhile to find this video to leave the comment...
Every time I hear myself say "ope, sorry, lemme squeeze right past ya" I have to internally pause for a second and go "there's the accent" 😂
Haha, I’m a Michigander and this is spot on! Heck, even Michigander Eminem uses the classic “Ope!” in ‘Lose Yourself’ (“Snap, back to reality. Ope! There goes gravity. Ope! There goes Rabbit...”) 😁
STAHP. I never realized that 😆
Also, you inspired my latest Instagram post!
Ryan Redoute Haha, awesome! Keep up the great content!
RougeWings Awe thanks!
Never even realized that!
nobody:
me: ope my bad
Haha!!!
I do "horror" like "mirror". Meer=Mirror. Hor=Horror. Dang Michigan accents 🤣
I didn’t realize the “Hor” one either 😂 Just said it out loud to myself
same thing with Warren. apparently i say it like “Warn”
I def. say "Warn" as I just said it to myself. Haha
My brother is Warren and I just realized I've been calling him Warn my whole life. But we share an accent so he responds.
One big thing I’ve noticed as a Michigander is we all start some of our sentences with “yeah no”. And I’m not sure if it’s a just us thing😂
No, I am transplanted and they say that here as well. It is new
C’meer= Come over here
That’s a good one! Use it a lot haha
In Louisiana I was told "Yall talk funny." Then I realized we have an accent in Michigan.
Haha! Noted for when I visit there
I was asked to repeat myself in a rural part of South Carolina because...and I quote, "I can't understand you through that thick Michigan accent". Which I still find a bit absurd. It was years ago, so I can't even remember what I was trying to say to this stranger at the gas station, but it was apparently indecipherable.
Haha I had this same thing, I didn’t realize I had an accent until I talked to a girl from Indiana and she started playfully laughing at me and said I talk funny lol
Another thing I hear a lot Michigan when we need food, is, 'I gotta gotetheh store to get groshries.'
I have a coworker from the U.P. (we're in ann arbor) and she INSISTS that up north refers ONLY to going to the U.P. and we argue about this all the time. I tell her that to those of us from down here, anything more than an hour north of us, is up north and that if going way up to the u.p. we usually specify that.
It’s pop! Vernor’s is the cure for all that medicinal problems!!! Lol
Haha! Every single one
All Hail Vernors!
Yes! For ALL that ails you 😂
I can't drink Vernors to this day (age 60+) due to Mom forcing it on me when I had an upset stomach 🤢
I’ve heard a lot of people say that our Michigan accent almost sounds Canadian. Sometimes I catch myself where it does sound Canadian with certain words. Anyone else?
Carissa Chacón definitely have gotten a Canadian remark made haha
Never had that happen to me
My version of the Michigan accent isn't really canadian like
Jokez PvZ Would you say it’s pretty unique?
@@RyanRedoute Kinda, but at the same time its completely different, like for example, I'm swedish and Italian so my accent is a little different than the rest of my family's accents
I moved out of Michigan in 2000 to the West Coast. And over the years I felt like I’ve been losing my accent. But every now and then people will tell me that I sound like I am from Minnesota. That makes me smile. You can take the boy out of Michigan, but you can never take Michigan out of the boy. Mitten Made and Mitten Proud!
Where DID ope come from??? I say it all the time!
I always catch myself saying "Ope! 'scuse me!"
I’m at about once a day haha
From the UP originally...I’ve never heard fudgies before but we do call lower Michiganders trolls. Get it? Because they’re under the bridge. 🤣
Zig Zag haha! I have actually heard the troll reference 😆
@Zig Zag That’s such a yooper thing to say… Ope sorry godda go.
Never realized I had a Michigan accent until I moved. I notice confused faces sometimes when I start combining words that I don’t even know I’m combining. I’ll have to stop and start over and break everything up.
I experience the same haha Welcome to the Michigan Accent Family 😁❤️
Same here. Moved to Florida a few years ago, and people kept asking where I was from. I'm a black person too, which made some people assumed that I was from The Islands
My daughter was born in Ann Arbor. She was an adult before realizing it was two words instead of one. You can't find Anarber in any drop-down list.
i feel like no one notices "ope" because its always used in passing. like accidentlly running into someone and ur just quietly "ope" or both of you do it at the same time lmao.
