Our Southern Language

MendotoManteo said:
I'll never forget walking to the elevator from our Critical Theory Reading Group meeting at UT with a number of my professors.

I don't remember exactly what I said, but I remember in some moment I had an outburst (not in the bad sense of that term) where I had the most twangy dialect you could imagine. I sensed it immediately, and I could tell from all their silent faces they did too. No one commented, but I was so embarrassed.

As the years go on, I don't think about it much anymore. Yes, there will always be the connotations of the "dumb Southerner" (not that we've done much as a culture to counter), but - when spoken well - I believe it the most mellifluous Anglo dialect.

There's a reason why people are so obsessed with it. And it's not just because they think we're "stupid."
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It definitely made me a lot more aware of my heritage/background and how that affects people’s perception of me. Going from straight white male in-group to someone different was a culture shock. I mean, I guess I knew I had an accent but it was as never the first thing someone said about me until college. Being perceived through that lens opened my eyes to some other things.
 
Icky Mettle said:
For folks who grew up in Charlotte proper, they almost certainly have a noticeable southern accent if they are over 60 and generally don’t have any noticeable southern accent if they are under the age of 40. It’s virtually entirely non-existent for young people under 20. For that 40-60 group, it’s a mixed bag and may depend on where their parents were originally from. I also notice differences between people who are roughly 5 years apart within that 40-60 group. For example, I notice it more with folks in their mid 50s vs. those in their late 40s. It’s interesting to see with my friends from Charlotte who are my age and their older siblings. Their siblings who are 5 or more years older than them have more pronounced southern accents than they do.

My sister, on the other hand, is 3 years younger than me and somehow has a more noticeable southern accent than I do. I think that was influenced by many of her high school and college friends, many of whom had deeper southern roots.

While my dad is from eastern NC, my mom is from upstate NY. My wife grew up mostly in New Jersey and her family is all originally from NYC. Funny enough, my wife’s family doesn’t think I have a southern accent at all but thinks she has developed one after having live in the south for nearly 30 years (she has nothing close to a southern accent btw). Meanwhile, my upstate NY family thinks I have a very noticeable southern accent, but most of them have a very noticeable central/western NY accent, so it may be my lack of a central/western NY accent that makes them think that.
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I've found that, despite general trends, it's all about the "eye of the beholder," so to speak.

I once went to the Iron Bowl with my wife (Auburn family), and the people there were telling me how I sounded like an Appalachian hick (we were University of Tennessee) in what my wife calls "Alabama High Nasal." Lol.

But I can go other places, even here in California, and some (be it a minority) will claim I sound nothing like a Southerner to them.
 
Paine said:
It definitely made me a lot more aware of my heritage/background and how that affects people’s perception of me. Going from straight white male in-group to someone different was a culture shock. I mean, I guess I knew I had an accent but it was as never the first thing someone said about me until college. Being perceived through that lens opened my eyes to some other things.
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Man, you put the experience so well. Yes, it's such a strange sensation.

We never thought about it too much previously, because of our in-group experiences (despite feeling a little different, because we were the "learned" ones - I imagine that was your experience like mine).

But then you step into a cosmopolitan environment, like UNC or UT, and it changes. Despite being southern universities, you somehow become an intrigue. And you become much more self-conscious of how you speak.

It was a strange experience.
 
MendotoManteo said:
Yes, I've always thought NOLA (not necessarily Cajun) sounds more like a Boston or NYC accent.

I did not realize until past couple of years that NOLA is not considered "Cajun," despite all the Cajun cuisine and influences.
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NOLA accents (yes there are multiple dialects) are Creole influenced: French, Spanish, Haitian/Caribbean. A lot of "Y'ats," for "where y'at" = Hi 'yall. Cajuns largely live in the Atchafalaya Basin from Lake Charles to Baton Rouge to Thibodeaux. NOLA folks call the Cajuns "coon @sses."

Unlike their portrayal on TV the Cajuns are friendly and more laid back and do not have a southern drawl, although they are parochial. NOLA folks are a bit more dark and terse. There are marked differences across white, black, creole cultures.
 
Duke Mu said:
NOLA accents (yes there are multiple dialects) are Creole influenced: French, Spanish, Haitian/Caribbean. A lot of "Y'ats," for "where y'at" = Hi 'yall. Cajuns largely live in the Atchafalaya Basin from Lake Charles to Baton Rouge to Thibodeaux. NOLA folks call the Cajuns "coon @sses."

Unlike their portrayal on TV the Cajuns are friendly and more laid back and do not have a southern drawl, although they are parochial. NOLA folks are a bit more dark and terse. There are marked differences across white, black, creole cultures.
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Thank you! This is incredibly informative. Are you a linguist or something? Lol.

Regarding Cajuns, I have no actual experience or knowledge other than one of Anthony Bourdain's (RIP) last episodes of Parts Unknown. "Cajun Mardi Gras." It's one of my favorite episodes. Love it! I detected Southern dialect, but you're right that it's definitely not what we typically consider "Southern." If I remember correctly, there were still a few French speakers even.
 
I have not only a Southern accent but a pretty rural one as well -- not an elite or country club by any means. I also am a professor. It has been a bit of a bane over the years in a number of situations but I like to think that it has helped me to catch as many folks off guard as it has resulted in my being discriminated against. I also teach Latin American History and having learned to speak Spanish through immersion I've got a pretty good accent there, which I thoroughly enjoy "whipping out" when amongst potentially snobby peers. While my Spanish is not the most grammatically correct there is an edge gained by coaching and playing hoops and tending bar in Central America that can throw some for a loop. In my building in NYC work multiple NewYoriqans and Dominicans and I love comparing my Central American (Chapin) parlance with their island argot.
 
