Do people in Maryland consider themselves North, Southern, or in Between? (Baltimore: gated, restaurant)

[MD_IS_NORTH]

Originally Posted by GetatMD

and there are alot of different southern accents here. Honestly, outsiders think of MD as a built-up, fast-pace state but Maryland is Majority Rural. We have one Major city, Baltimore, its Suburbs.. D.C.'s suburbs.. the rest is small towns, mountain, farms, swamps, rivers, and forests.

Oh stop exaggerating.I am from the area and the southern accents are extremely minimal in most marylanders who have slight southern accents,these accents are very distinct from the south with the exception of a few words pronounced such as MURLAND,no marylander with any form of accent in my opinion will be seen as a southerner by most in the state of Virginia on down.

[MD_IS_NORTH]

I laugh because i read most the post and most say its usually inbetween or its north while some say its south which tend to be the older natives.Maryland is northern nuff said.I am originally from the WASH DC/MD area(montgomery county)and yes though DC and areas of MD have a southern influence,usually this is due to the many african americans in DC having roots to the south,DC is close to the south(VA technically is over the bridge)so basically the transition from southern city to the closest northern city would be D.C,therefore you have alot of southern bred residents in southeastern DC/PG county,Maryland,there accents vary and are an extreme mix between northern and southern,its like they pronounced the words northern,yet the words are southern.You will hear people in anacostia DC say things like

YO SHAWTY,ITS SURRDAY(SATURDAY),AND WE GOING UP DEY TO SHOP

The SURRDAY is pronounced very southern,while SHAWTY is like the halfway pronounciation between the northerns (SHORTY)and southerns(SHOU-TY).So the accents in these areas tend to mix,yet definetly i can hear the southern,the southern influence is also typical among these african americans with there love for southern music common in southeastern DC,while northeastern DC has much more love for DC'S own music GO'GO which sounds like nothing you have ever heard in the nation before,also other areas in DC tend to have a greater taste for northern hip hop music.Now as far as Washington DC and Baltimore,even with the mix accents,the southern music,styles similar to the south such as gold teeth and light colored cars are not common through most of the area.Gold teeth in DC,will automatically make the average person think you are from the south.DC/BMORE energies are alot more similar to northern cities than southern.And heat and humidity is common anywere along the eastern coast,DC/MD humid heat is nothing similar to the extreme humidity and heat like it is in S.VA on down.I mean i used to live in NC and MD heat is nothing compared to NC heat,GOODNESS NO!.Furthermore,the vibe,the whole swing is just northern.DC/MD has a southern influence due to its close destination to the south,it is still very northern.politically,culturally,most the accents even the southern alike ones you find in some areas are still very distinct from extreme southern accents.As far as NEW YORKERS CONSIDERING US SOUTHERNERS,That is a major generalization,i now live in NYC for 5 years,when i first moved here some thought i was from the south,some knew i was somewere south of NYC yet not particulary the south,i remember many times people said you sound like your from BALTIMORE,usually they considered Maryland a northern state,some considered it southern but honestly NEW YORKERS like many people look at Marylands position on the map,because of that if you take a group of NEW YORKERS and one MARYLANDER and the MARYLANDER announces he is from the south,none of them would ever stop to think MARYLAND OR D.C,most new yorkers i encounter today consider it the start of the north or in between.I'd say 90 percent of residents from VA on south definetly consider DC/MD northern,most link it to being just as northern as PHILLY,NYC and other cities.To many of them the accents in NYC are not that different from most in MD.Of course there is a difference,yet southerners come to MD and even with the residents here with slight southern accents,they are still regarded as yankees because there accents still are quite distinct from typical southern accents found in VA.Furthermore the average person you encounter would never consider DC/MD a southern state.I could picture a northerner from the tri-state area laughing at someone from DC/MD claiming they are from the DIRTY SOUTH,rather than a southerner laughing at someone from DC/MD claiming they are from the NORTH.I remember 2 months ago my cousin who is from BMORE,loves the south,he goes so far as to try to talk with a southern swagger.My bestfriend candance who is from the yonkers had told him in front of everybody,you are always riding the south,you are not southern,you are from BALTIMORE BOY! it snows in BALTIMORE,your like 3 in half hours from us.,YOU ARE NOT SOUTHERN! He became angry,while our other friends laughed.I notice some MD who consider it south having hostile,angry attitudes at the state being considered northern because they were taught the MASON DIXON way,yet history speaks for itself,MARYLAND technically is a northern state,even today its further considered northern because there are 5 cities that lay directly diagonally slantward and the start is WASH DC(carved out of MD),the end is BOSTON,this is commonly referred to most as the NORTHEASTERN CORRIDOR.

[MD_IS_NORTH]

If you look at the maps eastern coast and see MARYLAND,its sits northern or mid and does not sit southern at all.This is why people usually think of it as northern or inbetween(mid atlantic).Its like taking your two fingers and measuring the length between virginia on down through florida which is much longer than maine from Maryland.CATCH MY DRIFT?