Live in Ohio, from Michigan and my boyfriend gets annoyed when I talk with my accent. Doesn't help his best friend is from Minnesota so we go back and forth just to annoy him lol
haha!!!
I didn’t realize I had an accent until I had an accent until I had kids. They were born in Colorado and when I say things they laugh or ask “what does that mean”. I didn’t realize how we don’t say t’s and shorten our words hahahaha. Love it. So glad I found your channel.
I never thought michiganders had an accent until like 10 years ago when I met another American in the Bahamas that asked me if I was from Michigan. I say "OPE" all the time and every once in a while I catch myself in an awkward situation where I'm thinking "Is OPE even a word? Why did I say that? Does this stranger understand the OPE thing or am I crazy? "
We live in a special place.
Not to mention that lots of stuff in Michigan (basically all the cities and stuff) how it’s spelled isn’t how it’s pronounced ex. Mackinac, Sault Ste. Marie, Gaylord etc.
Wolfyy Haha! So many cities.
Wolf.. how do you pronounce Gaylord??
@@noname-by3qz Gay-Lerd
@@wolfyy664 ohhhhh
@@noname-by3qz Gay-lerd
I say Melk all the time, raised in extreme southern michigan. You should do a video on how Michiganders use landmarks for directions.
Yes I can add that to a part 4! 😁
Having lived in michigan for a while i really enjoy watching your videos!
Awe thanks!
Fun! I grew up in Detroit close to the Tunnel, and we got several Canadian television channels. Despite having moved away more than 30 years ago, I still add "eh" at the end of some sentences. I suppressed all those wonderful Michigan pronunciations when I moved to central New York and became a teacher. Now my Michigan friends laugh at my "accent" when I go back on visits.
I said “ OPE” all the time 😂😂😂 I moved to LA and people were like what?!? Lol
IamAundraWilliams Haha!!! They were like “what did you call me?!?”
Curious, are you from the west side of the state or east? I wonder if it's more common on one part of the state than another. I find there are several different linguistic areas within Michigan: the west coasters (lots of dutch influence), the yoopers (almost minnesotan), southeast michigan, etc.
I am from Michigan and Ope is definitely something we say a lot 😂
Yas!!! Ope sorry. :p
I realized when I moved the east coast that I say it allll the time -- but it's more like oop (rhymes with scoop). I don't know think we really say it "ope" (rhymes with pope). An example, "oop, like me just squeeze right past ya"
The Michigan "ope" comes from the French "hop." (pronounced "oup") It more or less means "whoa." One thing I noticed in another of your videos is when you said "Pordo Rico" Being born in Michigan, It took me a while to transition to "Puerto." Also my "Orlando" was really drawn out and there was a tinge of excitement in the "land" part of Orlaaaaaaando. Most of my accent is gone unless I'm tired, have been drinking, or I'm speaking with my cousins. "Oh my Gaaaad. Taaaam's in the haaaaspital in Chicaaaaago with a baaaattle of pop!"
"Ope let me just sneak pastcha"
lmao! I feel I say "pashtya" haha
Lemme get pashtya
Us Michigander's also say "wuhjammakin?" haha instead of "what are you making?" 😂 great video! Favorite hilarious part was "Ohhh it was the Fuuudddgge" in the deep voice. 😂
I def. say that 😆😆
This is great! 'Secretariahstate' is the big winner here. It just rolls of the tongue that way lol
Also, 'mih-in' for mitten. One of my old buddies is named Keaton, but it's almost pronounced as 'Key-in'. There's smallest hint if a the -t sound, so it's not just 'key'
I def. just said key-in to myself 😆
Omg. I never realized I say “oop”. I think we say it out of kindness. And yes. We have a hardcore French in our background. It’s deep but we don’t follow it. But we shorten everything
We really do here in Michigan haha
Haha...this is all legit! Lookit, Ope (everyday), Secretariahstate, Meer, Didjeet. No, never melk where I’m from.
