Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Oh, and the first thing we did was get on a streetcar right outside our hotel and ride to the end and then paid to ride again. While we were sitting there the streetcar driver who was black got into a conversation with a friend of his outside the streetcar. I listened for the longest time and just caught a few words that I could understand. I wondered what dialect they were speaking. Southern Hospitality was alive and well in New Orleans, but that place is definitely different from what I am used to on a daily basis. Life is so funny sometimes.
The accent you hear most commonly in New Orleans amongst a lot of the AA locals is called "Yat dialect" I think. I'm not very familiar with it though. I've only spent time in North Louisiana as I've got some family in Bossier City....only hit NOLA once when I was about 21.......what can I say...Mardi Gras called me.
You're right. I was off topic. I just love Kentucky bashing and sometimes I can't help myself.
I've always thought of Texas culture as being southwestern not Southern. Texas has much more Hispanic influences than the Deep South.
East Texas, especially Southest Texas, is undeniably Southern. I'd say from Liberty on the rest of the way to Louisiana, is Southern as any region. The area was a cotton region, and Jim Crow was part of its identity.
Texas is a huge State. And even people from Houston, will not relate to the Western portion of the state. Tag on the mega influences of Louisiana which overlap with East Texas, and its nothing like the rest of the state. The Hispanics in region even adopt a lot of the culture; eating boudain, crawfish, and gumbo.
I've always thought of Texas culture as being southwestern not Southern. Texas has much more Hispanic influences than the Deep South.
True, Texas is sort of like a border between the two regions. But that doesn't change that it's more southern than southwestern (with the exception of anything west of the Pecos). Most of Texas is Southern Baptist, even in West Texas. Southern food like BBQ and Sweet Tea are very common throughout the state, even out west. The Texan accent is undeniably southern. Houston and Dallas are very much like the Deep South in climate, culture, architecture, and have almost as many blacks as Hispanics. Even with a semi-arid to arid climate in the Western half of the state, that doesn't change the fact that it still feels culturally southern.
You're right. I was off topic. I just love Kentucky bashing and sometimes I can't help myself.
I've always thought of Texas culture as being southwestern not Southern. Texas has much more Hispanic influences than the Deep South.
No. Hispanic "influence" in most parts of the state hardly goes past picking up your daily breakfast taco before heading to work. Most non-Hispanics can hardly speak/understand a lick of Spanish. The culture is there, but it has not displaced the southern culture that has been here for generations. Mexican =/= Southwestern. Texas has its own relationship with the country that is quite different from the true Southwest.
What you said isn't even close to being true for East Texas, which is closely tied to the Deep South.
True, Texas is sort of like a border between the two regions. But that doesn't change that it's more southern than southwestern (with the exception of anything west of the Pecos). Most of Texas is Southern Baptist, even in West Texas. Southern food like BBQ and Sweet Tea are very common throughout the state, even out west. The Texan accent is undeniably southern. Houston and Dallas are very much like the Deep South in climate, culture, architecture, and have almost as many blacks as Hispanics. Even with a semi-arid to arid climate in the Western half of the state, that doesn't change the fact that it still feels culturally southern.
I'm not sure I'd say as much about Dallas. It's more like Southern prairie-Mid-South hybrid.
Yes, for most of these cities' history, African Americans had been the predominant minority group. Only in the past recent decades have Latinos become the largest group.
Yeah while I do not agree much about Houston (Gulf Coast/Texan vibe) being deep South. I definitely do not agree with Dallas as a Deep South city. The majority of Texas however is Southern. Eva does have a point a bit about far west Texas or the Trans-Pecos area being questioned. Also Far south Texas south of Victoria is questionable as well as being Southern. Maybe the far panhandle north of Amarillo is questionable as well. Don't know much about that. Texas is a border state like Virginia but most of it is Southern.
Yeah while I do not agree much about Houston (Gulf Coast/Texan vibe) being deep South. I definitely do not agree with Dallas as a Deep South city. The majority of Texas however is Southern. Eva does have a point a bit about far west Texas or the Trans-Pecos area being questioned. Also Far south Texas south of Victoria is questionable as well as being Southern. Maybe the far panhandle north of Amarillo is questionable as well. Don't know much about that. Texas is a border state like Virginia but most of it is Southern.
I've never thought of Texas or Virginia as border southern states. When someone says border south to me I think of places like Missouri, Kentucky, and Maryland. Like...places that have southern influences in some of the border areas but are outside of the traditionally defined south.
But if there's one thing I've learned on citydata......tons of differences in defining regions exist, lol.
No. Hispanic "influence" in most parts of the state hardly goes past picking up your daily breakfast taco before heading to work. Most non-Hispanics can hardly speak/understand a lick of Spanish. The culture is there, but it has not displaced the southern culture that has been here for generations. Mexican =/= Southwestern. Texas has its own relationship with the country that is quite different from the true Southwest.
What you said isn't even close to being true for East Texas, which is closely tied to the Deep South.
Have you ever been here?
What most parts of the state are you referring to? Watch the movie Giant, when West Texas was living up to that stereotype. Mexican=Culture does not equal Southwest. It influences it. You're doing the exact same thing relating to Southern Culture here.
I don't agree with you're assessment on the Hispanic influence at all. It is there, whether Texans will want to admit it or not. ESPECIALLY, in the border towns. Heck what is Laredo, Los Fresnos, El Paso and and San Antonio, except old Mexican Tejanos? It just depends on what area of the state you live in. Even in a city like Dallas or Houston, where depending on the section or suburb you stay in, you will hardly see an influence of Hispanic culture. Most of the Hispanic influence is concentrated in the cities and on the border. There are a ton of Mexicans who trace their roots back to the Mexican Independence days, before Southerners moved here.
I'm not even Mexican, but to think the Latino influence isn't heavy, is delusional. So what if Non-Hispanics don't speak Spanish? There are a ton of Spanish speakers, Hispanic or otherwise. Tejano Music is the only major type of regional Mexican music based right out of the US, from Texas. You're labeling Texas's Mexican influence the exact same way people label the Black influence. As if the entire state was only settled by and influenced from Anglo Southerners.
What separates the Mexican culture here from say California or Chicago. Is that here in Texas, they embrace the cattle and ranching culture. You probably see more Mexcans wearing and sporting western wear than Texans, especially in Houston. You wont see that in L.A. or San Diego very much at all. So what you get is a meshing of influence, that feels very Texan.
You just can't label the entire state one thing. Its just too big. East Texas feels, looks, and acts like the Deep South. And the Rio Grande valley, almost feels like an extension of Mexico so some people. But overall, i agree that the South's influence is the biggest one.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
