Maine Culture & Language

Maine draws a sharp line between people from here and people who merely live here, and the vocabulary for it is well established. Summer residents have been coming for so long that they are themselves part of the culture rather than outside it.

The tone is plain and understated. Understatement in particular is close to a regional sport, and visitors sometimes mistake it for unfriendliness; it is not.

In the St John Valley along the northern border, Acadian French is still spoken, and the Franco-American presence across the state is substantial and older than most people expect.

Boatbuilding, from working craft to the windjammer schooners out of Camden and Rockland, is a living trade rather than a museum piece.

English, with a distinctive coastal accent that drops its r-sounds and is stronger in older and more rural speakers than visitors expect.

French is genuinely spoken in the north, particularly in the St John Valley, where Acadian French has been continuous for generations.

A few local terms are worth knowing: from away means anyone not born here, ayuh is yes, and dooryard is the area outside a house.