Savannah Rox Yay! Approved. D’jeet was my favorite one to realize 😆
Didjeet? Didjou
"Come here" is another one...how many of you say "cameer"?
I said this outloud before reading the second part of your comment and def. said CAMEER! Haha
I am 71 years old and have lived in Michigan all my life (except 4 years of college in Indiana) and I have never heard or used "ope"! I definitely say "meer" for mirror, and my Indiana friends have commented on that to me!
I have found a new love for your channel! I'm from the downriver area myself. Most people not from the Detroit area would not understand what that means, but since you said you're from the Detroit area, you do. :) You really had me laughing. Thanks!
Awe yay! Yes I have a few friends from Down River actually. Went to Airport high school
@@RyanRedoute I'm not quite that far downriver... lol. Although... back in the day [the 90s], I hung out with people that were from down that way. A friend of mine used to live off of Will-Carleton.
Also! In Sacramento, I once said to my boss "could you just scooch over?" And he was like "I don't even want to know what that means!" 🤣
And it kinda freaks me out when I hear people on the radio from Michigan. Most sound like they are speaking correctly to me. Like we could be friends. They sound smart! (Except for George Noorey, who says he from Detroit but he's from Dearborn Hills.) He doesn't even sound like a Michigander.
I say scooch all the time.
Lifelong Michigander here! Just yesterday I was working with the kids and needed them to all move over a little bit, so said, "Everyone needs to scoochy scoochy!" 😂
I was born and bred in Michigan and once said to my cousin who lives in Colorado to point out to me whenever I said a word with a Michigan accent so I could try to "correct" those words. Right after I asked her she paused for a second or so and then simply replied "okay... 'aaackcent'. I didn't expect such a swift correction. LOL
Stahppp a great example
My whole family and I are from Michigan thank you
"Ope" was probably one of the first ten words I spoke growing up as a proud Michigander. I say it daily. Multiple times. I make mistakes sometimes, what else would i say??!!!✋
Melk is a recent development in the Michigan accent and it's not everywhere yet. My mom has it the worst in our family and she also pronounces pillow as pehllow
I feel weird. I'm from Michigan (born and raised) and I always say soda, I don't like saying pop because it's too slow. The p sound takes too much time, while the word soda is just quicker, it flows better for me.
didnt realise how much i said ope as sorry lmaooo
Dequantae Henderson for me it’s an everyday thing.
I didn't realize I had an accent being a Michigander until I watched your video. Everytime you pointed something out in your 2 videos I would laugh.
Haha! Welcome to the Michigan Accent fam. You are not alone in your finding 😆😁❤️
From my experience, "Fudgie" is used to refer to anyone in the southern lower peninsula who come up north. Usually for like, getaways and that usually implies getting fudge as well lol
Yes, the classic Michigan tourist haha
Fudgie is also used by Northern Michigan natives when they crap talk about Southern Michigan Michiganders stealing their hunting land. I've heard my dad say: "Look at all those Fudgies backin' up 131 again."
@@manic_hearts Ah yeah that's true, its a weird derogatory thing.
Mom from Hancock/Houghton, dad from Grand Rapids, we lived in Traverse City for a while when I was in grade school. Fudgies are very much a trope in TC. I still talk super fast and elide all my Ts (winner/winter being the worst one!). And I say "ope" probably 300 times a day. I live in Italy now and no one knows what the hell I'm talking about in English lol. It's not a clear accent for ESL speakers. Also? You are the cutest, keep posting. Mwah!
Michiganders just love to save time by speaking really quickly and blending/shortening words together
Yas!!! Hah
Yah I lived my elementary years in Adrian MI which was the town my dad was born and raised in till he moved out of state to go to college. My dad is now in his late 60’s and lives in Missouri and still to this day says MELK when he wants to put milk in his coffee. I don’t live in MI anymore but just go back to visit my family there from time to time, and I still say almost all of these words still to this day.
Your two videos of “Things Michiganders say” was awesome!!
