Dialects Of Michigan
The archive provides:
In a small number of cases, you will also find a narrow phonetic transcription of the sample (see Phonetic Transcriptions for a complete list).
The recordings average four minutes in length and feature both the reading of one of two standard passages, and some unscripted speech. The two passages, Comma Gets a Cure (currently our standard passage), and The Rainbow Passage (used in our earliest recordings), may be accessed from the menu bar to your right.
To access IDEA's sound files and documents, you will need an mp3 player, and Acrobat Reader, available free from Acrobat Reader.
If you are interested in specific information about the State of Michigan,
please go to its official website
at www.michigan.gov
For instructional materials or coaching in the accents and dialects represented here
please go to
Other Dialect Services
Dialect Samples
To properly play a sound sample, you may first need to save it to your own computer. To do so, right-click on the desired sample and save it. A high-speed connection to the internet may allow you to play the file simply by clicking it.| Sound Sample | Basic Information | Text Files |
|---|---|---|
| Michigan One | White male, born 1976, Detroit, MI, an actor, mild accent | Michigan One Transcription |
| Michigan Two | White male, born 1950, Port Huron, MI, an actor, mild accent | Michigan Two |
| Michigan Three | White male, born 1957, Trenton, MI, actor, writer, mild accent | Michigan Three |
| Michigan Four | White female, born 1948, Royal Oak, MI, illustrator | Michigan Four |
| Michigan Five | White female, born 1965, Detroit, MI, administrative assistant | Michigan Five |
| Michigan Six | White female, raised in Detroit, Michigan, born 1955, actor | Michigan Six |
| Michigan Seven | White female, actor, born 1976, Dearborn Michigan | Michigan Seven |
| Michigan Eight | White male, actor, born 1978, Ishpeming, Michigan | Michigan Eight |
| Michigan Nine | Black, male, student, born 1984, Detroit, Michigan | Michigan Nine |
| Michigan Ten | female, student, born 1985, Detroit, Michigan | Michigan Ten |
| Michigan Eleven | male, student, 27, born and raised in Grand Rapids | Michigan Eleven |
| Michigan Twelve | Subject is a white male, born L'Anse, Michigan in 1972 | Michigan Twelve |
| Michigan Thirteen | Subject is a white male, born in Cheboygan, Michigan in 1968 | Michigan Thirteen |