How do you recognise a California accent?

“Cot” and “caught” sound the same. Fronted “goose” vowel — “dude”, “food”, “too”. Uptalk: rising pitch at the end of statements. Quotative “like”: “and I was like…”.

Which famous people have a California accent?

Kendrick Lamar is a speaker whose recorded speech anchors the California English profile used by DialectGuessr.

How do I test whether I have a California accent?

DialectGuessr's free accent test asks 29 questions about the words you use and how you pronounce them, then scores your answers against the California English profile and every other profile in the survey. It takes about two minutes and needs no account.

California

The California accent

California English is the leading edge of the California Vowel Shift, a chain of vowel movements now spreading through the western United States. It merges “cot” and “caught”, fronts the “goose” vowel so that “dude” sounds nearly like “diid”, and lowers the “kit” and “dress” vowels. Its discourse features — uptalk and quotative “like” — have spread worldwide.

Take the quiz and see how close your accent is →

How to recognise a California accent

“Cot” and “caught” sound the same.
Fronted “goose” vowel — “dude”, “food”, “too”.
Uptalk: rising pitch at the end of statements.
Quotative “like”: “and I was like…”.

Also known as California accent, West Coast accent, Valley girl accent, Californian English. Spoken in California, United States.

The California pronunciation fingerprint

These are the answers the quiz expects from a California speaker on its 30 pronunciation questions. Where a feature varies within the region, more than one answer counts as a match.

“bath” takes the short vowel of “cat”
The Trap–Bath Split: Does “Bath” Rhyme With “Cat” or “Father”?
the R at the end of “car” is pronounced
Rhotic vs Non-Rhotic: Do You Pronounce the R in “Car”?
a quick D-like tap in “bottle”
Bottle, Bo'le or Boddle? The T in the Middle of a Word
“cot” and “caught” rhyme
The Cot–Caught Merger: Do “Cot” and “Caught” Sound the Same?
“Mary”, “marry” and “merry” all sound the same
Mary, Marry, Merry: One Sound, Two or Three?
“day” ends on a slight “ee” — day-ee
The Vowel in “Day”: Gliding or Steady?
“go” ends on a slight “oo” — go-oo
The Vowel in “Go”: Gliding or Steady?
“tune” sounds like “toon”, without a Y sound
Tune, Toon or Choon? The Y After a Consonant
no — they sound different
Do “Singer” and “Finger” Rhyme? The Velar Nasal Plus
one — “film”
“Film” or “Fillum”? The Helping Vowel in Highland and Irish English
no — they end in a vowel
The Bristol L: Why “Area” Can Sound Like “Areal”
a th sound
“Dat” for “That”: TH-Stopping in the Function Words
“ship” and “sheep” have different vowel sounds
Ship or Sheep? The Vowel That Divides Native and Learned English
“put” and “putt” have different vowels
The Foot–Strut Split: Do “Put” and “Putt” Rhyme?
“three” starts with a TH sound, with the tongue against the teeth
Three, Free or Tree? What Happens to Your TH
the H in “house” is pronounced
H-Dropping: Do You Say “House” or “'Ouse”?
“fur” and “fair” stay distinct
Fur and Fair: The Merger That Marks Liverpool
“beer” and “bear” stay distinct
Beer and Bear: The Merger That Marks New Zealand
“happy” ends on a long “-ee”
Happy: Does It End in “-ee” or “-ih”?
“wine” and “vine” start with different sounds
Wine or Vine? Where V and W Fall Together
“school” starts straight on the S
“Eschool” for “School”: The Vowel Some Accents Add
“bed” ends with D and “bet” ends with T
Bed or Bet? Final-Obstruent Devoicing
a smooth R, without tapping or rolling the tongue
Rolled, Uvular or Neither? How the R Is Made
“pin” and “pen” stay distinct
Pin or Pen? The Southern US Vowel Merger
the vowel in “ride” glides from one sound to another
Does “Ride” Stay on One Sound? Southern PRICE
“celery” and “salary” stay distinct
Celery or Salary? Melbourne's Quiet Giveaway

