Why is the Southern Accent So Prevalent in ATL? (Atlanta: transplants, schools)

[darkone]

I am from the northeast and speak likewise, so southern accents are extremely different and noticeable to me. Yet in the few years I have lived here, I would say that the majority of the U.S.-born population that I have come across has at least a mild southern accent (I can't differentiate between the regional differences in the South).

If I were to guess, it would seem like most of the transplants to the Atlanta area are from Georgia (outside of the metro area) or surrounding Southern states, based on the way they speak. Is this the case, really? I keep hearing and reading about domestic migration from all over the country, especially from up north, but most U.S.-born people here seem like native southerners to me. I am puzzled ....

[Southlander]

In answer to your question, "Why is the Southern accent so prevalent in Atlanta?," I would have to say...because Atlanta is in, believe it or not, the South!
But you are correct...many, many of the people moving into the Atlanta area are actually from surrounding states such as Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida. There are quite a few people from other areas of the US, of course, as well as the world.
But I imagine they tend to pick up the local accents which are, for the most part, Southern.

[American Patriot]

The Southern accent is loved by many people. I have a good friend who is originally from Americus, Georgia - that is south Georgia for anyone who doesn't already know. My friend has this very distinct south Georgia accent and he is a Professor at the State University of New York (SUNY) in Brooklyn, New York. I asked him what his students there thought of his Southern accent. His answer was, "They love it! They really do!" So why should we change our accent if so many people love the way we talk? We shouldn't!

[Scott Summers]

Southlander sums it up well, Atlanta's in the South so yeah, they'll sound Southern. I don't think that young Atlantans have that crazy drawl that you'll hear in the upper south and rural south. Growing up I always called the Southern accent the country accent because the people I knew who spoke that way came from the country ( the rest of GA).

[tdatl]

Originally Posted by darkone

I am from the northeast and speak likewise, so southern accents are extremely different and noticeable to me. Yet in the few years I have lived here, I would say that the majority of the U.S.-born population that I have come across has at least a mild southern accent (I can't differentiate between the regional differences in the South).

I'm guessing it's the same reason that the majority of northeasterners have a northeastern accent.

[atlantamoi]

I don't seem to hear that drawl too much inside 285. I went to university in Alabama. Go try that and then come back to Atlanta. It will feel like New Jersey!

[wxjay]

I miss the Northeast and the accent there. I used to have it, but I lost it after not living in New England for 8 years. However, whenever I go back to visit family and friends, the accent comes back to me in like a week.

That said, I have noticed generally a mix of Southern and "no" accents down here in Atlanta. The percentage with an accent grows almost exponentially as you head north or south from the city, though.

[RainyRainyDay]

Having a hard time getting my head around this thread. In the northern suburbs where I spend most of my time (East Cobb, Roswell, Sandy Springs) of course I hear some southern accents - as people have rightly pointed out, this is the south. But there are so many non-southern accents that my child, who moved here six years ago as a rising third-grader, has not picked up a regional accent. That's an amazing testament to the absence of a predominant southern accent in the East Cobb schools.

[neil0311]

IMHO, the southern accent in Atlanta has almost disappeared in the last 20 years. I moved here in the 80's from NY and noticed the accent much more. Just about everyone had an accent then, compared to very few today.

I moved back north and just recently came back to Atlanta, and the accent has been great reduced inside 285 and around the northern suburbs, due to many adults, their children, and the teachers in schools no longer having strong (or any) southern accent. Kids growing up in Atlanta who are natives have parents and friends without southern accents and teachers with mild or no accent, so they grow up with no accent.

Having said that, just drive a 25 miles outside of I-285, and I think you'll start to encounter the accent again as you leave the areas where transplants have taken residence.

[madbbqer]

There is nothing more pleasing to the ear than a pleasant Southern accent. Much more melodious than the nasally upper midwest accent or the harsh Philly/NYC/Boston amalgam.