Why are people from northern kentucky considered yankees to the rest of the state (Lexington: to live, suburb)

[EricOldTime]

Originally Posted by censusdata

I get the impression Evansville feels more Midwestern. I've been there a couple of times and it's been awhile. I did spend some time in Dearborn Co which is west of Cincinnati and it feels way different than the part of Indiana near Louisville or Owensboro. Much more Midwestern, a lot of anti Southern sentiment.

I spend 1/7th of my life visiting Salem / Washington Co Indiana and it's only slightly less Southern than Russell Springs KY, which is close to TN.

I'd like to go to Southern Illinois sometime, I've heard it's similar to S IN

The SW corner of Evansville Indiana area is primarily flat and agricultural and has more of a midwestern vibe to it. It's flat and bottomland alluvium and is a big drainage area for the Wabash and Ohio rivers so it has that kinda vibe too it. So does Union county and Sturgis Kentucky right across the river. However Sturgis, it may "look" midwesty" but theirs no doubt your in western Kentucky on the south side of the river there....it's just different on the Kentucky side. But you know, midwesterny kinda vibe? Well, so does southern Kentucky around Franklin and Springfield/White-House, Portland Tennessee and also south of Hop-town around Guthrie Kentucky on the Tennessee line. AS does middle and west Tennessee outside of Nashville in many places, it has and looks very midwestern feeling to me.

But you know, get outside of Evansville proper and the folks have a bit of a twang in their speech as well.

Southern Illinois south of Mt Vernon to ESPECIALLY around Marion Illinois south. I'd dare to say southern Illinois is a bit more twangy and "upland southern" in feel even than parts of southern Indiana, especially around near the "Shawnee hills" there's some downright hill country folks back there as well, and pretty hilly in spots also....

Shawneetown, Harrisburg might as well be in western Kentucky......

[Kamsack]

I grew up in Madisonville, graduated from Madisonville-North Hopkins HS in 1984.... parents lived there there whole lives til passing a few years back. Went to Evansville a lot.... not as strongly southern as W KY was as was mentioned more flat land ag....not as extreme as I thought areas farther east was as in get into the National Forests in southern Indiana and also west into southern Illinois. But that said, having gone to college in Iowa, and lived always north of Kentucky since college I usually thought of the southern culture/language border was I-70. I made many a trips down I-59 in Illinois (my brother lives near Champaign IL) and boy once you hit Effingham IL and get out and eat at one of the fast food places there, it is a different world. My wife from North Dakota, when I first took here down to Kentucky, we stopped in Effingham and she about died of shock. I would consider Carmi, Mt Vernon a bit more southerny than Evansville, but not by much. Evansville was our big city so more mixed northern and southern people there to tame the accent than smaller towns around it.

[EricOldTime]

Originally Posted by Kamsack

I grew up in Madisonville, graduated from Madisonville-North Hopkins HS in 1984.... parents lived there there whole lives til passing a few years back. Went to Evansville a lot.... not as strongly southern as W KY was as was mentioned more flat land ag....not as extreme as I thought areas farther east was as in get into the National Forests in southern Indiana and also west into southern Illinois. But that said, having gone to college in Iowa, and lived always north of Kentucky since college I usually thought of the southern culture/language border was I-70. I made many a trips down I-59 in Illinois (my brother lives near Champaign IL) and boy once you hit Effingham IL and get out and eat at one of the fast food places there, it is a different world. My wife from North Dakota, when I first took here down to Kentucky, we stopped in Effingham and she about died of shock. I would consider Carmi, Mt Vernon a bit more southerny than Evansville, but not by much. Evansville was our big city so more mixed northern and southern people there to tame the accent than smaller towns around it.

I agree with you up to a point..

I think you have to put the southern transition zone line a bit further south in south central Illinois in my opinion. I'd say somewhere around where I-64 crosses I-57 in southern Illinois in my opinion. South central Indiana, growing in intensity as you appraoch the Ohio river is solidly "upland southern" however Evansville is part of the southern transitional zone in my opinion until you cross the Ohio river.

here's a crude map I made and I'll admit, the lines could be moved further north or south in some places but the top line is where the "southern influence transition zone" begins. Below that is a 2nd blue line which in my opinion for the most part represents the extreme northern border of the "uplands of the solid south". Notice it follows the Ohio river to just south of the N Ky suburbs, back across the river and then kinda shoots up into southern Indiana? I think the southern transition zone and the upland south is very narrow in that south central part of Indiana. I think this is because the change isn't as gradual in that part of the state, a bit more abrupt in my opinion. I also might could have left Vincennes Ind out of the transition zone but it's still pretty close.

[Kamsack]

Originally Posted by EricOldTime

I agree with you up to a point..

