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People from the east coast say that I have a southern accent and people from the deep south say that I have a northern accent. Back in my Alabama State days some of the locals went as far as to say that I sound like a white person. My accent is right on par with the rapper Common. My father was from Greenville Mississippi so I quess people from the east coast can hear a little of it when I speak. It is watered down compared to the true southern accent here in Atlanta. You will never hear blacks from Chicago use a word like gul for girl. As time goes on I think the accent will continue to evolve because blacks from the south are no longer migrated to Chicago in mass numbers. 50 years from now the southern influence could be all but gone.
People from the east coast say that I have a southern accent and people from the deep south say that I have a northern accent. Back in my Alabama State days some of the locals went as far as to say that I sound like a white person. My accent is right on par with the rapper Common. My father was from Greenville Mississippi so I quess people from the east coast can hear a little of it when I speak. It is watered down compared to the true southern accent here in Atlanta. You will never hear blacks from Chicago use a word like gul for girl. As time goes on I think the accent will continue to evolve because blacks from the south are no longer migrated to Chicago in mass numbers. 50 years from now the southern influence could be all but gone.
I don't see that as a Chicago thing. I see that as a nationwide thing. The southern American accent carries more negative stereotypes than any other (the NY accent is ridiculed, yes, but New Yorkers are thought of as "streetwise" whereas southerners are not). So it only makes sense that people will try to eschew the accent over time, particularly as they rise up the status ladder. I would say that most Atlantans don't have southern accents. I think you probably hear fewer southern accents in most of the urbanized areas of the South than you did 20 years ago.
I don't see that as a Chicago thing. I see that as a nationwide thing. The southern American accent carries more negative stereotypes than any other (the NY accent is ridiculed, yes, but New Yorkers are thought of as "streetwise" whereas southerners are not). So it only makes sense that people will try to eschew the accent over time, particularly as they rise up the status ladder. I would say that most Atlantans don't have southern accents. I think you probably hear fewer southern accents in most of the urbanized areas of the South than you did 20 years ago.
I agree with some of your points about the negative stereotypes on the southern accent. About most Atliens not having a southern accent I strongly disagree. Just listen to Ceelo Green and T.I speak that is how the majority of the native blacks speak. Even the white people have a very strong southern drawl. It may not be as refined as 20 years ago due to so many transplant from different places but the southern accent still reign supreme in Atlanta.
People from the east coast say that I have a southern accent and people from the deep south say that I have a northern accent. Back in my Alabama State days some of the locals went as far as to say that I sound like a white person. My accent is right on par with the rapper Common. My father was from Greenville Mississippi so I quess people from the east coast can hear a little of it when I speak. It is watered down compared to the true southern accent here in Atlanta. You will never hear blacks from Chicago use a word like gul for girl. As time goes on I think the accent will continue to evolve because blacks from the south are no longer migrated to Chicago in mass numbers. 50 years from now the southern influence could be all but gone.
This New York cat tried to clown me about my accent. I told him, I know that your life is set and you live in Queens. However, put down that chicken and collard greens. Then I told him to GTFO here with that gold toofus in your mouth!
I've said this before in dialect threads, but it bears repeating.
Generally speaking, people pick up accents from their classmates in school. This is the reason children of immigrants speak like their friends, not their parents. For most people this process gets set in stone by around 16, meaning if you have a thick accent there's not much you can do to change it by adulthood.
The varying accents in the black community in most part stem from this. In places there was a substantial number of blacks before the Great Migration (NYC, Boston, Philadelphia) southern transplants children basically "learned how to talk" from the established black population.
In contrast, in cities where there was only a very small black population which quickly got swamped by southern transplants (as in much of the Midwest), the southern accent could remain (particularly where white students fled the school system rapidly).
My understanding is on the West Coast there essentially was never black/white segregation of public schools (although there was historically Latino and Asian segregation). This may have played a role in why "black dialects" are so weak in the west. Certainly you don't see too many places on the west coast which are residentially segregated to the degree of cities in the Northeast and Midwest.
I agree with some of your points about the negative stereotypes on the southern accent. About most Atliens not having a southern accent I strongly disagree. Just listen to Ceelo Green and T.I speak that is how the majority of the native blacks speak. Even the white people have a very strong southern drawl. It may not be as refined as 20 years ago due to so many transplant from different places but the southern accent still reign supreme in Atlanta.
Well, Cee Lo and T.I. wouldn't be "ATLiens."
I wouldn't say the southern accent "reigns supreme" in Atlanta. The more educated you are, the more likely you are to speak with a standard accent, in my experience. I don't meet many middle to upper middle class blacks with accents there at all. But if you're talking about homies hanging out on Old National, then that's a completely different story.
The varying accents in the black community in most part stem from this. In places there was a substantial number of blacks before the Great Migration (NYC, Boston, Philadelphia) southern transplants children basically "learned how to talk" from the established black population.
Yeah, but the numbers weren't that substantial. The number of blacks moving from the American South quickly exceeded the number of blacks native to Boston, NYC and Philly.
I do think, however, that segregation (or lack thereof) did play some role. The AA population in these cities obviously adopted or developed elements of speech also found in the white population, which means that there must have been some type of exposure to other communities. In the article I posted, for example, it states that "young Puerto Rican women tended to adopt the white Philadelphia accent." How that happened, I have no idea, but it seems that there may be some muting/mutating effect through exposure to other ethnicities.
I think linguists may focus a bit too much on black vernacular (I can understand why to an extent), which leads some people to believe that "they all sound the same." But a black person from the Bronx (with roots in the South) can easily be identified as a New Yorker. He'll just speak "Black English" with a New York accent.
I wouldn't say the southern accent "reigns supreme" in Atlanta. The more educated you are, the more likely you are to speak with a standard accent, in my experience. I don't meet many middle to upper middle class blacks with accents there at all. But if you're talking about homies hanging out on Old National, then that's a completely different story.
The thing with Atlanta is that over the past few decades, there has been a huge number African Americans migration to Atlanta that come all over the country. African Americans from Northern cities bring their dialects with them. As a result of this, overtime it can start to have an influence on the local dialect of Atlanta.
I couldn't find a good example of a Boston AA accent. I tried "Roxbury," "Dorchester," "Mattapan," etc. No good videos where you can just focus in on the accent. This was the best I could find.
But these kids are fairly mild compared to most residents of, say, Dorchester. You can still hear the Boston accent...it's just milder. But I personally met many people while living there who say "Bawstin, Bay-beee!" It's a very strong accent even in the AA community.
I couldn't find a good example of a Boston AA accent.
I've had a hard time finding good examples as well. It seems as though the "Black Boston Dialect" hasn't been well documented or studied like African American dialects in other cities. Unless someone is a Boston area local or has spent some time living there, it's very difficult to have a great perspective on it.
Last edited by gwillyfromphilly; 09-24-2013 at 04:32 PM..
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