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The confusion about which is more southern comes with defining that the deep south is the standard of the south. The Chesapeake which is the oldest region of the south never had the deep southern accent. If you observe accents of native blacks of the region like Duke Ellington, Pearl Bailey and others from the region you will notice that their accents weren't deep southern. The white population of the Chesapeake has been somewhat changed inside the Washington beltway, but outside the beltway the accents and traditions of whites in the Chesapeake remains the same. Just go down to the Maine ave wharf and you can hear the Chesapeake accent from the watermen.
I disagree. I'm African American and my accent is mixed. I say certain things southern and other things like I'm from up north. As a whole I'd say about 60% of the black people in the DC area sounds southern, 30% sounds northern, and 10% is neutral. As far as household traditions it depends too. A lot of black people in this area are baptists but then again a lot are also Catholic and there is a HUGE black Muslim presence here. Me personally I grew up in a up north mindset. I dont pray after every meal, I dont go to church, I'm always in a rush, and the way a carry myself is very Bmore/Philly/NYC-ish. I don't dress or act like a typical black DC native. Black people in Atlanta sound ALOT more southern than blacks up here. Its way more twang in the voice, the style of dress is kinda country to me, the slang is southern, most people in ATL aren't used to living in a dense urban environment, its slow paced...
My experience is totally different man. Style of dress.. there are a lot of country dressing people in DC u can even find them in NY. As well has u can find plenty of stylish black people in Atlanta. I'm southern all the way but I have a southern and Caribbean accent kinda mixed together. I just find DC Blacks and Atlanta Blacks to be somewhat similar.
I personally don't think blacks from DC have that much in common with with blacks from Atlanta. No Boxed Chevy sitting on rims too big for the car, gold teeth, and people from DC are not big on grits. The DC accent is pretty proper compared to Atlanta black southern drawl. DC blacks don't say words like gull instead of girl or shawty instead of shorty. Being Baptist is probably the only thing they have in common.
All blacks don't rock gold teeth here and to be honest I haven't hardly seen and abundance of black men wearing them either Nor driving box Chevys . Maybe a Charger and that's not a Southern thing because Hispanics was doing that first ..I have seen people in DC driving chargers with big rims too..
But people in Maryland say Dug instead of Dog Samen instead of Salmon. People in NY definitely say blacks in DC sound very Southern. The black church traditions are very big in DC just like here in GA .
My experience is totally different man. Style of dress.. there are a lot of country dressing people in DC u can even find them in NY. As well has u can find plenty of stylish black people in Atlanta. I'm southern all the way but I have a southern and Caribbean accent kinda mixed together. I just find DC Blacks and Atlanta Blacks to be somewhat similar.
I agree with this. I have family that live in the D.C area and they have a southern accent and they dress like no one from Philly and definitely do not dress like anyone from NYC. D.C has its own way of doing things just like Atlanta, so to find the style in Atlanta "country" is a matter of opinion because when my cousins come down to Atlanta from D.C they are always asking us what's in and what's not. They take our styling cues down here and go back up to D.C with the style they see here.
That one dude really just sat here and said that Hampton Roads has no southern characteristics...
While I agree that Hampton Roads is today moreso less-Southern, it still maintains a noticeable size of Southern appeal. But in that regard, it is no different from Richmond....and on that note, while everyone here loves saying how "Southern" Richmond still is, let me reaffirm that Richmond still has noticeable Southern traits, and it will always be Southern even as a technicality, or historically. However, Richmond is only a step behind DC and the majority of the populous of VA and MD--it is far less Southern in 2013 than it was even 20 years ago. How some of you think that this cultural displacement and change of the urban regions of VA and MD skipped Richmond and hit the Tidewater amazes me.....
Richmond is more urban and cosmopolitan than every single city in the Hampton Roads. Norfolk is the only city that is debatable, but thats it, but Norfolk is the closest thing the Tidewater has to a true urban experience. from Williamsburg to the Beach, Chesapeake/Hampton/Newport News/Suffolk/Portsmouth, none of these cities offer anywhere near the urban vibe/lifestyle/amenities that Richmond does. Norfolk is the only place close. Greater Richmond and Hampton Roads are more alike than different...
As for the topic, just this: silly thread. If you're interested in experincing urban life from a Southern perspective, Atlanta easily....
All blacks don't rock gold teeth here and to be honest I haven't hardly seen and abundance of black men wearing them either Nor driving box Chevys . Maybe a Charger and that's not a Southern thing because Hispanics was doing that first ..I have seen people in DC driving chargers with big rims too..
But people in Maryland say Dug instead of Dog Samen instead of Salmon. People in NY definitely say blacks in DC sound very Southern. The black church traditions are very big in DC just like here in GA .
Dude. Be real. The car culture in Atlanta is far more popular and bigger in there than DC. You will have to go out of your way to see this culture in DC as opposed to Atlanta. You will see those with grills in Atlanta. You will have to go out of your way again to see that in DC. As far as accents. It's similarities that should matter tho dug instead of dog is not pronounced anywhere in DC or the maryland suburbs of DC. That's straight Baltimore and I don't know anywhere else in the South that says dog like that.
DC blacks do have a weird accent tho. They slur the r's and drag it out. Similar to Dallas, Memphis, and St. Louis but different. The dialect is similar to people down in hampton Roads and parts of North Carolina. Nothing like Georgia, South Carolina, or Florida. I wouldn't call DC northern either. Demographically, DC does not fit. But I wouldn't call it all the way Southern either. Elements of both is the best anyone can say about it. As far as black church traditions, any city with a large Black population will have this except maybe NY and Philly.
i havent been to the atl but i doubt dc is a real southern experience these days jus cuz of the recent migration from all over, it didnt look southern to me at all
as was said b4, its not northern, but its not really southern
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