Having lived in Alabama for 20 years, I've gotten pretty good at picking out accents. I've more or less always been able to tell the difference in people from North Alabama, Central Alabama, and South Alabama (also known around here as Upper, Middle, and Lower
).
People from North Alabama seem to have more of a mountain dialect, like Tennessee. To me, South Alabama has the cutest-sounding one. It's kind of like the South Georgia dialect--nice and mellow. And of course, the Central Alabama dialect, where I'm from, generally sounds like the most hick thing you can possibly imagine! That being said, I've learned to curb mine a lot, and I can even make people believe I'm not even from the South when I want to. Listening to people from Central Alabama butcher the English language tends to drive me nuts! Of course, there are those times (like when I've been drinking, when I'm angry, or when I've been around other people who talk that way) that it's painfully obvious where I really come from!
Since I've started working as a Directory Assistance operator, I'm also learning to place other Southern accents pretty well. I've noticed that everything everyone has said about the different states (and areas of the states) is right on target!