Where can I hear that lovely southern accent?
 

Living up here in Canada, I occasionally hear that gorgeous southern USA accent on t.v. (mostly on City Confidential, American Justice...ashamed to say I'm hooked on those programmes).

Do people "down there" really talk like that? I guess they do; the men and women on those two t.v. programmes are evidently not actors.

If I went to the southern USA would I hear a lot of people talking that way? Or is it just on t.v.? To my untrained ear, all accents from the southern USA sound similar, but I'm sure there are regional variations. Which regions are particularly striking or memorable?

I guess my best chance of hearing people talk like that is in the country (rather than in the city). It's my dream to travel to that part of the world, maybe some time in the next five years...I guess you could call this message the start of long-term preparations for a trip far in the future. In the mean time, I'll keep watching those t.v. programmes.

I am from Savannah, Georgia and some of the locals really do talk like that. I've lived other places around the globe so have lost much of my accent, but have relatives who still sound like authentic southeners. Many other places do as well throughout the real south (that excludes Florida ;)

Vorkuta,

In a nutshell, yes, people in the south really do speak like that. To answer the rest of your question, I defer to an expert:

Scarlett?

AL ((d))

Different regions of the south will have different accents.

My South Carolina accent is different from North Carolinians (people tell me I sound exactly like Julia Sugarbaker from Designing Women) which is most definitely different from a Texas accent.

Living in North Florida, which is basically South Georgia, I hear all degrees of "Southern".. from "soft" to "impossible to understand" Southern.
I think as soon as you pass through Virginia, into the Carolinas, you will start hearing varieties of Southern.
Personally, I find it a lovely accent, when done well :)
As an example, Texas Southern is pretty to my ear also.
I have not seen these tv shows but figure anyone can Do Southern, the Brits are good at it, look at Vivien Leigh! ((F))

Funny, I too was thinking of the true Savannah accent, ambrosia. The actors trying to duplicate it in Midnight in the Garden didn't even come close (quite funny, actually--they missed by a mile!)

Most southern accents on tv are horrible.

Come on down and listen to the real thing.

Big variations in accents. Someone in Brooklyn would have a different accent from someone in the Bronx. If a city can have several accents, you best believe the south has many variations.

I would have to say that my favorite regional accent is the Georgian accent - I loved listening to the locals when in Savannah. And I love Paula Dean's accent (on the Food Network)! I could watch Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil over and over just to hear Kevin Spacey's version of a Georgia "sing-song" accent.

Too funny ... and how are you chahmin' southern belles today? Staying cool as cucumbers on the verandahhh one hopes. Take care, and be good. Ciao, L

Vorkuta,

you are right about hearing better preserved southern accents in the country, or at least in smaller towns who have not seen a large influx of emigrants.

There are TONS of places like that down here (I live in South Carolina). My suggestion is to eat breakfast or lunch in a little cafe--we call them diners--in the center of a little town like Conway, SC or, what I think might be your best bet, Mount Airy NC. Mount Airy was the basis for Mayberry (you know, The Andy Griffith Show). Having lived in nearby Winston-Salem and visited a lot of the surrounding small towns, I still think there is something special about the accents in that part of NC.

Yes, people from the southern states really do "talk like that"! And it's delightful. And, no, not just in the country or rural areas, either, though the accent is a bit, ah, refined in the larger cities. (For lack of a better word!)

The only southern states I've visited have been Louisiana and Texas and I noticed a huge difference. The New Orleans accent is very different from that of Houston. Hard to say how, exactly, but different and distinct, and very pleasant.

Vorkuta, your post made me smile. I can remember when they filmed the TV series "Heat of the Night" here in Georgia. Some of the accents were authentic but others were so thick even I was tripping over them.

I can only speak for Georgia. The further out you get from Atlanta, the more frequently you'll here a genuine Southern accent. Especially in South Georgia in the smaller, very rural towns.

In Atlanta proper, you're likely to hear EVERY accent there is since we attract people from all over the U.S. and the world.

You're correct in guessing that there are variations across the South. I think the accents in Kentucky and Louisiana tend to be the most stiking, but that's just me.

I miss Paul Winfield's smooth narration on City Confidential.

As for American Justice, I thought Bill Kurtis was the usual host and he doesn't have a Southern accent.

LOL, Al, I missed your post :D

My accent has been filtered by all the other places I have lived, Ca, NYC..but after this past year in Fl, I most likely sound like Scarlett again :)

Hi, I'm from Alabama, so anyplace where your mama can be your sister, you'll hear a nice Southern accent.

