[denverian]

Originally Posted by Southlander

This would be the British accent that was current during Shakespeare's time.

Who said the Western accent is "standard?" I've heard Midwestern accents referred to as a type of "standard" because they're prevalent among TV announcers.

But again...who said what is standard?

The people in charge of accents, of course!

Probably because its easy to understand, widely used, and then TV anchors use it across the country. I've never heard a news anchor person speak with a thick, southern accent before, or strong Brooklyn accent, or Minnesota accent. They all sound the same, which is the dominant accent in the West.

[PortCity]

I agree the western accents are nutural so I wouldn`t say they have accents realy.

[Future Trooper]

When I went on a class trip a few years back to Huntsville( I am from Indiana) I was expecting to hear "deep" Southern/Slang accent but was somewhat dissappointed to barely hear it during my stay down there.

[SouthernBoy205]

I'm in Huntsville right now, and the southern accent is here and strong.

[dimpelss]

Originally Posted by MobileBornAnraised

the southern accent is not dying. I think some are thicker then others but maybe some southerners are to southern to hear southern accent.(when my oldest son was little we called him forrest as in "Gump" because when he talked he sounded like the little boy that played forrest. Now he is almost grown we dont notice him havin a accent. All 3 of my kids have accents and manners. whats starting to die and is missing from the southern way of life seems to be kids with manners. Grandma's peach tree switch anyone? lol

Lol Aman to the peach tree switch

[dimpelss]

Originally Posted by denverian

Oregon and Washington don't have their own accent. They're included in the Western Dialect that stretces from San Diego to Seattle to Denver and Albuquerque. I've never heard anyone dislike it though, as it's considered standard American English!

I can think of one time when someone commented on my accent in the South (being from Denver/Southern California) and a womand said to us, "Y'all must be from the North the way ya'll talk so pre-sahs".

Personally I find some southern accents to be eloquent, while others, especially the "back woods hick" accents that rip apart the English language to be annoying - especially because they're difficult to understand. I don't like North Carolina accents either, the way they would stay, "Right, Fight, Might" like "Rot, Fought, Mot".

Nobody can help how they pronounce their words especially if you have a Southern accent, so yea sometimes they may be difficult to understand but don't call it annoying. Heck all you got was a comment from her well I live in Mi now and I'm from Tx when I first moved here my boyfriends family made fun of my accent all the time, they sounded to proper for me and I sounded too Texan for them and they still talk about me till this day.

[cubby79]

Southern accent is alive and well in Alabama. On the local tv stations that's basically what you hear is folks with the southern accent during the local commercials. I highly doubt the southern accent will ever leave Alabama. Most of our neighbors sounded southern and some I could not even make out what they say half of the time. The only ones that didn't sound southern was our family and a family from another country. We didn't sound southern because we aren't from the south but after recently moving within a couple miles of my home state I hear some southern words out of my folks. lol

[HipLib]

I've lived in Alabama all my life and I would definately say that no, the southern accent isn't dying. What it's doing is changing. Most southern accents we hear today are not the one's that many people traditionally think of. Here's an example :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6BTFYA7YC8 The Howell Heflin type accent is largly a thing of the past. The only people I ever hear speaking it are very elderly, well educated, well off people. The much more common southern accent today is the Rick and Bubba type accent:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcUNXWaR-KE

[Shalako]

Depends on the area. I grew up in central Alabama. After I had lived in the City for a few years, I had difficulty understanding people when I went back for a visit

[pjg66]

Originally Posted by AllenKarber

I hope the accent doesn't disappear! I can't stand people trying not to sound southern! Don't be ashamed of who you are and where you come from!

Agree wholeheartedly! I think a southern accent can be charming and beguiling, and though I am a transplant to the South (so don't have an accent), I think anyone who mocks the way southerners talk does so out of ignorance.

An elderly lady friend of mine was born and raised in Birmingham and has the most gracious and soft-sounding southern accent you could ever hope for. She was riding on a train down the east coast, returning from Massachusetts to Alabama.

She sat down in the dining car, and a very well-dressed, yuppyish couple was sitting across the aisle from her. They were talking loud enough that everyone around could hear them. It appeared that they were from California.

Anyway, they were talking about how awful the South and southerners are. When the waiter came to take her order, my friend made it a point to give her order in her proudest accent at a volume those people could clearly hear. Their response? They looked over at her and attempting to whisper to each other said, "My god, there's one of them over there." She could still clearly hear them.

Being totally well-mannered, my friend just looked over and smiled sweetly at them, not saying another word. They pretty much shut up after that, and my friend enjoyed her meal and got up and left.

Fortunately, she got a lot of laughs relating the incident to her fellow degenerate southerners.