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I grew up in western Kentucky (Madisonville) and my parents were born and raised there and they have the strongest southern accents. I do not for whatever reason. But as others have said you cant fit the state into one category...I think it is a mix just due to location. If I had to choose I would lean toward southern for most areas...exception though Louisville to Cinncinnati area which is a bit more midwestern in feel than rural Kentucky.
I drive south to visit my parents (I now live 1000 miles away)...and we go down I-57 and it always hits me that the midwest ends and the south begins right near Effingham IL and Salem IL area. Stopping in Effingham IL to eat...boy the southern drawl is very noticeable and then just south of Effingham you run into the trees and forests of southern Illinois which continue into parts of western Kentucky (mixed trees/hills/farmland). This is distinctly different from the flatter land found north of I-70 in IL.
The only reason there is any moderate northern influence in our state is that the generations being brought up today in suburban and urban communities are embarassed of the southern culture as it is portrayed by the media, which is the life source of our society today (as devastating as that is). Due to our border with these midwestern states, it is much easier for a kentuckian to try to shun his southern upbringing than an urbanite in, say, chattanooga. The only midwestern influence is strictly tied to business matters and migration patterns, and on the subject of judging a region by equidistance, (say paducah to st. louis, or nashville); that completely ignores environment types. Paducah is ringed by cypress swamps, where nashville isn't, and thus paducah could be viewed as more southern, but the whole of kentucky and tennessee are near identical biologically taxonomized, and everything north of the ohio river is classified as a humid continental climate. Kentucky's forests are completely different from those in illinois, indiana, ohio , and missouri outside of those areas adjacent to the ohio river and the southern watershed of the mississippi in ill. and mo., but as i've said before most people pay no attention to this as the southern tree species sometimes are hard to distinguish from some northern ones; also the trees that grow here that are present in northern states are usually also found all the way to the panhandle of florida as well, encompassing the entire eastern us. I only see midwestern influence arise when i see people afraid of expressing their true heritage and thus dismissing it in favor of a more widely accepted persona, or come from midwestern or northern families who settled in the south generations ago. Therein lies the death of regionalism. Climatically, culturally, and historically Kentucky is unquestionably southern to any intellectual, but the negative stereotypes portrayed in media have damaged the south at its very core; the people who need to continue its legacy. We do not live in a land of slavery anymore. The south, kentucky to mississippi and beyond, is no more racist than the gangs fighting in new york to los angeles, or the corrupt politicians still in power who seek to keep the impoverished as they already are and themselves richer at any cost. The south is as diverse culturally as any other region, the gulf coast is wholly different from southern appalachia, but there are many strong common threads that run through all southerners lives that ties us all to the land and together as one working to restore our luster to its former glory after being tainted for so many years by ignorant observers who notice only differences from their culture and thus label them derogatorily.
Kentucky is below the Mason Dixon line and is therefore a Southern state.
You have to look at more than the "line" these days. I mean, would you argue that Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware are generally southern states? Look at how those states tax their citizens, at their climates, newcomers, economies, proximity to Philadelphia and New York, and the majority of citizens that have settled in those places from farther north. Sure, extreme southern portions of VA may be "Southern" (i.e. Roanoke, Wise, Danville,) but even Richmond and the Hampton Roads regions are no longer known for their "friendly and hospitable Southern folks." Same with Florida, especially south of I-10 (south of Jacksonville, Tallahassee, etc.) Shoot, in 25-30 years time, with so many Boston, NYC and NJ transplants saturating North Carolina, I'll probably be arguing that N.C. is no longer a true Southern state.
Kentucky shares a longer combined border with the midwest than with the truer south. Guess where people are moving here from? Not Tennessee or Georgia. They're moving to our metropolitan areas from Chicago (in a surrounding state,) Indianapolis (in another s.s.,) Cincinnati and Cleveland (in another s.s.,) and Detroit (a straight shot down I-75.)
The farther north you go in Kentucky, the less often you see sweet tea, grits, country fried steak, fried okra, corn pudding...southern food specialties.
I would call any Ohio River county, plus any place above the Kentucky River on I-75 the midwest for all intents and purposes. I would never argue to a Texan, Mississippian or Georgian that Georgetown, Covington, Lexington, Elizabethtown, or Louisville are entirely Southern in feel, attitude and culture. Not an insult or compliment, just an observation and a sincere feeling. I would argue this b/c I've traveled the real South more than any other part of the country!
Below I-64 and above the Cumberland Parkway would be "Southern lite," the area where people still say "pop" instead of "coke" and Southern hospitality and mannerisms still aren't used quite as much as in the real south...but, confederate flags are flown heavily, southern accents are strong, and the folks take their time tellin' stories.
Below the Cumberland Pkwy. is the most Southern part of the state, literally and culturally.
Last edited by EclecticEars; 04-19-2008 at 10:03 PM..
You have to look at more than the "line" these days. I mean, would you argue that Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware are generally southern states? Look at how those states tax their citizens, at their climates, newcomers, economies, proximity to Philadelphia and New York, and the majority of citizens that have settled in those places from farther north. Sure, extreme southern portions of VA may be "Southern" (i.e. Roanoke, Wise, Danville,) but even Richmond and the Hampton Roads regions are no longer known for their "friendly and hospitable Southern folks." Same with Florida, especially south of I-10 (south of Jacksonville, Tallahassee, etc.) Shoot, in 25-30 years time, with so many Boston, NYC and NJ transplants saturating North Carolina, I'll probably be arguing that N.C. is no longer a true Southern state.
Kentucky shares a longer combined border with the midwest than with the truer south. Guess where people are moving here from? Not Tennessee or Georgia. They're moving to our metropolitan areas from Chicago (in a surrounding state,) Indianapolis (in another s.s.,) Cincinnati and Cleveland (in another s.s.,) and Detroit (a straight shot down I-75.)
The farther north you go in Kentucky, the less often you see sweet tea, grits, country fried steak, fried okra, corn pudding...southern food specialties.
I would call any Ohio River county, plus any place above the Kentucky River on I-75 the midwest for all intents and purposes. I would never argue to a Texan, Mississippian or Georgian that Georgetown, Covington, Lexington, Elizabethtown, or Louisville are entirely Southern in feel, attitude and culture. Not an insult or compliment, just an observation and a sincere feeling. I would argue this b/c I've traveled the real South more than any other part of the country!
Below I-64 and above the Cumberland Parkway would be "Southern lite," the area where people still say "pop" instead of "coke" and Southern hospitality and mannerisms still aren't used quite as much as in the real south...but, confederate flags are flown heavily, southern accents are strong, and the folks take their time tellin' stories.
Below the Cumberland Pkwy. is the most Southern part of the state, literally and culturally.
I am in Southern Kentucky (Bowling Green) so maybe I just feel more southern, but I have had grits and fried green tomatoes in Louisville many times. Is Kentucky as southern as Hattiesburg, Mississippi (I have family there) not really, but it is very similar in a lot of ways. I used to have to travel to Evansville, Indiana for business and it always amazed me that once you crossed that river the whole culture changed. Owensboro and Henderson...much like Bowling Green, cross into Indiana and bam you could definitely tell the difference.
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