Heard: "=?windows-1252?Q?=85_?=between oh-six and_ oh-ten_."

Nathaniel Sharpe nts at BETHLEHEMBOOKS.COM
Thu Feb 7 22:08:58 UTC 2013


Yes, the general assumption is that the Coens called it "Fargo" simply
because it sounded a bit nicer than "Brainerd."

Regarding the hookers, I believe they were also Minnesotans, but to my
Dakotan ears they do seem a bit less over the top. Which is not
surprising considering the one who "had sex with the little fella," was
Larissa Kokernot, a dialogue coach for the film. According to Wikipedia,
she noted that the "small-town, Minnesota accent is close to the sound
of the Nords and the Swedes," which is "where the musicality comes from."

Her observation rings true as many younger Minnesotans (farther removed
from their Scandinavian roots) tend to have a very mild accent, if any.
Perhaps the strong accent present in "Fargo" is a throwback to the older
generation of Minnesotans the Coen brothers knew during their childhood
in Minneapolis.

Nat


On 2/7/2013 3:56 PM, Benjamin Torbert wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society<ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Benjamin Torbert<btorbert at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      =?windows-1252?B?UmU6IEhlYXJkOiAihSBiZXR3ZWVuIG9oLXNpeCBhbmRfIG9o
>                LXRlbl8uIg==?=
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> It's been a while since I've seen the film, but I think the motel at the
> end is in Bismarck.  The original meeting between Jerry and the crooks
> takes place in Fargo, IIRC.  Just about everything else is in Minnesota.
>
> BT
>
> On Thu, Feb 7, 2013 at 3:22 PM, Herb Stahlke<hfwstahlke at gmail.com>  wrote:
>
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society<ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       Herb Stahlke<hfwstahlke at GMAIL.COM>
>> Subject:
>>   =?windows-1252?B?UmU6IEhlYXJkOiAihSBiZXR3ZWVuIG9oLXNpeCBhbmRfIG9o
>>                LXRlbl8uIg==?=
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> So do they sound more like the two young hookers?  The movie does end in a
>> motel in Fargo, although I couldn't see how that justified the title.
>>
>> Herb
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Feb 7, 2013 at 3:32 PM, Nathaniel Sharpe<nts at bethlehembooks.com
>>> wrote:
>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>> -----------------------
>>> Sender:       American Dialect Society<ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>> Poster:       Nathaniel Sharpe<nts at BETHLEHEMBOOKS.COM>
>>> Subject:      Re: Heard: =?windows-1252?Q?=22=85_between_oh-six_and=5F_?=
>>>                =?windows-1252?Q?oh-ten=5F=2E=22?=
>>>
>>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> You may want to re-check your sources, Wilson, as the town of Brainerd,
>>> North Dakota, while apparently legendary, doesn't actually exist!
>>>
>>> Perhaps you're thinking of Brainerd, Minnesota, the setting of the movie
>>> Fargo (which despite its title had nothing to do with Fargo or North
>>> Dakota in general). Which makes it even more ironic that the Coen
>>> brothers shot the scenes of "Brainerd" in my own hometown of Bathgate,
>>> North Dakota.
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainerd,_Minnesota#In_popular_culture)
>>>
>>> I've always been struck by the number of people who watch Fargo and
>>> think they're getting a glimpse into North Dakotan culture. Of course,
>>> I'm sure we're not too different from our eastern neighbors, but if
>>> there really are people in Minnesota who talk like Jerry Lundegaard, I
>>> haven't yet stumbled on any in my neck of the woods.
>>>
>>> (Just a pet peeve.)
>>>
>>> Nat
>>>
>>>
>>> On 2/7/2013 1:41 PM, Wilson Gray wrote:
>>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>> -----------------------
>>>> Sender:       American Dialect Society<ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>>> Poster:       Wilson Gray<hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
>>>> Subject:
>>>   =?UTF-8?B?SGVhcmQ6ICLigKYgYmV0d2VlbiBvaC1zaXggYW5kXyBvaC10ZW5fLiI
>>>>                 =?=
>>>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>> tip of the slung, perhaps? nope. several more uses of "oh-ten." white
>>>> male speaker from the legendary Brainerd, North Dakota
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> -Wilson
>>>> -----
>>>> All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint
>>>> to come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
>>>> -Mark Twain
>>>>
>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>>>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



More information about the Ads-l mailing list