I think you have to put the southern transition zone line a bit further south in south central Illinois in my opinion. I'd say somewhere around where I-64 crosses I-57 in southern Illinois in my opinion. South central Indiana, growing in intensity as you appraoch the Ohio river is solidly "upland southern" however Evansville is part of the southern transitional zone in my opinion until you cross the Ohio river.

here's a crude map I made and I'll admit, the lines could be moved further north or south in some places but the top line is where the "southern influence transition zone" begins. Below that is a 2nd blue line which in my opinion for the most part represents the extreme northern border of the "uplands of the solid south". Notice it follows the Ohio river to just south of the N Ky suburbs, back across the river and then kinda shoots up into southern Indiana? I think the southern transition zone and the upland south is very narrow in that south central part of Indiana. I think this is because the change isn't as gradual in that part of the state, a bit more abrupt in my opinion. I also might could have left Vincennes Ind out of the transition zone but it's still pretty close.

That's pretty close to my thinking. Going down I-57 you ran out of the farmland and into the trees at Salem IL....and it is rather abrupt. That is when I know you are in southern Illinois and out of the farm belt.

My wife and I went to Louisville to attend by older brothers funeral earlier this year....and cut over on I-74 to Indy then I-65 south....stopped to eat in Columbus Indiana. The first words out of someone's mouth said we were in a different area....plus there south it is much more hilly and trees vs the land farther north toward Indy. Using a strict map....I would put the transition line when I really notice a different accent from just south of Cincy to about Columbus-Bedford IN then along US 50 to Vincennes to Salem IL.

[EricOldTime]

Originally Posted by Kamsack

That's pretty close to my thinking. Going down I-57 you ran out of the farmland and into the trees at Salem IL....and it is rather abrupt. That is when I know you are in southern Illinois and out of the farm belt.

My wife and I went to Louisville to attend by older brothers funeral earlier this year....and cut over on I-74 to Indy then I-65 south....stopped to eat in Columbus Indiana. The first words out of someone's mouth said we were in a different area....plus there south it is much more hilly and trees vs the land farther north toward Indy. Using a strict map....I would put the transition line when I really notice a different accent from just south of Cincy to about Columbus-Bedford IN then along US 50 to Vincennes to Salem IL.

Sounds good to me

[hogsrus]

Originally Posted by EricOldTime

I agree with you up to a point..

I think you have to put the southern transition zone line a bit further south in south central Illinois in my opinion. I'd say somewhere around where I-64 crosses I-57 in southern Illinois in my opinion. South central Indiana, growing in intensity as you appraoch the Ohio river is solidly "upland southern" however Evansville is part of the southern transitional zone in my opinion until you cross the Ohio river.

here's a crude map I made and I'll admit, the lines could be moved further north or south in some places but the top line is where the "southern influence transition zone" begins. Below that is a 2nd blue line which in my opinion for the most part represents the extreme northern border of the "uplands of the solid south". Notice it follows the Ohio river to just south of the N Ky suburbs, back across the river and then kinda shoots up into southern Indiana? I think the southern transition zone and the upland south is very narrow in that south central part of Indiana. I think this is because the change isn't as gradual in that part of the state, a bit more abrupt in my opinion. I also might could have left Vincennes Ind out of the transition zone but it's still pretty close.

That shore is a quare lookin map ye got there OldTimer, where did ye come across that at? I bet it's older than I am.

[censusdata]

My new supervisor is from Evansville IN, she could convince me that she was from Minnesota or Iowa. Classic Midwestern accent and mannerisms.

[EricOldTime]

Originally Posted by censusdata

My new supervisor is from Evansville IN, she could convince me that she was from Minnesota or Iowa. Classic Midwestern accent and mannerisms.

My grandfather had some huntin buddies ( coon hunters/fox hunters ) from over in southern Indiana. One lived in Posey County Indiana west of Evansville and the other two were from Warrick county over near Boonville Indiana. If I hadn't known any better I woulda assumed they were kentuckians, southern accents, very much so, maybe a bit softer than western Kentucky but it was there, you could hear it. I've also met and known people from Evansville that have had a bit of twang in their speech also. It kinda just seems to depend on who you're speaking too.

Alot of the folks from the rural areas and small towns around Evansville will most likely have a little bit of twang in their accents, a good portion of folks in southern Indiana do.

However, get north of Evansville up above Petersburg and towards Vincennes and the twangy speech dies out pretty quick. Yet up in the central part of southern Indiana, it goes all the way up to around Bloomington/Columbus and even towards SW Indiana Vevay etc...

[canecutter]

I'm from South Louisiana; when I was in college, I met some girls from Southern Indiana on the Gulf Coast one year on spring break. These girls were just as southern as any girl from way down south. The accent may not have been as strong, but the attitude was right, the way they looked in them cut off shorts and bikini tops was right, and the way they .... well hell, that was right too!

[censusdata]

The parts Indiana across the river from Louisville are closer to Huntsville, Alabama than Chicago.
Cairo IL is closer to Jackson MS than Chicago.

Covington KY is closer to Windsor Ontario (265 mi) than Fulton KY (365) by 100 miles, and it's nearly as close as Knoxville