MovieChat Forums > Fargo (1996) Discussion > Do Americans in that part of the country...

Do Americans in that part of the country really sound that Norwegian?


Because holy sh**, that is a really European sounding accent. Listen to a Norwegian or Swedish person speak English on youtube and you will hear vast similarities. Incredible.

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I agree that was the single weirdest American accent I've ever heard in my entire life. Is that really the Minnesota accent or from that part of the US?? Because to me some if them sounded like a nordic/belgian weird sort of thing...!

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"nordic/belgian"?
That makes no sense. What's "Belgian," and why would you group it with Nordic?

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Wtf are u talking about? Sorry i didn't express myself clearly enough, Mr. Shakespeare, lol. I didn't group nordic with a belgian accent, i meant it sounded like a weird mix between a nordic and a belgian speaking. And what is Belgian? Are u serious...? Ok my bad, i meant a Belgian speaking french/flemish in their accent. Anyhow, it was weird a.f.

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? Same thing here with "i meant a Belgian speaking french/flemish in their accent". French is one language. Flemish is Belgian name for DUTCH. French and Dutch have totally different accents. Part of Belgium is predominantly French speaking, the other is Dutch. So again, what's a Belgian accent? Do you mean a French accent? a Dutch accent?

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Ok mate sorry about the misunderstanding, let's say a Belgian speaking English with his/her accent. I worked with quite a few and it just sounded to me like a mix between a Belgian and a Scandinavian speaking English. I haven't watched Fargo in a long time but I seem to recall that odd mix (to me anyway).
Cheers :)

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I think it's a bit exaggerated. However, I had a neighbor from Minnesota who had lived in Texas for over 20 years and she still sounded a lot like those characters.

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It was exaggerated for comedic effect.

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Youbetcha!

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And he wasn't circumsized!!!

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Oh ya!

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Youbetcha!

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Not really.

I've lived in MN my entire life, and the only people you will find who talk like that are way up north and typically older. The majority of people here might anunciate their 'O's' a bit more than most, but people dont walk around talking like "Oh golly gee dontcha know".

And the movie definitely exaggerates it. I've had to answer that "Does everyone talk like in Fargo?" question ever since this movie came out.

Also, just for the record, Fargo is in North Dakota. Its surprising how many people I talk to that aren't aware of that and assume it's in MN.

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I mean, to be fair, this movie is set in the 1980s.

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Norwegian accent sounds nothing like this.

This film has nasal valley speak.

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I grew up in northern MN. The accents were exaggerated.

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Are those MN Norwegian Americans in 2022 deemed "lowbrow or stupid" not unlike parts of Boston?

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If you look at Europe and countries like Norwegian what have they accomplished? Nothing. Ie yes they can be compared to northern rednecks.

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accomplished
Acquiring petrodollars!

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The country of Norwayland and Finland don’t have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of!

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Government Pension Fund of Norway ... US$270,000 per Norwegian citizen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_Pension_Fund_of_Norway
Russia’s war of aggression has made every Norwegian citizen at least €20,000 better off
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/01/battle-for-the-nations-soul-norway-faces-debate-about-gas-and-oil-wealth

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Believe me....some of the of the folks that far north do speak this way.

Years ago were on vacation in a rustic cabin and the power was lost due to a storm. I called the power company up to see how long they anticipated the power to be off and the person on the other end spoke exactly like those in Fargo.

The guy even kept repeating everything I said to him and more than once.

"I'm calling to see how long the power will be out."

"You say your power is out?"

"Yes, our power is out."

"So, your power IS out."

"Yes, it is out."

"Nothing at all, eh?"

"Yes. No power. It was from the storm."

"So, the storm knocked out your power, you say."

"Yes. We'd like to know how long you think the power would be off."

"So, you want to know how long we think the power will be off?"

"Yes."

"Because that big storm we had knocked your power out?"


And it went on for even longer. So surreal.

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