If you have a southern accent, do you feel judged by it?

[LDS Jock]

I grew up in the south, in the Arkansas Ozarks and had a heavy accent at times. I also lived in an area with many people who had moved down from Illinois and Wisconsin. They were the ones I hung out with and some of them teased me (in a friendly way) about my accent. I worked on it and today no one knows where I'm from from my accent, or so they tell me. I don't see it as a problem in itself, but so many people judge you before they get to know you. Many have preconceived ideas that anyone with a southern accent must be ignorant or slow or whatever. To prevent myself from being judged is why I worked to lose my own. I'm rambling now, so let me wrap this up. Do you feel judged by your accent? Have you done anything to lose it or adapt to the "norm"?

[ncrainbowgrrl]

1. I'm a transplant to the south

And when I got down here 7 years ago, people always used to say "you're not from 'round these parts, right?" My speech patterns have shifted during the time that I've lived here, and I now notice that I speak with a slight North Carolina accent. Interestingly enough, when I go up to visit my parents in NY, the southernness disappears... I've wondered if this is a slightly different way of trying to achieve the (regionallyy acceptable) norm...

[leyton]

2. No, but what I have I'm proud of.

I have a tiny fraction of a sliver of North Carolina in my speech... and I like it! Though I live in NC so there's not much discrimination.

[Dzimbowicz]

3. I was born and raised in SC

but I am told that I do not really have an accent of any kind. I think this is because I was raised out in the country as a young child and my mother used that new-fangled device, the TV, to keep us entertained. And, where did TV broadcasts come from in the late 50s and early 60s (NYC and Calif.)? Maybe that is one reason I do not have an discernible accent. I can also speak three languages: English, German and Polish; I also have a working knowledge of Spanish and Sign Language. Maybe these reasons have something to do with it.

I do have the opinion that some people think a southern drawl indicates a lower intellect. Superficiality stinks! I do find it offensive when I tell people that I am from SC and they say, "You don't sound like it..."

[patricia92243]

4. I have a really, really thick Southern accent. Even other Southerners say

so. It is so bad that I am VERY self-conscience about it. I have tried to remedy some of the really thick stuff, but nobody else seems to notice any difference. And yes, I not only have been judged but have had unkind remarks made to my face.

My voice has also become deep as I have gotten older, so I am doubly doomed. Sigh :(

[mosin]

5. Ex-patriate Texan

I grew up in southern Texas, but after four years with a diverse student body at Duke, a few years in the northeast, and now several years in southern Ohio, I have very little accent left. When I'm back in the south, however, I do slip back into it a little.

[kayell]

6. To most of the country, my accent sounds Southern, but here

in SC, my Virginia accent sounds like I'm a _Yankee!

Oh no!

[vetwife]

7. Nope..Its who I am...Its not real strong...but its there !

[AlFrankenFan]

8. Recalling on an experience I had when moving from VA to CO in 2nd grade...

I had a pretty thick accent, considering my step-dad did and the part of Virginia I grew up in...the kids all laughed at me when I talked and I made an enemy or two that year...I've tried to shed it since, but it won't really go away, I still say things like "y'all" and "reckon" and "fixin' to do...".

[Nicole]

9. Not really judged by it but

I do get comments from out of staters. Usually something like "Aren't you cute" or "Isn't that quaint" when I say howdy, y'all & fixin to.
I always answer with " well bless your heart". :evilgrin:

I have not tried to change my "quaint & cute" speech pattern for anyone. It's part of who I am.

[BamaGirl]

10. I have one, and it's kinda funny actually.

Accents vary so much around the South. I have a north Ga-piedmont accent. I live in se Bama now though, and I get the "aren't from around here" crap all the time lol. My Dad is from east Tn and his accent is different from mine and my Mom's (and brother's and cousins etc). The crap I get from fellow Southerners is more along the lines of city vs. country stuff. (Unless I'm home where I fit right in lol.)

There did seem to be a concerted effort when I was a kid to minimize accents. I grew up in Atlanta in the 70's and 80's and everyone was trying to create this great international city. I sound less Southern than both my parents. My kids have grown up down here though, and sound more Southern than me lol.

The worst time I've had was when I was a teenager and we had a lot of new transplants coming into school, and when I lived in Vegas.

[Bucky]

11. I don't talk funny. Dammit, THEY talk funny

Ain't got no dang accent.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

12. I moved to Texas many years ago from California

I talked way too fast for everyone here to begin to keep up. Over the years I have developed a slight southern accent but I still talk VERY fast. It is very funny to hear.

When I go to CA it takes about a day before I lose the accent completely.

[Spider Jerusalem]

13. No accent here.

I moved to Georgia whe I was 9 (I'm 27 now), and I took care in the intervening years to carefully eradicate any traces of creeping Southernism in my speech. After 18 years here I still get "not from around here, are you?" on occasion.

[Mrs. Venation]

14. I Have A Southern Appalachian Accent

I have done nothing to try to change it; it is part of my heritage and I am not ashamed of it.

People who underestimate me because of my accent do so at their own (intellectual) peril!

[MrSandman]

20. It can be an advantage....

To encourage others to understimate. "Dumb hick."

[Solly Mack]

15. I like my accent

Wouldn't change it for anything.

[onager]

16. Accent still thick as molasses, after 30 years...

...away from the place. Grew up in Upstate South Carolina, in the foothills of the Appalachians.

Have lived in Southern California all this time and never lost it. Most people assume I'm from Texas when they hear my accent. Or if I say "South Carolina," they assume Charleston because...um, that's the only city they ever heard of in S.C. (I can usually tell the difference between an Upstate and Low Country accent instantly.)

The only bad things: the right-wing Repubs and closet racists who assume I'm one of them, just because of the accent.

Years ago, I went for a job interview with a guy from Upper New York State. He loved my accent...and had an autographed picture of Strom Thurmond on his wall. No, I did NOT take the job.

[Solly Mack]

17. So true! I've had people assume I was a kindred spirit because of my twang

I haven't lived in the south for years. My family tell me I'm losing my accent. Others don't seem to think so. lol

[carolinayellowdog]

18. Favorably, in the South-- elsewhere I lose it

Hey,

Virginians range from no discernable regional dialect to highly recognizable mountain, Tidewater, Richmond, and Southside accents. I grew up proud of not having a Southern accent, then moved to rural areas where it prevails and I've picked it up gradually. It's a social asset in dealing with people. But the minute I'm in a situation where it's a disadvantage, the accent is gone and I speak "General American."

CYD

[flaminbats]

19. as a southerner..I sometimes feel judged for not having an accent!

you know you're in the south when an English teacher reminds you "there ain't no such word as ain't"..or when you leave a yummy restaurant and a southerner proclaims "that wasn't half good!" :crazy:

[Modem Butterfly]

21. My partner and his brother are both from L. A. (Lower Alabama)

He has no discernable accent, his brother sounds like a parody- very thick accent, very slow speech pattern, very limited vocabularly. If I didn't know he'd spent his whole life in Alabama, I would assume it was a put-on accent. His accent doesn't sound bad, but his limited vocabulary makes me cringe whenever he speaks.

[Skittles]

22. I can't help it

when I hear someone drawing out a one syllable word into two syllables it just irritates the living hell out of me

example: promouncing the work THERE as THAY-ER......*GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR*