By Wendy Cartwright

Guest columnist

I was at an author event on Saturday and had a short conversation with a woman about the infamous Midwest accent. She said that she lived on the East Coast for some years and, when she spoke, her neighbors would ask if she was from the south. She would comment that she was from southern Indiana.

This made me think.

It’s often difficult to tell if a person is from the Midwest by their speech. It’s also hard for me to decide just exactly what the boundaries of the Midwest happen to be.

I’ve consulted the World Wide Web web to find out which states are considered Midwestern. The answer varies between sources.

The general consensus includes: Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri. Some websites include: Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota.

I suppose, in terms of geography, that all of these locations could be included, though I don’t understand the term Midwest. Most of these states are not at all in the west, let alone in the middle of it. But, I digress.

Culturally, these states are night and day. I’ve traveled to most of them and have friends from all over.

A friend from Wisconsin sounds nothing like myself, but has more of a Canadian tone. At times, I sound more like I’m from the south. He has asked me about certain phrases, like “do what?” and whether that is an “Indiana thing.” I responded that it’s more of a “Kentucky thing,” as one side of my family is from near Louisville. But, they are from the Indiana side of the river.

The real question is: Does it matter?

Language and speech, tone and dialect fascinate me. It’s often an interesting topic of discussion with the people we meet.

The Midwest is so diverse. Much more than people may think. It’s truly an adventure to get to know people who are my geographical siblings yet sound so different.

Wendy Cartwright hails from the North Vernon area and has lived there most of her life. She has a love of sharing her thoughts on growing up in the Midwest and other stories from her life. She spends her days reading and writing in the home she shares with her husband and chihuahua. Send comments to [email protected].