Speech experts have an historical explanation for why New York's Long Island residents can't help but tell others they're from "Lawn Guyland."

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Newsday reported Wednesday that, according to experts nationwide, the famed Long Island accent can be traced to the 1600s when residents embraced the British standard of treating word-ending R's like vowels.

Experts say like most accents, the Long Island dialect adapted as time went on and even incorporated in each individual's personality.

"Language has so much to do with social identity," Stony Brook University linguistics professor Marie K. Huffman said. "As a teenager, you often have the will to explore linguistic identities and then you decide what kind of adult you're going to be."

But no matter where the unique accent originated, local residents such as Mindy Ferrentino Wolfle say there is still the stigma attached to the New York dialect.

"If I sound very Long Island, I don't sound very smart," Wolfle told Newsday. "I know it's insulting to think that, but it's about perception, not about reality."