If you’re a Western New Yorker born and raised, you may not even realize how strong your Buffalo accent is.

When you’re a Buffalo transplant, the accent is a bit more noticeable, and there’s a bit of a quiz you can use to determine how strong your Buffalo accent truly is. 

The Buffalo accent has strong traces of European dialects, including Polish and German, but also Italian/Scilian. One language professor identified a handful of attributes from the Buffalo accent, including:

  • the “flat a”
  • “hard a” 
  • other variations in our speech, including the drop-down of central vowels 
    • For example, “bed” may sound like “bad.”

There are even traces of a bit of a “valley girl” accent in Buffalo, too, but that is more of an intonation thing.

One sentence will reveal just how strong (or weak) your Buffalo accent is.

" Frank and Joanne ran down Transit from Amherst to Lancaster."

People with a Buffalo accent will have a hard long A in words like Frank, Ran, Lancaster.

A lot of out-of-towners have said that the accent in Western New York sounds like a combination of a New York and Canadian accent. 

You can also hear the Buffalo accent in these other familiar words and statements.

So…how strong is your accent? :)

Best 20 Bars in Western New York to Watch The Bills’ Playoffs Games

If you’re looking for the best place to watch the Bills’ journey through the playoffs, look no further than this list of the best 20 bars in Western New York that always make Bills game day extra special.

Last Time The Bills Won The AFC East At Home

43 Restaurants That Have Desserts That People Go Nuts Over

More From 106.5 WYRK