Southern Accents - Page 3

CarolinaCutie · #1 05-07-2003, 12:15 PM

You can tell an eastern North Carolina accent from a western NC accent... someone from the mountains usually has a thick accent, similar to TN. On some of the Outer Banks, the people who have lived there all their lives have SUCH a peculiar accent... I've been told it's because they haven't been exposed to other kinds of North Carolina accents, and so it's more pure? Overall, North Carolina accents are more mildly Southern than the Deep South like Louisiana, Mississippi, or Alabama. Although we all say those classic Southern sayings- I am always "fixin" to do somethin'

Even someone not from the South should be able to distinguish a Charleston accent because of that Gullah tinge in it!

lifesaver · #2 05-11-2003, 05:10 PM

Ok, yesterday I had 2 random people tell me that I had a strong accent. They both described it as a Houston accent. Kinda interesting, because I have been to Houstona grand total of 10 times in my life.

AlphaGam1019 · #3 05-11-2003, 06:01 PM

I had a classmate tell me she needed to change the oil in her car. I did not understand her. It sounded like "uh-l" :P

I think my southern accent's evident in certain words. Dam* south ga! hopefully will change soon enough

Eirene_DGP · #4 05-11-2003, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BrownEyedGirl
Oh my word!! While I agree with you on the different SC accents (I'm from the Midlands and we really do have a Georgia-esque drawl), I have to totally disagree here. Just hearing those words pronounced like that in my head sounds country - eek! Maybe it's an extreme mountain accent, but I know none of my friends or family speaks like that, thank goodness. "Cloff" would drive me crazy! Around here we mostly just drag out vowels (my name, Anne, becomes a few syllables ), round off word endings (darlin') and slow things down a bit. I've lived in the upstate (Spartanburg and now Clemson) for four years and thankfully I've never heard anyone talk like that!
impossible to do!

Omg, yeah a lot of those words are more mountain. Try going around North Greenville College, or near Anderson, SC. I have heard a lot of super duper southern accents since I have been in Florence, SC.

GeekyPenguin · #5 05-12-2003, 01:11 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by KDatUTC
Yes, a little out of Nashville. She went to an all girls school. Forgot the name of it, she is a born and bred TN gal

It's Harpeth Hall...I have a friend who went there, she says Reese came back and was totally sweet to everyone.

Harpeth Hall

KillarneyRose · #6 05-12-2003, 01:30 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by GeekyPenguin
It's Harpeth Hall...I have a friend who went there, she says Reese came back and was totally sweet to everyone.

Harpeth Hall

I know that she acts for a living so I may be completely fooled, but from what I've seen and read of her on talk shows and in magazines, she really does seem like a very classy, nice person.

Nikki_DZ · #7 05-23-2003, 04:07 PM

The mailman just asked me if I was from Alabama b/c of my "strong southern accent".

Odd, I grew up an hour away from where I live...Except for 4 years of college in NW Ohio, I've lived in SW Ohio my whole life.

lifesaver · #8 05-23-2003, 04:20 PM

I was able to pick someones North Carolina accent out the other day. My buddy John is from NC and I was talking withthis dood at the bar and he said "KNOAW" for the word no. Made it a 3 syllable word. lol. I told him he had to have some NC up in him. Indeed, he did. I was impressed at myself.

BTW my sister, the speech-language pathologist, told me that the correct term is DIALECT, not accent. If english is your second language and you native toung influences they way you poronounce words, that is an accent. A dialect is a regional variation in a language.

FiReKraCkEr · #9 05-23-2003, 05:18 PM

Sometimes I love having my DIALECT cause people know exactly where I'm from....and I don't think I sound hickish!!! Mine is not that strong or "twangy" its just certain word that you can pick it up in. When I get really mad, my accent no longer exists...wierd

I was told my DIALECT was more Georgian anyway. So, no offense taken from that TN accent comment

But I hate the double takes I get, here in Chatty....it's odd for an Asian gal to have a Southern DIALECT, because most moved down here from up north. Eh, oh well....

It's weird, I don't like guys with Southern DIALECTS....I don't know why. Most can't carry it off well....they all sound like Forrest Gump to me

LOL, DIALECTS

Yup, no Korean ACCENT here!!

carnation · #10 05-23-2003, 07:11 PM

LOL!!!! No Japanese accents here either! BlazerCheer came from Japan at age 2 months and she talks like everyone else here--"Hai! How are yew?"

FiReKraCkEr · #11 05-23-2003, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by carnation
LOL!!!! No Japanese accents here either! BlazerCheer came from Japan at age 2 months and she talks like everyone else here--"Hai! How are yew?"

I think if I ever met her, we would get along!!! I'd be like "whoa another Asian gal with a Southern 'dialect' Oh ma goodness gracious!!"

lol, geez louise I'm a dork!

MoxieGrrl · #12 05-23-2003, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Nikki_DZ
The mailman just asked me if I was from Alabama b/c of my "strong southern accent".

Odd, I grew up an hour away from where I live...Except for 4 years of college in NW Ohio, I've lived in SW Ohio my whole life.

I hear ya! I'm also from SW Ohio, and a friend's husband said, "So, did you grow up in the South?" Hmm....

I might talk funny, but he had a Philly accent.

steelepike · #13 05-24-2003, 05:40 AM

one of my brothers is from Alabama why he chose OSU i don't know but the accents were off a bit just going by his. You know i think we came up for the best nickname for him too "Bama" so original.

AOIIsilver · #14 05-24-2003, 10:46 PM

Tn has regional accents as well. Someone raised in, for example, Shelbyville (Middle Tennessee) has a VERY different accent from someone raised on the mountains of East Tennessee. Tennessee accents can sound as smooth as a pat of warm, melted butter or as thick as a lump of sourdough bread.

I have always been told that I have a rather strong Tennessee accent; however, recently, many people have been asking me if I am from Canada

.
I just don't understand how I went from having a strong regional Tennessee accent to having what some Tennesseans perceive to be a Canadian accent.
Silver

houstonchica · #15 08-11-2003, 02:09 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by lifesaver
Ok, yesterday I had 2 random people tell me that I had a strong accent. They both described it as a Houston accent. Kinda interesting, because I have been to Houstona grand total of 10 times in my life.

I lived in Houston for eleven years. I describe the Houston accent as valley-girlish with a little southern twang!! Definitely nothing like the southern dialect where I am now.