The true New Orleanian accent I remember (we lived there for about 6 years) sort of reminded me of a New York accent...not exactly melodious (not to insult anyone!!)

I've heard some beautiful Texas accents (my daughter-in-law's, so soft and pretty) and some that will set your teeth on edge. I like the accent around the Norfolk area too.

The best example of a true south-west Georgia accent is Rosalyn Carter. The accents in different parts of Georgia vary from each other. I can tell the difference between a woman from Augusta than from Columbus. For some reason, it's harder to tell with men. Alabama has regional southern accents as well.

I used to work in a customer service call center in Atlanta years ago and I had repeat callers ask for me specifically so that they could hear my accent. I have friends in England that call me "magnolia".... I don't know if that is a compliment or not :)

Keith

Has anyone else noticed how you tend to lose youir accent after being away from the south, yet how quickly it returns the moment you start talking to other southerners? :)

Mt. Airy -- my favorite accent! Used to drive down I-77 and turn on the local radio station (somehow seemed to hit right on the daily obits when in range!) JUST to hear that clipped cadence. Sadly, those regional variations are disappearing it seems -- young folks in particular now sound like the evening news with some sort of generic midwestern twang (or maybe it was growing up with Mr. Rogers?).

B/

Yes, Statia! When I lived in NY, my brother would visit and I would find myself sounding like him at the end of the day LOL
He is affectionately called MushMouth at our house ((L))

North Carolina!

Accents can differ dramatically between the states. I live in Louisiana, which is probably a unique example. People from New Orleans can sound like they're from NY, while people from Southern Louisiana (Cajun Country) have an interesting accent. Northern Louisiana, however, sounds more like a typical Southern accent.

I think the people with the strongest Southern accents are those that live in Alabama. Very strong accents and noticeable.

Texas is not really considered the South, and their accents are a lot different than the accents you'd find in Southern states.

Do you ever listen to the old Andy Taylor/Mayberry shows? That's a southern accent that's emphasized. If you listen to Andy on other shows it's not quite the same.

Some sections of Georgia have a mush-mouthed drawl that grates on my ears. I'll put Paula Deen and her FoodTV show in that catagory.

I've lived in Savannah all my life and the differences among the native Savannahians used to be amazing. It has been smoothed out a great deal. It depended on what section of town you lived in, and where your parents and grandparents came from. The area with large Irish Catholic backgrounds sounded entirely different from the Jewish (Yiddish) areas and both were completly different from the Low Country with it's Gullah influence, or the Italian Catholic group. It had nothing to do with religion, just that they tended to live in group close to their particular place of worship.

In the more rural areas of Georgia, there was not the influx of non-English speaking immigrants and the regional accents in small towns seem to vary a great deal from town to town. I have relatives from one county (which shall be nameless) that I dreaded introducing to friends. Their speech patterns were almost comical compared to what I was used to in Savannah. And I am sure they would think the same of me!!!

One thing is common. It's slower. We tend to drop the final 't's and 'd's and final 'ar', 'er', both sound like 'ur'

I agree with you OO regarding the Midnight movie accents.

Stayin' cool RnR, drinkin' my mint julep but not on the verandah...too hot. Thank the Laud fah ayuh conditionin' dahlin'.

The best Savannah accent was the one the little boy had in Bagger Vance and I'm guessing he was a local.

Charlize Theron does a good 'sweet' souther accent.

Kevin Spacey could have used a few lessons as he sounded nothing like a gay Savannah accent in Midnight.

I think that Nick Nolte had hands down the very best accent in The Prince of Tides. He nailed the Charleston accent.

Kevin Kline was attrocious in The Big Chill.

Oh, what a lot of lovely replies! Many thanks to all of you. And thanks for taking my questions seriously (they were certainly intended seriously).

So far, the most recommended choice seems to be Georgia, perhaps with sorties to Alabama or North and South Carolina.

The Southern Drawl lives and thrives in the Alabama Black Belt (named for the dark soil which once produced wonderful cotton.)

About a million years ago when I left here (Marengo County) for college way up north in Birmingham, I was kidded about about my accent.

Byrd

My, my, ambrosia, you're the bees knees, dahlin' ... that ole verandahhh is tooo hot, but my deah, the south is all about being hot!!! If your internal temp isn't 99 plus, then you've got too many cubes in that julep! Yawl take care, and don't be a stranger, ya' heah! Ciao (souther Itlay, lol).

Vorkuta, if you do a google search on Geechie or Gullah Culture, you will find the southern accent morphed as a cross between the Queens English of the wealthy plantation owners and the African dialect and slang of the plantation slaves.