PICTURE SOMEONE FROM THIS RED SHADED AREA REPPING THA SOUTH? DOESNT FIT!

IT MAY SNOW NEXT MONTH SOME 10 INCHES,YEA YOU SOUTHERN ALRIGHT LOL!

WINDCHILLS ARE KNOWN IN WINTERS TO GET BELOW 0-YEA YOU FROM THE SOUTH LOL

BIRDS DONT FLOCK TO MARYLAND IN THE WINTER FOR WARMTH LOL.

[nickluva]

Originally Posted by GetatMD

and there are alot of different southern accents here. Honestly, outsiders think of MD as a built-up, fast-pace state but Maryland is Majority Rural. We have one Major city, Baltimore, its Suburbs.. D.C.'s suburbs.. the rest is small towns, mountain, farms, swamps, rivers, and forests.

name a state that isn't majority rural geographically??? Even New York and California are majority rural if you look at it that way. New Jersey is the closest state that you could make a case for but even that's a stretch

[MD_IS_NORTH]

Originally Posted by nickluva

name a state that isn't majority rural geographically??? Even New York and California are majority rural if you look at it that way. New Jersey is the closest state that you could make a case for but even that's a stretch

THANK YOU,NEW YORK STATE IS SO RURAL AND SO MANY PLACES ARE SO HEAVILY COUNTRY AND NON CITY ALIKE IT IS CRAZY.BINGHAMGTON,NY REMINDS ME OF MOUNTAINOUS AREAS IN ARKANSAS THE WAY IT LOOKS AND ITS RURALNESS.
I'M WAITING TO HEAR THESE DIFFERENT SOUTHERN ACCENTS MARYLAND HAS?.THEY DO NOT EXIST,EVEN TOWARD EASTERN SHORE OR SOUTHERN MD WERE THERE IS A TWANG THAT RESULTS FROM MANY OF ITS RESIDENTS BEING ORIGINALLY FROM THE SOUTH AND EVEN THAT ACCENT IS STILL QUITE DIFFERENT FROM AN TRADITIONAL ORIGINAL AVERAGE SOUTHERN ACCENT FOUND IN VIRGINIA ON DOWN TO FLORIDA.A TYPICAL MARYLAND ACCENT FROM MOST OF ITS NATIVES IS GENERALLY NORTHERN SOUNDING TO VERY NEUTRAL AS IN SOUNDING LIKE THEY COULD BE FROM ANYWERE BUT THE SOUTH(ESPECIALLY THE DEEP SOUTH).HELL SOUTHERN TWANGS CAN BE HEARD IN SOME SOUTHERN JERSEY/PENNSYLVANIA RESIDENTS,YET STILL OVERALL THE ACCENTS ARE NORTHERN OR MID ATLANTIC COMPARED TO A TRADITIONAL SOUTHERN ACCENT.WHEN I WAS IN COWTOWN,JERSEY IT WAS VERY FARMLANDS WITH CORNFIELDS,COWS AND HORSES AND A SHOPPING CENTER THAT WAS POPULAR,THOSE RESIDENTS WERE COUNTRY TO ME,THEY ALL HAD SOUTHERN ALIKE TWANGS YET NOT ENOUGH FOR ME TO CONSIDER IT SOUTHERN,SAME CASE WITH EVEN SOME SOUTHEASTERN DC/SOUTHERN MD RESIDENTS WITH SOUTHERN TWANGS,USUALLY THE INHABITANTS FROM THE SOUTH LOSE THERE STRONG SOUTHERN ACCENT AND PICK UP DC/MD'S GENERAL NORTHERN ALIKE SOUND TO THE POINT THEY HAVE A VERY MIXED ACCENT.USUALLY PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN BORN AND RAISED IN D.C HAVE ACCENTS MOST SOUTHERNERS WOULD DEFINETLY CALL NORTHERN AND SOME TRI STATE NORTHERNERS WOULD CONSIDER EITHER NEUTRAL,BLAND,SOUTHERN OR SORT OF SOUTHERN SOUNDING AS A RESULT FROM MARYLAND BEING SOUTH OF THE TRI STATE AREA,YET MANY USUALLY REALIZE ITS NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO WERE THEY CONSIDER YOU SOUTHERN.I HAVE BEEN IN NYC FOR 5 YEARS NOW AND PICKED UP THE TRI STATE ACCENT ALMOST FLUENTLY WHEN I SPEAK TO PEOPLE WHO CAN USUALLY HEAR IT,WHEN I FIRST MOVED TO NYC THE ONES WHO TOLD ME I TALKED SOUTHERN HAD FRIENDS OR SOMEONE AROUND THAT BLURTED OUT NO WAY! I HAVE BEEN TO THE SOUTH AND HE SOUNDS NOTHING LIKE THEM(SHAKING THERE HEAD,USUALLY REFERRING TO THERE HEAVY SOUTHERN DIALECTS WHICH ARENT FOUND IN MD/DC)

YOUR MORE LIKELY TO BE LAUGHED AT BY A SOUTHERNER CONSIDERING YOURSELF SOUTHERN BEING FROM MD/DC,THAN YOU ARE BY A TRI STATE NORTHERNER CONSIDERING YOURSELF NORTHERN AND YOUR FROM MD/DC.

