Local

Survey: Outside U.S., New Englanders have a hard time being understood

This 3,000-person poll asked people which American accent was the hardest to understand while abroad. Winner: Rhode Island.

March 25, 2023

Here’s a shocker: People outside of the United States don’t know what New Englanders are talking about, according to a new poll.

Is it the dropped Rs? The added Rs? Or some combination of descriptive slang, like bubbler or bang a u-ey?

Family travel site Family Destinations Guide polled 3,000 families across the U.S. to ask which American accents are most misunderstood while traveling abroad.

Surprise, surprise, the results aren’t very park-the-car-in-Harvard-yard (pahk-the-cah-in-hah-vahd-yahd) friendly. New England accents were the hardest to understand.

Rhode Island came in at No. 1, Maine at No. 2, Connecticut at No. 6, Massachusetts at No. 9, Vermont at No. 16, and New Hampshire at No. 25.

Also in the Top 5 were Alabama (No. 3), New York (No. 4) and Louisiana (No. 5).

The poll did not tackle which American accents were hardest for other Americans to understand.