Consider doing a show on the different accents in Michigan. Yooper vs East vs West. Gretchen Witmer has a VERY Michigan accent, but on the west it isn’t as extreme, we take after Chicago a little bit more, and then there’s the Dutch influence.
I’ll def. think about it! I actually have another video on the Michigan Accent launching today so subscribe to be first notified. 😁
What influence do the Dutch have on Michigan accents?
@@oneofthosecreativetypes24 very little, I know there’s a slight vowel shift on a few words compared to Chicagoans, but I can’t remember which ones. I think the biggest difference is that we have less influence from migration from New York, than other parts of Michigan, and more influence from Chicago.
I'm from Toledo, and we definitely speak like Michiganders. Even though Ohio won the "Toledo War", I think Toledo is really culturally more a part of Michigan. BTW, we always said "Melk", not "Milk".
Don’t forget pronouncing for as “fur”
I also say more “oat” when saying ope
I can see oat! Haha I think I may too
@@RyanRedoute such a fast response!
@@donaldpomaville3743 just chilling and watching the BLACKPINK documentary. Saw the light on my phone flash haha
I'm from west Michigan, i got a friend who grew up in the southern/ west coastal states (think California and Texas) and when I asked her "Jeet?" She looked lost. Like we're talking Kristoff lost in the woods lost 🤣 i always kinda knew we have an accent, but I didn't realize how much a one we had till I met her. And i find that quite often we're just lazy with some words, and a little outta the box with others. Like jeet vs secrataryahstate. It's very entertaining to notice these differences good video bro
People from the upper peninsula call those from the lower peninsula trolls as well.
I use you/hey guys all the time to my friend group of all girls. I said it once and one girl from out of state got so offended😬
I also have found that when I get worked up or angry I start talking southern, even though I have all ways lived in Michigan, and I say y’all and ain’t. Watching this video made me realize our accent and I think I do it because both accents speed up talking.
Sorry this was so long, but your video made me laugh so much, it is so relatable 😂
I can def. relate on the fast talking and lol about the out of stater. Be like no, there’s “gals, bros and yaguys which is unisex” haha
I live in northern lower Michigan.. in a very touristy area.. and yes, Fudgies refer to downstate-ers coming up here on vacation. I think we use the term downstate-ers a lot too.
That French thing makes perfect sense. I spell colour with the u in it sometimes and omelette instead of omelet but I'm not part french and wasn't taught to do so
Oh, you fancy
Michigan has a large German thing to and that I feel contributed to the fact we say things aggressively for no reason.
I'm from Detroit Michigan and I was in Inkster visiting my cousin talking to him and he couldn't understand what I was saying said I was speaking Spanish i ask him how much ya pay for em
Vershawn Newborn when I was in Denver someone asked if I was British and I pulled a line from Mean Girls and said “uh, I’m from Michigan” haha The accent may come across very weird to some folk
@@RyanRedoute cause I'm steady Repeating myself over and over he kept saying huh talk English your talking Spanish I'm like no that's because your from Inkster
Vershawn Newborn the accent must be a whole nother ball game there 😆
@@RyanRedoute has to be🤣🤣😂🤣🤣🤣
It always sounded more like "Oop" to me.
Like "Oops", but.... singular.
It does fit our midwestern toungue to not hit that last letter too strong. Other accents complete their words. Ours just kinda run out of gas and trail off at the end.
Up north is anywhere north of Clare. We are also very nasal.
I've lived in Michigan most of my life and I say "ope" all the time. I don't even know where I picked it up from.
Me either 😆 passed down?
I was raised in Ludington MI. It’s a tourist town on Lake Michigan. Fudgies were what we called the tourists. Lol and the accent there is much more thick than in Detroit. (I have family in both places) Great video!
Awe thanks! Do you feel there is a "Detroit" accent?
I grew up in Scottville and yes we do have a thicker accent than Detroiters.
You're crazy. I'm from Northern MI and I catch myself doing the "ope" thing at least once a day.
Daily dose of the Michigan accent haha
I didn't realize I said ope but I do apparently. Didn't notice until I went to college out of state.