Everyday words in California

Expected everyday vocabulary for a California speaker.
Question	Usual answer
What do you usually call a sweet carbonated drink?	Soda
What do you call shoes worn for sport or exercise?	Tennis shoes
What do you usually call the main evening meal?	Dinner
What do you call a small, round piece of bread for one person?	Roll
What do you call thin strips of potato served hot and fried?	Fries
What is your general word for small sugary treats?	Candy
What do you call the wheeled basket used in a supermarket?	Shopping cart
What do you call restaurant food collected to eat elsewhere?	Takeout
What do you call a public fixture you drink water from?	Drinking fountain
What do you call a small neighbourhood shop selling everyday items?	Convenience store
How do you usually address a group of people informally?	You guys
What do you call the household container for unwanted rubbish?	Trash can
What do you call the narrow passageway between or behind houses?	Alley / alleyway
What do you call the insulated box you carry cold drinks in?	Cooler
You are waiting your turn behind other people. What are you doing?	Waiting in line
“Man’s getting emotional.” Who is “man”?	It does not make sense to me
What do you call rubber sandals held on by a strap between the toes?	Flip-flops
What do you call the red-amber-green signal at a junction?	Stoplight
What do you call a circular junction you drive around?	Traffic circle
How do you say “the” in a phrase like “I’m going down the shop”?	A full “the”
“We’ll not be home while seven.” What does that sentence mean to you?	It does not make sense to me
“I’m after having my dinner.” What does that sentence mean to you?	It does not make sense to me
What do you call a shared minibus used as public transport?	I do not have a word for that
Does “she be working on Fridays” sound like a normal way to say she works Fridays regularly?	No — it does not sound like my English
Does “the car needs washed” sound normal — without “to be”?	No — I would say “needs to be washed”
What do you call a long sandwich in a split roll?	Sub / submarine
What do you call a multi-storey building for parking cars?	Parking garage
What do you call the strip of ground in the middle of a dual carriageway?	Median / median strip
Can “da kine” stand in for a thing you have not named?	No — that is not a word I use
Can you “prepone” a meeting — bring it forward to an earlier time?	No — I would say “bring it forward”

What 36 people from the California area told the survey

36 people who grew up in the California area have taken the DialectGuessr quiz. These are the answers where they differ most from everyone else who has taken it.

Answers from people who grew up in the California area, against everyone else in the survey.
Question	Their answer	Here vs elsewhere
What is your general word for small sugary treats?	Candy	94% vs 47% elsewhere · 34 of 36
What do you usually call a sweet carbonated drink?	Soda	83% vs 40% elsewhere · 30 of 36
What do you call shoes worn for sport or exercise?	Tennis shoes	56% vs 14% elsewhere · 20 of 36
What do you call the wheeled basket used in a supermarket?	Shopping cart	86% vs 45% elsewhere · 31 of 36
What do you call the household container for unwanted rubbish?	Trash can	75% vs 38% elsewhere · 27 of 36
What do you call a small, round piece of bread for one person?	Roll	94% vs 58% elsewhere · 34 of 36

From people who chose to take the quiz and pinned where they grew up, so a self-selected sample rather than a random one. The figures are recalculated daily as more people answer.

How California answered the Harvard Dialect Survey

The Harvard Dialect Survey, collected by Bert Vaux and Scott Golder in 2002–2003, recorded how respondents in every US state answered the same questions. These are California’s answers, most common first.

California, Harvard Dialect Survey.
Question	Answers in California
Soda, Pop or Coke? The Map of How America Orders a Fizzy Drink	soda 69% · coke 11% · pop 6%
Traffic Circle, Roundabout or Rotary?	traffic circle 37% · roundabout 37% · rotary 5%
Water Fountain, Drinking Fountain or Bubbler?	drinking fountain 64% · water fountain 33% · bubbler 0%
Lightning Bug or Firefly?	firefly 63% · lightning bug 9%
Crawfish, Crawdad or Crayfish?	crawfish 36% · crawdad 31% · crayfish 21%
Roly Poly or Potato Bug?	roly poly 37% · potato bug 13%
You Guys, Y'all or You All?	you guys 55% · you all 10% · y'all 7%
Kitty-Corner or Catty-Corner?	kitty-corner 62% · catty-corner 17%
Garage Sale or Yard Sale?	garage sale 64% · yard sale 29%
Tennis Shoes or Sneakers?	tennis shoes 55% · sneakers 30%
Trash Can or Garbage Can?	trash can 41% · garbage can 19%
Frosting or Icing?	frosting 39% · icing 8%
Scratch Paper or Scrap Paper?	scratch paper 49% · scrap paper 7%
Frontage Road, Service Road or Access Road?	frontage road 56% · service road 10% · access road 9%
Caramel: Two Syllables or Three?	with 3 syllables ("carra-mel") 37% · with 2 syllables ("car-ml") 35%
Mischievous or Mischievious?	mischievous (3 syllables) 39% · mischievious (4 syllables) 33%
Rubber Band, Hair Tie or Elastic?	rubber band 38% · hair tie 21% · (hair) elastic 7%

Data from the Harvard Dialect Survey (Bert Vaux and Scott Golder, 2002–2003), used under the CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 licence. A self-selected sample from two decades ago: how people spoke then, not a census.

Speakers with a California accent

Kendrick Lamar
Compton, California, United States
Born and raised in Compton; this match uses the California English answer profile.

Accent profiles are anchored to primary-source regional recordings from the International Dialects of English Archive, not to any individual performance.