Southern Accents outside the South

David   Sat Feb 09, 2008 9:42 pm GMT
What about eastern New Mexico? It does, after all, border texas.
Uriel   Sat Feb 09, 2008 10:34 pm GMT
Most people I've met from eastern NM (Artesia, Carlsbad, etc.) have a pretty neutral accent, but I've also met a few from Ft. Selden and Hobbs who did have a touch of a country drawl. They were also white, versus hispanic. The hispanics from eastern NM seem less likely to have any southern influences in their accents. (Although I have met hispanics from the lower midwest --Oklahoma, Nebraska -- who do have the drawl, and it's pretty funny to hear coming out of their mouths!)

This is also true for El Paso, where people don't seem to have much of a Texas twang, period, ergardless of ethnicity.
Geoff_One   Sun Feb 10, 2008 9:17 am GMT
Which parts of the USA are in the South?
Geoff_One   Sun Feb 10, 2008 9:20 am GMT
When the thread says Southern Accents what springs to mind is accents in Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia.
Guest   Sun Feb 10, 2008 6:01 pm GMT
> Which parts of the USA are in the South? >

You may receive slightly different answers to this questions, because not everyone can agree on the status of certain border states. However, the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana are almost always considered Southern. Virginia is historically Southern, but some may argue that northern Virginia along with West Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware are no longer part of the South. Eastern Texas is considered by many to be Southern, whereas Western Texas is often grouped as part of the Southwest. Border states such as Kentucky and Missouri may be claimed by either the South or the Southern Midwest. The same goes for Oklahoma, but you are going to find strong Southern elements in various parts of these states. Northern Florida is generally Southern, but most people would not include the other parts of Florida because it has absorbed so many migrants from the Northeast, Upper Midwest, and the West Coast.

If you are basing your response on dialect rather than geography, you can include parts of Kansas, southern Illinois, southern Indiana, southern Ohio, and perhaps even parts of southern Pennsylvania.

It can all become rather confusing at times.
Lo   Sun Feb 10, 2008 7:47 pm GMT
I read somewhere that since there's heavy immigration from southern states, especially Arkansas to the rural parts of Pennsylvania some parts in between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia accents can sound really southern, is this true at all?
Guest   Sun Feb 10, 2008 11:55 pm GMT
It says:

"Antimoon Forum
English
Discuss learning English and the English language "

And the thread says:

"Southern Accents outside the South"

So in regard to places where English is the main language, why are the US states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana categorized as South.
English is the main language in Australia and New Zealand which are considerably further South than these US states. Australia is an entire continent. In regard to the English speaking world, the English accents in these states should be categorized under the broad heading of "Northern Accents".
Geoff_One   Mon Feb 11, 2008 9:00 pm GMT
<< <<English is the main language in Australia and New Zealand which are considerably further South than these US states.>>

Don't be stupid. >>

If one does not see things from the perspective of a North American centric world, then it is not stupid.
Skippy   Tue Feb 12, 2008 12:45 am GMT
It's not being North American centric, it stems an understanding of basic linguistic terminology... Southern Accents, referring to English, tends to refer to Southern American English (that's the Southern United States) or, less frequently though certainly often enough, Southern England (though this typically would be referred to either Southwestern or Southeastern).
Guest   Tue Feb 12, 2008 6:04 am GMT
>>I read somewhere that since there's heavy immigration from southern states, especially Arkansas to the rural parts of Pennsylvania some parts in between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia accents can sound really southern, is this true at all?>>

I am not sure about that, but I have noticed that certain dialects in Southwestern PA contain "Southern" features. This was discussed earlier in the thread, and it is most likely because most dialects from Appalachia were inherited from early Scots-Irish immigrants. I know of several Southerners who have traced their ancestry back to Scots-Irish and German immigrants who originally settled in PA or MD, but eventually moved further south.

I am guessing the current dialect down in the southern Appalachia region is a mix of the old Scots-Irish and German dialects via PA and/or MD combined with older dialects inherited from the French, Dutch, Welsh, English, African, and American Indian tribes who were present in other parts of the South.
Geoff_One   Tue Feb 12, 2008 7:20 am GMT
<< <<English ... US states.>>

Don't be stupid. >>

<< ... Being polite goes a long way too. >>
David   Sat Feb 16, 2008 6:18 pm GMT
<< I read somewhere that since there's heavy immigration from southern states, especially Arkansas to the rural parts of Pennsylvania some parts in between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia accents can sound really southern, is this true at all? >>

I've heard of this happening in Alaska, where a number of Texans migrated to work on the oil rigs.
Jasper   Sat Feb 16, 2008 7:13 pm GMT
<<I am guessing the current dialect down in the southern Appalachia region is a mix of the old Scots-Irish and German dialects via PA and/or MD combined with older dialects inherited from the French, Dutch, Welsh, English, African, and American Indian tribes who were present in other parts of the South.>>

I can tell you from direct experience that the Appalachian dialect is noticeably different from the dialect commonly known as Inland Southern.
I lived on the border of the isogloss separating these dialects, so I was able to hear both; social class was the arbiter.
Yuppers   Sun Feb 17, 2008 7:27 am GMT
I am from Philadelphia (born and raised) and I currently go to Cornell. It was not until college that I realized (more like, was told) that I have a slight Southern drawl and apparently so do a lot of Philadelphians, according to the New Yorkers I've met. However this accent is not true for the rest of Pennsylvania (only Southeastern PA and South Jersey, NOT north jersey, tend to have a country drawl). Pennsylvanians from from the central and western parts of the state seem to speak with a Mid Western accent (at least I think so), reminiscent of the "Bobby's World" cartoon, haha

But yes, the more people tell me about this slight drawl I have the more I am beginning to hear it myself, especially being in New York a lot. I've taken several of those accent test and 75% of the tests claim I have a Southern accent and 25% claim that I have a Philadelphia accent (which is said to be a meld between the Southern and New York accent leaning more towards the Southern).

Can anyone else attest to this?
Yuppers Again   Sun Feb 17, 2008 7:32 am GMT
Some of my friends from these places have noticeable Southern drawls, but these places are not considered "The South":

Oakland, CA

Indiana

Some rural areas in PA and Western NY.

Philadelphia

Baltimore

South Jersey

Ohio

Note most of these accents were not full on Southern accents like you would hear in Savanna, GA or Mississippi. They were slight (some more than slight), but noticeable.