I say it about once or twice a day I feel. Haha
Your accent sounds so cute, please introduce more Michigan things ;) awesome videos
Awe thank you! :D Roger that
Why is this all so true??? I’m from Kalamazoo and I went up to Cadillac a few months ago, and I was telling everybody “Oh yeah I’m going camping up north.” 😂
CptMitchell At least you were actually heading up and north 😆
Fudgie is absolutely a word!!! It means “downstaters” or “flat landers” lol
I’m surprised it is actually used! I love it as a term personally. Haha
Woow we really do shorten words to get them out faster.
My dad says melk. My gf also says layg. (Leg)
Interesting! I just said (Leg) out loud to myself and I think I say “layg” too haha
My sister and one of my brothers say melk too lol
I laughed so hard when he said fudgees! I am from the north east part of michgian (pretty much where the tip of the pinky meets the ring finger) and we use the term fudgees ALL THE TIME! Our area is sort of a touristy spot and it is also known for their fudge. People come up north to get the fudge creating the term "fudgees." The thing is we call people fudgees even if it has nothing to do with getting fudge. There is this spot where locals never use their blinker.. it is weird if you do. If you are driving in front of me and use your blinker in this spot I will say "ope, thersa fudgee!" The rest of the video is pretty spot on and we do NOT say melk.
Fun video. Ive actually never heard 'up north' used for heading anywhere but up north. "Melk".... this might be more regional within Michigan. I hear this in the townships around where I grew up, which originally had many Danish settlers, and milk in Danish sounds like MELkeh.
I actually made a tiktok video about how to categorize what is "up north" haha
I say bagel like baggel with a flat a and I’ve never heard anyone else say it like that
Back in 2005 I went to a local Blockbuster in Michigan and my mom and I were talking amongst ourselves about a movie we were looking for (The Cave) and a clerk overheard us speaking and looked puzzled. They then looked at us with awe and genuine curiosity, proceeding to ask us what language we were speaking. We said English lol. We are Michigan natives so perhaps the worker was not from here 😂
My guess is the worker was not haha
One of our most common contractions is, "Yano?"
Ironically you used it all over the place, just never acknowledged it.
I say Yano? all the time! haha
Granrapids native here, I've never heard melk before but everything else is pretty spot on
😆 love Granrapids 😄 I feel it’s so beautiful on that side of the state this time of year
On my way to work I drive through a nice stretch of woods, it is nice during the fall
@@Kyrobinthian that sounds lovely! 😍
Does anyone else say treadmill or windmill like tread-meal or wind-meal?
Not tread-meal, but definitely heard wind-meal a lot
Definitely both haha
I’ve never even visited Michigan. But I pronounce every single one of these examples exactly this way. I’m a native Californian of 67 years. Any explanations appreciated!
Maybe you grew up in an area where a lot of Michiganders moved to.
Never really thought about it but your point about Up North being a vibe and not a direction is spot on. Hello, fellow Detroiter!
It’s def a vibe 😎 haha
How about doorwall, pop, and party store?
Yes! Pop I mention in this video or should I say “pahp”. Party store I mentioned in my Michigan alphabet video. Doorwall I did not mention yet but is def. some Michigan slang that I say a lot haha
@@RyanRedoute no you got it I was not patient.
@@jschultz2363 😁😆😆😆
We say Mirror we just say it fast so they don’t hear it right. NOW apparently when we say Mom or Mop it sound like Mahm or Mahp to non Michiganders. We also apparently tend to say cranz and not crayons.
YungTokyo Def. Cranz, m-ah-m and m-ah-p. The o to “ah” is exemplified well in my newest video by Cecily Strong from SNL impersonating Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Haha.
This will make more aware- great video’
Thank you!
I didn't realize how much I say "ope" until trying to figure out what the "ope, I voted" stickers meant. I thought "that's not even a thing", but... then I started looking for it. I use it so much I was blind to it.
After two years in the army, the guys in my squad are always wondering what i'm saying, so I find videos like this to help me explain!
Hopefully this video helps them understand you better haha
My mom and sister say "melk" and "pellow" and it drives me batty.
