The midland dialect is most commonly described to sound similar to regular American speech. This happens because Midland covers a wide range of areas. The Midland dialect distinguished itself from other dialects as it has 2 versions: the southern and northern halves. The separation happens due to the southern Midland is being influenced by the Southern American English and the northern version is much closer to the general American English.

https://mr-dialect.com/en-us/american-english-dialect-accent-slang-translator/english-midland-american-english/#:~:text=One%20notable%20feature%20of%20Midland,as%20the%20cot%2Dcaught%20merger.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-map-11-separate-nations-colin-woodward-yankeedom-new-netherland-the-midlands-tidewater-greater-appalachia-a8078261.html

• One of the characteristic of the midland accent is the vowel shift. This happen when a vowel sound moves into another vowel sound territory merging both of the vowel sound.

• For example, the pronunciation of the of the word cot and caught is pronounced similarly and is also known as the cot-caught merger.

• It is also called the Northern cities shift that is common in the northern part of the midland region. This shift also affect other words such as bit, bet and but.

https://mr-dialect.com/en-us/american-english-dialect-accent-slang-translator/english-midland-american-english/

https://www.pbs.org/speak/ahead/change/changin/#:~:text=The%20Northern%20Cities%20Shift&text=As%20with%20strangers%20in%20an,%2C%20bit%2C%20bet%20and%20but.

The American midland's has their own lexical variation of some word. The midland region has similar spelling as the general American English. However, there is a few different lexical variation such as ;-

• pop = soda

• mango = green bell peppers

• hoosier = someone from the rural area

• buggy = grocery cart

https://www.businessinsider.com/words-that-are-different-across-the-us#a-grocery-cart-can-also-be-called-a-buggy-or-a-carriage-depending-where-youre-from-1

https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/the-united-states-of-accents-midwestern-american-english

After losing to U.S. and Cuban forces in the War of 1898, Spain gave up control of Cuba. The U.S. then occupied Cuba until 1902, when a new Cuban government took over. However, the U.S. made Cuba accept the Platt Amendment, allowing American intervention. This lasted until 1934 when they signed a Treaty of Relations. Cooperation continued under Fulgencio Batista until the Cuban revolution in 1959 led by Fidel Castro. Relations worsened due to Castro's policies and alignment with the Soviet Union, leading the U.S. to cut diplomatic ties in January 1961.

https://atlantic.fas.harvard.edu/Bottcher%20-%20WP%2097011#:~:text=The%20end%20of%20the%20Seven,dominated%20Atlantic%20world%20were%20established.

https://history.state.gov/countries/cuba#:~:text=Summary,control%20of%20the%20state's%20affairs.

The original inhabitants of Cuba were the Ciboney and Guanahatabey people. Around a millennium ago, the Taino people migrated from Venezuela and settled on the island. However, in 1511, Spanish forces defeated the Taino and established control over Cuba. Under Spanish rule, many Taino were forced into slavery, leading to a significant decline in their population due to harsh conditions and diseases introduced by Europeans. Subsequently, large numbers of African slaves were brought to Cuba, primarily to work in the sugarcane fields.

In 1898, American intervention aided in driving the Spanish out of Cuba, leading to its independence by 1902. However, the United States retained significant influence over the island. In 1959, Fidel Castro's communist revolutionaries seized power, marking a significant shift in Cuba's political landscape.

https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/geography/countries/article/cuba#:~:text=Cuba's%20original%20inhabitants%20were%20the,Taino%20people%20into%20slave%20labor.

• Acere = Dude

• Mango = Good looking/Pretty

• Gringo = American

• Pulover = T-shirt

The linguistic diversity in Cuba reflects a blend of Spanish and English influences, especially evident in local slang. Many Cuban slangs incorporate Spanish words or expressions, reflecting the country's cultural and historical ties to Spain. For instance, terms like "chévere" (cool) or "guagua" (bus) are borrowed from Spanish and widely used in Cuban English. This lexical variation showcases the island's unique linguistic fusion, enriching communication with a colourful mix of both languages.

https://www.spanish.academy/blog/20-cuban-slang-words-that-will-make-you-sound-native/

https://www.fluentu.com/blog/spanish/cuban-slang/#:~:text=45.-,Mango,That%20girl%20is%20super%20hot.

https://storylearning.com/learn/spanish/spanish-tips/cuban-slang

https://www.enforex.com/language/spanish-spoken-cuba.html

• The final /s/ will often disappear, or be transformed to /h/. The pronunciation of /n/ will be dropped to /ŋ/. /r/ may disappear completely or convert to /l/ or /j/. Meanwhile, /d/, /b/, and /g/ are also barely pronounced if they occur after a vowel.

