Maine accent

A Maine accent is any local traditional accent of Eastern New England English spoken in parts of Maine, especially along the "Down East" and "Midcoast" seaside regions. It is characterized by a variety of features distinct from General American English, particularly among older speakers, including r-dropping (non-rhoticity), resistance to the horse–hoarse merger, and a "breaking" of certain syllables in two. Traditional Maine accents are rapidly declining; a 2013 study of Portland speakers found resistance to the horse–hoarse merger waning among all age groups; however, it also found the newer cot–caught merger to be resisted, despite the latter being typical among other Maine speakers, even well-reported in the 1990s in Portland itself. The merger is widely reported throughout Maine as of 2018, particularly outside the urban areas. In the northern region of Maine along the Quebec and the New-Brunswick border, Franco-Americans may show French-language influences in their English. Certain vocabulary is also unique to Maine.