Oh no! Haha
OMG! lol I am from and in Midland, MI. And I will be darned because I say jeet and I carry that word up... not down. I say the majority of what you said. I was laughing my butt off. I didn't realize. It is a good thing I finish typing each word out. But...I do type very fast. LOL Some tell me I sound like I am from Wisconsin too. But both of my grandmothers were born and raised there so that is understandable. And my Mom was half Swedish. UFTA! lol :D
I type so fast I typically don’t have the best grammar haha
MELK is common in the Holland, MI area at least. MELK is the Dutch pronunciation of that word. My suspicion is that it's so close to the English pronunciation that it was perhaps one piece of the old accent that snuck through. I used to tease my mother about it all the time, and then I started studying Dutch and went OHHHH... both of her parents spoke at least some Dutch and were raised by fluent Dutch speakers. Here's the one I got teased about when I moved to Los Angeles. May Not = Mayn't= Maint (rhymes with paint) "You maint do that here." Also, Too Yet. "I went to the bank, the church, and gotta go get groceries too yet."
I didn't know that! See still learning things about Michigan.
I never even realized the "lookit", but, yeah, that's absolutely a common thing in Michigan. 😋
Some things you didn't mention... the Michigan accent is smoooooooth and soothing... we tend to hold conversations like a late night radio DJ, or how we might talk to our partner in bed, or how we might talk laying back in a recliner smoking a joint. If you listen to your own videos, I think you'll see what I mean. First time I was out of state, people would always ask me if I was high... "because of how you're talking". My answer was, "nope, I'm just from Michigan." 😋
The other thing is there's always some level of playfulness, whether there's a lyrical rhythm, or whether there's some element of sarcasm/teasing/irony. This is even true when we're angry (although then it's mostly sarcasm... very biting sarcasm.) Again, you can hear the playfulness as you talk in your videos. 😊 The actor Tim Allen is a great representation of that kind of playfulness in normal conversation. (Also the fast-talking and smoothness, come to think of it.)
All of the above might be the French influence.
Per your question, "Fudgies" is definitely a term that Northern tourist towns use to describe people from downstate Michigan. However, it's not a widespread term, and most often heard around the straits of Mackinac. Northern towns that AREN'T tourist traps tend to call Lower Peninsula folk "trolls". (They live under the bridge.)
As regards "up north"... Lower Peninsula folk (a.k.a. "trolls") almost NEVER mean the Upper Peninsula when they say "up north", which REALLY irritates da Yoopers. 😋 To Yoopers, anything south of the bridge is "down South", so how could anything in the Lower Peninsula be "up north"?
Yes, "melk" is a thing. It's how I pronounce it, grew up in the 'burbs west of Detroit. It's kind of Yooperish, too, MAYBE? But in Yooper, it's because they skip right past the vowel altogether. They focus on the M and LK sounds, with a lot of "h" sound following the "K". Not like "kuh", but there's a bit of hiss following the "K".
It would take 4 or 5 videos to cover the Yooper accent. 😋
So much great info. Thank you! Didn’t realize some of this but feel I can agree 😁 do you know wheee I could get more info. On a yooper accent to research and possibly make a video on?
@@RyanRedoute Hehe, my personal research has been time spent living in da U.P... some 30 years on-and-off. 😋
I do know of a woman who researched the history of the dialect - Kathryn Remlinger. This might be helpful: ua-cam.com/video/RnEDRANCHUw/v-deo.html Perhaps a good place to start. In that video, she explains some of the phonological features.
There are some similarities between the Yooper accent and what you find in parts of Canada, Northern Minnesota and North Dakota, but some distinct variations as well. There are even variations between the East end of the U.P. and the West end. The West end is especially thick/rich, with a heavy Finnish influence.
Good luck, if you tackle it!! They take great pride in the accent up there, so you'll want to be sure you have a good sense of it. It's a real hoot of an accent if you're fortunate to run across a deep-woods true-blood Yooper you can listen to for a few hours. 😋 Truly a gem in Michigan.
@@NorthernKitty love it! Thank you so much for the info.