• The rolled r or rolling r refers to consonant sounds pronounced with a vibrating tongue or uvula: Alveolar trill, a consonant written as ⟨r⟩. Alveolar flap, a consonant written as ⟨ɾ⟩ in the International Phonetic Alphabet. Cubans do this because of their native language (Spanish), one example would be the word "fright" (f⟨ɾ⟩ight).

• Intervocalic deletion with /d/ is common in past participles and adjectives. For example, "arrived" would be pronounced “arrive”.

• The pronunciation of “ll” is also more commonly pronounced as “j”, which is different to most parts of mainland Spain.

https://www.enforex.com/language/spanish-spoken-cuba.html

https://www.thoughtco.com/free-variation-phonetics-1690780

An interesting fact about American history is that the dialect does not follow political boundary. American accent follows major geographical boundary like mountain and rivers. These geographical boundary provide isolation that cause accent to develop. Accent also follow settlement and contact pattern.

However. not all people from the same place has the same accent exactly as it is influenced by education, personality, nationality and many other micro factors that makes each people has their own accent.

A dialect coach does an in depth explanation of the history and variety of American accent;-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1KP4ztKK0A

Because of the stress-timed structure of English and the syllable stress patterns of Spanish, English speakers from Cuba may use unique stress patterns. Syllable emphasis and location within words and sentences may change as a result of this.

Because of the influence of Spanish prosody, pitch and tone fluctuations in Cuban English may vary from those in standard English. Pitch fluctuations can add to a speech's distinctive melodic quality by giving conversations a certain flavour.

https://blog.rosettastone.com/cuban-spanish/

The researcher also noticed that the midlands tone is more melodic compared to other region especially compared to the more dynamic movement of the southern region. The midland also has a more melodic pitch compared to other area.

This research is not perfect as it is not done by a language major and they only find one speakers for each of the region. However this can be a good guideline and references for future studies of various accent in America.

Age: 27 years old

Demographic: Havana, Cuba

Occupation: Teacher

https://mr-dialect.com/en-us/american-english-dialect-accent-slang-translator/english-midland-american-english/

• https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/the-united-states-of-accents-midwestern-american-english

• https://mr-dialect.com/en-us/american-english-dialect-accent-slang-translator/english-midland-american-english/

• https://www.businessinsider.com/words-that-are-different-across-the-us#these-luminous-bugs-are-most-often-called-fireflies-or-lightning-bugs-but-they-can-also-be-called-firebugs-glowworms-or-june-bugs-2

• https://kb.osu.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/4a49555f-81cb-5d00-9eb1-37e25e96f6df/content

• https://theamericanmidlanddialect.weebly.com/phonology.html

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1KP4ztKK0A

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsE_8j5RL3k

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw7pL7OkKEE

age : 84 years old

Demographic : Detroit, Michigan

Occupation : actress and comedian

• Word Order: Cuban English speakers may occasionally use a word order more typical of Spanish, such as placing adjectives after nouns (e.g., "the car red") instead of before ("the red car").

• Verb Conjugation: There might be instances of verb conjugation influenced by Spanish, such as the use of the infinitive form of a verb after auxiliary verbs (e.g., "I can to go").

• Double Negation: Cuban English speakers may use double negatives for emphasis, following the pattern in Spanish (e.g., "I don't know nothing").

• Gender Agreement: Spanish gender agreement rules may occasionally affect noun-adjective agreement in Cuban English, although this is less common.

• Articles: The use of definite and indefinite articles may differ from standard English usage due to interference from Spanish articles.

These grammatical variations add richness to Cuban English and reflect the linguistic diversity of the region. They also demonstrate how language evolves and adapts in multicultural contexts.

https://katieincuba.wordpress.com/2011/11/03/introduction-to-dialect-dichos-in-cuba/

The Cuban English accent showcases a blend of Spanish-influenced pronunciation and rhythm, characterized by features such as rolled "r" sounds, syllable-timed rhythm, and distinctive intonation patterns. These prosodic variations reflect Cuba's rich cultural heritage and the ongoing influence of its linguistic landscape, resulting in a melodic and expressive speech pattern.

In contrast, the Midland American accent embodies the linguistic norms of the American Midwest, characterized by a relatively neutral pronunciation and intonation. However, subtle regional variations may manifest in aspects such as vowel sounds and lexical choices, reflecting the diverse cultural influences within the region.

What makes these accents unique is not only their distinctive phonetic features but also the cultural contexts that shape their development. Overall, the study of these accents offers valuable insights into the complexity between language, identity, and heritage, highlighting the richness and diversity of human communication.