[MD_IS_NORTH]

Originally Posted by spoonman3

How does voting Republican or Democrat make something southern or northern? Voting doesn't determine culture especially in America where hardly anyone votes.

Maryland is southern.

no it is not,politically,socially,and even historically regardless of your mason dixon belief it has been associated or affiliated with the north.There are southern influences and thats due to some of its residents originally being from areas virginia on down,yet it is seen as north,the northeastern corridor has become much more applied today than the mason dixon line.

[DC's Finest]

MD is North,

I agree with your post 200%. The attitudes and culture of DC and Baltimore are more like Philly than the ATL. The youngins here wear tims (buttas), nike boots, Coogi, Northface jackets. You don't see that as much down south. The accent is definitely a mix of both but probably more northern.

Kids in DC say Get In = Getting; Farvah = Father; Brovah = Brother. This is northeastern street dialect. You can hear the same thing from people who live in Philly and NYC. Other words like Merlin = Maryland; Irk = Eric are more Mid Atlantic. DC and Baltimore and even Philly to a small extent are alike. I am not saying that the culture and accent are the same but certain words are pronounced very similar. Someone from Atlanta or Charlotte does not sound even remotely like someone from DC or Baltimore. Even between Balitmore and DC there are big differences. People in Baltimore say Dug for Dog. Even the street scene, vibe and urban feel of DC and Baltimore are more in line with northeastern cities than southern cities. (Gritty hoods, traffic, row houses, density, public transportation. You don't see this anywhere else but the noth east.

Someone also mentioned Baltimore's affection for gold teeth being southern. People in Bmore had gold teeth before the southern hip hop generation made it popular. I know a lot of people in Brooklyn from back in the day that still wear gold teeth. See Mary J. Blige, Dana Dane and Slick Rick.

[westsideboy]

People in the North consider us the South. People in the South consider us the North. Most people with experience and knowlege of the ENTIRE state, not just the city or not just the sticks recognize that Maryland is a transitional area between the two cultures. We always have been, remain so, and will probably still be 100 years from now. Any attempt to pigeon hole the state into one region or the other will fail to describe the entirety of our small, but diverse, state.

[MD_IS_NORTH]

Originally Posted by westsideboy

People in the North consider us the South. People in the South consider us the North. Most people with experience and knowlege of the ENTIRE state, not just the city or not just the sticks recognize that Maryland is a transitional area between the two cultures. We always have been, remain so, and will probably still be 100 years from now. Any attempt to pigeon hole the state into one region or the other will fail to describe the entirety of our small, but diverse, state.

YOUR STATEMENT IS A MAJOR GENERALIZATION.I CURRENTLY LIVE IN MANHATTAN,NYC AND WHEN I STATE THAT DC AND MD IS STILL NORTH MOST EITHER AGREE OR SAY ITS IN THE MIDDLE,THERE ARE SOME THAT CONSIDER US SOUTHERN,YET A WIDE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT NATION WIDE REGARDING MARYLAND IS USUALLY WITHIN THE NORTHEASTERN REGION IF NOT INBETWEEN.THOSE THAT SEE IT AS SOUTHERN USUALLY TURN TO ONE THING ONLY AND THATS THE MASON DIXON WHICH IS SO OUTDATED ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE MUCH MORE CURRENT NORTHEASTERN CORRIDOR.

[nickluva]

Originally Posted by MD_IS_NORTH

YOUR STATEMENT IS A MAJOR GENERALIZATION.I CURRENTLY LIVE IN MANHATTAN,NYC AND WHEN I STATE THAT DC AND MD IS STILL NORTH MOST EITHER AGREE OR SAY ITS IN THE MIDDLE,THERE ARE SOME THAT CONSIDER US SOUTHERN,YET A WIDE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT NATION WIDE REGARDING MARYLAND IS USUALLY WITHIN THE NORTHEASTERN REGION IF NOT INBETWEEN.THOSE THAT SEE IT AS SOUTHERN USUALLY TURN TO ONE THING ONLY AND THATS THE MASON DIXON WHICH IS SO OUTDATED ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE MUCH MORE CURRENT NORTHEASTERN CORRIDOR.

Agreed with what you said! I also hate how ppl always point to the Mason Dixon line. The line was nothing more than a revised boundry between MD and PA cuz the original line woulda put Philly in MD so they had to move it a bit further south. The line means nothing more than that. Since MD was a legal slave state and PA was a optional free state that's when ppl started to say that the south of the Mason-Dixon. But noticed how Maryland never joined the confederacy and the south to this day hates Maryland because we played traitor on em.