Where does the southern American accent come from?

Where does the southern American accent come from?

The main origin of the accent comes from British immigrants. The older Southern American accent, which became less prominent following the Civil War, had stronger similarities to the British accents of Northern England.

Why do Americans have a Southern accent?

The Southern Drawl, like any accent, developed over the course of hundreds of years. There were many factors that contributed to its evolution including: plantation and farm life, Western expansion, immigration, and an increasing number and size of American cities.

How do you describe a Southern accent?

It is characterized by low “a” and “o” sounds and is often compared to a New York or Boston accent. This one is the most common and recognizable Southern accent. Usually, characters in the movies speak this way with long vowels and relaxed pronunciation.

Why do some southern people not have accents?

The authors suggest that Southerners do not categorize speakers of either accent as being alien, because they hear Northern accents at a young age from National news anchors, film and television characters. The kids in Chicago don’t have the same opportunity to hear a Southern accent.

Which state has the most southern accent?

Mississippi is the most Southern state by a hair The rest of the top five — Georgia, South Carolina, and Louisiana — make up the other states of the Deep South. There was a slight drop-off in votes for Tennessee, North Carolina, and Arkansas, but they’re all still unmistakably Southern by readers’ standards.

Where does the New York accent come from?

According to Prof Labov, the NY accent originates from London. “Back about 1800 all the major cities in the eastern seaboard of the United States began to copy the British pronunciation of not pronouncing the final ‘r’ as a consonant, saying ‘caah’ instead of ‘car’.

What states have a Southern accent?

Specifically, the Atlas definitively documents a Southern accent in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina (though not Charleston), Georgia (though Atlanta is inconsistent), Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Louisiana (co-occurring with Cajun and New Orleans accents), as well as almost all of …

How many Southern accents are there?

A Combination of Southern Dialects The Southern accent (which is actually about 7 distinct accents) is also very well-known in the United States and one of the more obvious dialects. It can be hard to differentiate which Southern accent someone might have, unless you’re actually from this area.

Where is the most neutral American accent?

So the West Coast, the Central Midwest, and Alaska still have some accent, but still the most neutral in the U.S. California/midwest.

Where is the best Southern accent?

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.

Where do people have the strongest Southern accents?

Originally Answered: Where is the Southern accent strongest? The American Southern Accent is strongest wherever a person from the Southern US is speaking outside the South.

Why do New Yorkers sound Italian?

As lower class people came to London for jobs, they were mixing with the aristocracy of London who wanted to distinguish themselves from those lower classes (and from American colonists) so they intentionally changed their pronunciation to sound different and more upper class.

Do you know where your Southern accent comes from?

You may have heard it a hundred times, but not really know what it is or where it comes from. It’s a pretty complicated story, but it reveals the massive amount of accent diversity that exists in even just a small part of the United States. Southern accents, like most accents, are bogged down by media myths.

What are the different types of American accents?

American Accents (Geographic) Maine Accent. New England English. Pacific Northwest English. California English. Midwestern American English. Southern American English. Hawaii English And Pidgin. New Orleans And Cajun English.

Why do people have different accents in different regions?

The lines between regions are blurry, the way people talk is constantly changing and a relatively small area can have people speak any number of different ways. Geography isn’t even the only marker of an accent; people can speak a certain way because of their profession or their upbringing.

Why do people lose their accents in cities?

Cities are a major hotspot of linguistic innovation, but they can also lead to accent loss. Because Southern American English is stigmatized by cosmopolitan people, people who live in cities and travel the country will often try to “lose” their accent. While this isn’t everyone, it’s caused cities to sound distinctly more northern than rural parts.