The Slice We End Our Sentences In Questions? Could This Be True?

Yes, there is an Inland Northwest accent.

At least, according to Dennis DeMattia. He said locals tend to come down hard on each consonant.

Matthew Goos argued that people in the Spokane area end sentences with a slight upward inflection.

Pat and Kevin Shelley said the sound reminds them of speech patterns in the northern Midwest. And, noting that it’s not really a matter of accent, Gerri Graber Wilson cited the prevalence of constructions such as “The bell has rang,” and “He’d ran a red light.”

From the Slice mailbag: K.D. Hayes, among others, suggested that our list of 1941 food prices was meaningless because we failed to note the lower incomes of that era.

Mead’s Mert Turner said he would visit the Telco Credit Union five days a week if the tellers wore swimsuits.

R.E. Falkner wrote: “When I was growing up, band vocalists sang. Now they scream and shout and screw their faces into agonized expressions while they reach for high notes that are beyond their range.”

And add the helicopter-equipped search and rescue unit at Fairchild Air Force Base to the list of Spokane’s overlooked assets.

You pick: “Men are From Mars, Women are From Spokane,” or “Men are From Spangle, Women are From Venus.”

Pull over: A Swell Paper colleague recalls that when she moved to the Northwest, she used to think she was almost constantly being followed by police cars. But alas, it was only vehicles adorned with ski racks.

Alfalfa Hay and Cubing Conference: In Pasco, Jan. 24-26. Call (509) 545-3511 for details.

Warm-up questions: Will “Hoop Dreams” come to Spokane in your lifetime? Have you ever noticed the signs in second-story windows in downtown Spokane? How many Slice readers hung out at Spokane’s teen clubs in the late 1960s?

Today’s Slice question: Spokane is allergic to what personality trait?

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