A sharp, vibrating sound like a guitar string being plucked, or a characteristic way of speaking with a nasal or drawling accent.
Imitative origin, likely from Old Norse or Germanic roots. First recorded in English around 1500s referring to the sound of plucked strings, later applied to accented speech patterns.
A twang in speech is usually someone's regional accent—Southern American, Appalachian, Irish—and our brains categorize people instantly by their twang, which is why people often change how they speak when they move to a new region or want to fit in socially.
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