Honestly people who live in the lower parts of the mitten forgets the U-P even exist😂
I feel so attacked😂😂
Ope! Sorry 😛
Hey Ryan. Loved the video and I also don't think we say "melk" here is Michigan, However, I too, had that one friend in college that said it that way. Wonder if it was the same person. LOL
o__________O!!!
My sixth grade teacher used it, and it drove me bonkers.
I’m from Traverse City and I can confirm that tourists are called fudgies.
What about how we use time to measure distance rather than miles
"How far is it?"...."ooooo I would like 15-20 minutes". I always use time. Is that a Michigan thing?
@@RyanRedoute From what I can tell traveling around the eastern US whenever I am outside of MI and tell others how far I am away from them they always ask me to give them the miles rather than the time. Friends living in other regions of the US have confirmed this with me as well. Ask around, it might surprise you just cause of how deeply ingrained it is into us, any other way would seem abnormal.
PS I ate a whole bag of easter candy in bed at 4 AM last night and it felt great.
I just found your channel! I am a Michigander removed and now living in another country. I was looking for a little piece of home. Love all of the love your showering on us. As I'm writing this, I'm thinking in the back of my mind: 'Do I really talk that fast?' I'm mentally saying what I'm writing comparing the two. If I were to say all of this, I don't think there'd be any spaces and yes, all of the"'t's" would be dropped or become "d's". It's kind of ironic that we don't want to waste time with extra words because I feel like the majority of Michiganders (including me!) could talk the hind legs off a donkey. One thing I noticed working abroad is our pronunciation of "tr" (or at least mine and the people I know) sounds like "chr". So it's not tree is chree; it's chrain. Chry azai mai, I lideraly canpronounce "tr". :)
Awe that warms my heart. So happy I could share a bit of Michigan love with with. Feel free to check me out on TikTok for more Michigan content. I might just make a Michigan accent video with what you described below haha
@@RyanRedoute Reading through the comments, I can see I was right about Michiganders being chatty. :) Although, I'm not sure if it's exactly chatty or just having a warm way of talking. AND a friend of mine who lives down in Monroe says 'melk'. Maybe it's a southern thing!
Here in Arkansas I get told "I can tell you aren't from around here by the way you talk.
My first grade teacher said melk. Always messed with me when learning to read...like isn’t it M-I-L-K.?
Jeff Gushman So it may be true! #shook haha I don’t know if I’ll ever get on the “melk” bandwagon though.
Oh, I see. Jeet is a strange variant of my local version of that word: Jeetyeh.
It's a way of asking a person if they have eaten yet.
I think because of when I was younger I had to go through speech therapy and now been living abroad for over two years I lost much of michigan accent, still can't say mirror though
William J Priest Haha! It’s a part of the accent that will always stick with ya haha
The melk thing is definitely true! I'm not originally from Michigan but after living there for a few months a friend pointed out to me that I've "lived in Michigan for too long" because I said melk instead of milk which I didn't even notice😅 After that I noticed that a lot of people do say it like that
Jasmin S Wow! Okay, I def. feel like it’s a Michigander thing to say. Haha. What brought you to the great state of Michigan?
Ryan Redoute I used to be an international student at MSU☺️ Now my accent is a mixture between the Vermont accent (I did a semester abroad there in high school) and the Michigan accent so basically whenever I travel to other European countries people have a really hard time understanding anything I'm saying😅
@@jasmins9658 haha! Well, atleast you will always have a little piece of your experience at those places with you ❤️✋
Interesting video! I want to visit Michigan one day.
Step Closer to Success You def. should! The Detroit area is great, but I would recommend a Summer trip to the west coast of Michigan. There are a lot of cute little beach towns (Saugatuck or Frankfort for example). The UP is also great for a nature fix.
Mackinac island too
Ripp Van Winkle Love Mackinac!
Don’t forget, Are, our, and hour are all pronounced the same.
Why did you just type the same word 3 times here? 😏
I find it difficult to talk to some southerners because of the "bance". Banter really grinds on my nerves on am odd way. We called Detroit "de twa", I grew up there.
Fugies are ppl who visit Mackinac Island. Worked at the Grand Hotel & this is what the locals; those who live year round on the island call the tourists