MendotoManteo said:
I start so many threads that I never carry out and respond to. But I got to thinking: what is the nature of the Southern dialect with our youth?

I'm 40 now and have lived in California for the past decade. Only get back home around Christmas. All my friends and acquaintances still have the thick drawl. And you get a few beers in me out here, and I am basically a backwoods Appalachian snake handler despite having an English PhD. They really seem to love it out here and is a point of curiosity.

But do the youths use words like "yuns"? Or even "ya'll?" I feel like "ain't" has become somewhat ubiquitous. And for good reason. It's an incredibly versatile word. "Will not." "Won't." "Isn't." Etc.

When I go back home, it always strikes me the way people sound. Much more "Southern" than I remembered. But I'm no longer connected to younger people. Do they speak like many of us do/did?
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:ROFLMAO: I know exactly what you're talking about with the changing of pronunciations, words, etc.! I have been in the Bay for the last 15 years. As soon as I land in CLT or RDU, I immediately start saying y'all and my drawl comes out.
 
stankeylegjones said:
:ROFLMAO: I know exactly what you're talking about with the changing of pronunciations, words, etc.! I have been in the Bay for the last 15 years. As soon as I land in CLT or RDU, I immediately start saying y'all and my drawl comes out.
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You're out here in the Bay, brother? We ought to get up and watch our Heels get cremated by Duke here soon in early March!

Hit me up in the DM, if you're interested. I always want to meet people from back home.
 
It’s funny that they very rarely get southern accents right in movies and TV. Hollywood seems to assume that there is just one southern accent. They don’t get the many distinctions based on geography, socio-economic status, etc.
 
Line, Lion, Lying are interchangeable and eggs pronounced with an "a" as in "a dozen aigs". To me it's funny that the dialect or accent can shift in a few counties distance. Little Washington and West Jefferson folks will need a translator.
 
SmilingJack said:
Line, Lion, Lying are interchangeable and eggs pronounced with an "a" as in "a dozen aigs". To me it's funny that the dialect or accent can shift in a few counties distance. Little Washington and West Jefferson folks will need a translator.
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I've never gotten the pen, pin thing right. Interchangeable to me.
 
Icky Mettle said:
It’s funny that they very rarely get southern accents right in movies and TV. Hollywood seems to assume that there is just one southern accent. They don’t get the many distinctions based on geography, socio-economic status, etc.
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Well, they have a hard job. Imagine trying to portray something on film. Very hard work.

But you're right: they often get it wrong, Matthew McConaughey aside.
 
MendotoManteo said:
Man, you put the experience so well. Yes, it's such a strange sensation.

We never thought about it too much previously, because of our in-group experiences (despite feeling a little different, because we were the "learned" ones - I imagine that was your experience like mine).

But then you step into a cosmopolitan environment, like UNC or UT, and it changes. Despite being southern universities, you somehow become an intrigue. And you become much more self-conscious of how you speak.

It was a strange experience.
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Not only that, but I found that working closely with international colleagues in those settings is what led me to really subconsciously suppress my accent professionally for awhile. I try to embrace it a little more these days though.

I once attended a lecture series on Corsica for a couple of weeks in grad school. Almost entirely European and Asian students, only 2 or 3 Americans. And most of the Euros were from outside of the UK. All that to say, I was one of 4 or 5 native English speakers in the entire cohort. I hit it off with a group of Spanish students and spent a lot of time with them over the next week. After about a week there, I was chatting to one of the Spanish girls and she mentioned that she could understand everyone else's English pretty easily but could barely understand me 😂

My family comes from ENC and has fairly strong accents, with some older family members leaning heavily into Hoi Toider territory. The first time I visited NYC, I was in a shop in Manhattan and the salesman was chatting me up and said "oh, are you visiting from Australia then?" after hearing me. Was very confused at the time but I can kind of get it now, being further removed from the area
 
HesNaughtHere said:
Not only that, but I found that working closely with international colleagues in those settings is what led me to really subconsciously suppress my accent professionally for awhile. I try to embrace it a little more these days though.

I once attended a lecture series on Corsica for a couple of weeks in grad school. Almost entirely European and Asian students, only 2 or 3 Americans. And most of the Euros were from outside of the UK. All that to say, I was one of 4 or 5 native English speakers in the entire cohort. I hit it off with a group of Spanish students and spent a lot of time with them over the next week. After about a week there, I was chatting to one of the Spanish girls and she mentioned that she could understand everyone else's English pretty easily but could barely understand me 😂

My family comes from ENC and has fairly strong accents, with some older family members leaning heavily into Hoi Toider territory. The first time I visited NYC, I was in a shop in Manhattan and the salesman was chatting me up and said "oh, are you visiting from Australia then?" after hearing me. Was very confused at the time but I can kind of get it now, being further removed from the area
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I remember sitting in a marina in Snead's Ferry in the 60s and listened to the boats out of Harkers Island on the ship to shore. I got a lot of south in the mouth but the only people I ever had more problem understanding was when the Lassard's and Landry's had families come up from Louisiana.I was friends with the kids and ended up with some good food and some unintelligible conversations. First time I ever heard of Justin Wilson, too.
 
As a teacher to classrooms filled with students both ‘not from here’ and also with learning disabilities I do try and speak more slowly and pronounce things more neutrally.

Still I slip up and forget.
 
Back in the 90s my maternal grandparents moved from Mass. to CH. That lasted about 8 months and they moved back . Grams literally had no idea what the Black clerks/cashiers were saying at the grocer etc
 
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