To get phoNet moving again, I'll post some observations I've made about two of my brother-in-laws' accents. The IPA transcriptions are probably only approximations, and, probably, display some sandhi.

 

One bro-in-law comes from around Maquoketa, IA (this is just south of Dubuque, and Dubuque is exactly at the place where Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota come together). His family substrate is probably a mix of Czech and German. He pronounces his daughter Elizabeth's name something like /ˈhlɪz.ə.ˌbɪþ/. (Hlizz uh bith; the i representsthe vowel of 'bit'); that's an initial HL combination, which I find rather odd. The final theta (here represented by thorn) is what I would characterize as 'soft', almost 'unexploded' (if this is the term); it's a sound I find difficult to exactly reproduce. The B is similarly soft; it's a definitely a B, but any less voicing and it would be a P.

 

My other brother-in-law has an accent I am unable to place in the literature. It's definitely NOT a Minnesota accent and it is not what I associate with a Northern American accent. His father was from Newfoundland, however, and this may count, but the underlying family accent is definitely German (Swabian?). I've only heard this accent in this area (not all natives have it), and since everyone here is related in some way or another and since this particular bro-in-law has a gazillion first cousins, we might have a 'family dialect' here.

 

Anyway. The thing most noticeable to me is the way he lengthens all his vowels, to a degree that they often become fully doubled (can one say a vowel is 'geminated'?). His pronounces his son Matthew's name as /ˈmɑ.ɑþ.juː/ (maaa-aaath yoo oo). 'Beautiful' comes out as /biːˈjuːdiːˌfəəl/ (bee-Yooooooou-dee-full-ul -- it seems to be five syllables).

 

My third bro-in-law is also from around here, but neither he nor his parents have the last-mentioned accent, tho' his father has something of a twang. This bro-in-law did spend 4 years in the US Navy, and any spell in the military tends to 'flatten' your English, no matter where you are from.

 

Mark.