Southwestern LA native here, with southeastern LA-native parents (NOT from New Orleans). My accent is subtly different from my folks'-- and theirs differed from their relatives in Lafayette and New Orleans (one whole branch with that wonderful "Nawlins-by-way-of-New Joisey" accent!), and definitely different from the relatives who stayed in places with names like Point-aux-Chênes or Thibodaux or even Houma). Our accents all are soft and warm and almost musical, and feel like home! (I do confess that after 20 years in California, it's quite muted, but my friends STILL tell me I have a strong accent....)

And the person who noted that northern Louisiana accents are less distinctive is right; but I notice they STILL managed to mangle the Nachitoches accent in "Steel Magnolias"!! Poor Olympia Dukakis....

In small towns not near tourist attractions, you will hear that soft southern accent in several variations in the following states: Tennessee, Kentucky, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, parts of Texas, and isolated parts of some other states.

I for one am not "put off" by any version of any southern accent, as are others who have posted. I hate to see the accents fade as the population of the U.S. grows and becomes more diverse. It's already obvious that some of the accents are being lost near the larger cities, where the city folks are moving out to the country.

And of course, the only other southern accent (which isn't really southern at all) is the heavily Cajun-influenced accent of the people of southern Louisiana. That's the one that I like best of all.

But even more than accent, you will find the people in smaller towns in the south (and true southerners wherever they live) to be more congenial, more easy-going, ready to please or help you, and just generally more friendly. Hurry on down before we lost it all to the illegal (and legal) aliens.

Accents are great fun. You will find a broad difference within states. I grew up in Charleston, S.C., and lost my "Geechie" accent when I went to college in the upper part of the state. Within five minutes of returning to Charleston, I catch myself speaking like a native again!

Here in Texas there is a famous drawl from the western panhandle that is hilarious. One dear friend, 40 years removed from Midland, still pronounces my name "Jiyum." And it's two syllables!

Jim

I'm reminded of the waitress somewhere in Norway who started speaking to us in a clear US southern accent. Assuming she was American, I asked her where she was from. Ends up she was a local girl, but spent a year as an exchange student in Augusta, Georgia.

Why is it that kid from Idaho on the first Apprentice had a southern accent? The one that was close to Kwame.

He just kept saying he was a good ole southern boy from eye-Dee-HOE.

Did I miss a geography lesson? Did they move Idaho? Did we elect Idaho into some southern colony? Am I daft?

GoT, We will be driving through I Dee Ho on the way to Or e Gun and I will see if I can understand the local language :D

Scarlett, will you yell "Hi dee Hi dee Hi dee I De Ho?"

Sorry. Just had to do that.

Jim

We sho nuff do.....oddly enough I find thick Texan accents to sound kind of southern to me....I'm from Bama and I think my North Carolina relatives have a thick Southern accent, more so than me...

Often an accent is just what you want it to be.

My husband, who grew up in MS found that no one understood him when he began OCS in Newport, RI. He vowed to lose it, and lose it he did. By the time I met him two years later, he had no more accent than I ( western MA) did.

His brother, same upbringing, same college, lived and worked for over a decade in Australia and even longer in London. His accent remained as southern twenty years after moving as the day he left.

He married a girl who was born and raised 50 miles from my hometown in Western MA. His children spent all their lives up to college in Australia and England. The entire family has the most unbelievable southern accent, including his Yankee wife. LOL

Jim, LOL :D
I am from NC originally so I think it might be more like Hey Hi Dee Ho~

We moved to Georgia in 1973 and my young ears were only used to hearing Midwestern talk (Ohio). I have a touch of an accent but when I'm among relatives it tends to vanish.

When I went into first grade a year later, my mother sent a note insisting that I not be placed in a particular teacher's class because her Southern accent was so thick even the locals had trouble understanding her at times.

I can remember as a child when a playmate told me she couldn't play that day because she was "goin' off". I had no idea that she meant she was "going off" to visit her grandmother. My mother had to explain it to me.

My husband grew up in Knoxville, Tenn., but his parents are from Chicago and he has no Southern accent at all. People who meet him for the first time ask if he's from the Midwest.

I just got back from N FL & GA. I swear our accents are "sweeter" because of all the sweet tea & biscuits with honey we live on.

If you want to hear a great southern male accent then find an audio of Lewis Grizzard reading one of his books. I have one & his accent is wonderful but his southern wit is the best. He wrote for the Atlanta paper & had a syndicated column for years before his death. His books are great to get a true feel of life in the South.