Maryland is a southern state, and these rednecks won't let you forget that!! (Baltimore: transplants, to live in)

[Tom Lennox 70]

Originally Posted by happywoman127

I cam from Virginia and that state is friendly. Salisbury md is not. if they see you its hello and that's it, no matter how long you have lived near them and tried to be friendly.

This really surprises me. I've always found the Eastern Shore in general to be very friendly along with a lot of the Baltimore area (excluding the city, Howard County, or western and northwestern Baltimore County).

Virginia IS one of the friendliest states I've been to especially Lynchburg and Lexington. Evne Richmond is friendlier than Washington DC.

[phlinak]

Originally Posted by happywoman127

I cam from Virginia and that state is friendly. Salisbury md is not. if they see you its hello and that's it, no matter how long you have lived near them and tried to be friendly.

I don't think that demonstrates friendliness, as much as good grace and manners.

[EducatedBro82]

Originally Posted by happywoman127

I cam from Virginia and that state is friendly. Salisbury md is not. if they see you its hello and that's it, no matter how long you have lived near them and tried to be friendly.

So saying Hello isnt friendly? No matter where u live, someone isnt going to have a full fledged convo with you and dont know you.

[Infinite_heights77]

Yup! We Marylanders don't want to be associated with backwards, agrarian, and slow-witted cultural and social mannerisms that has been affiliated with real southerners !!!

Originally Posted by AeroGuyDC

.....and trying its best to distance itself from its southern roots.

[Infinite_heights77]

"Why does the South have such a bad connotation?"

Because the South has been considered backwards, anti-progressive and all that Yankee-blue blood stuff!

Originally Posted by Ricky93

Why does the South have such a bad connotation? (OK, I know the answer to my own question) "Southerness" gets such a bad rap and most of the people criticizing it probably haven't even been there.

Yes, Maryland is in the South.

[Infinite_heights77]

Interesting perspective and great points David_J! I somewhat disagree, but good points nonetheless!

Originally Posted by David_J

Maryland residents usually don't consider themselves part of the South because it has nothing in common with most of the South. Its climate is cooler than most of the South, Baltimore is a quintessential Northeastern city in terms of architecture and its working class/lower middle class population, Maryland residents have a non-Southern accent (Baltimore residents have their own residents, most of us really lack no discernible accent due to the influence of DC), and it is politically very blue in the suburbs (of course the rural areas will generally always vote Republican and urban centers will generally vote Democrat). Doesn't sound like the South to me.

The cultural South begins in the southern fringes of NoVA, in my opinion.

[Infinite_heights77]

I've been to some places in Western New York State, everytown-ville Pennsylvania and rural New Jersey that have STRONG southern-ism that will have you believe that you're in places such as Alabama, Georgia and some other places in the deep south. The Good, Bad and The Ugly!

[Infinite_heights77]

You have many Marylanders who are still living out The War Between The States in their minds, attitudes and perspectives. I hear this garbage almost everyday!

[G1..]

Originally Posted by Infinite_heights77

I've been to some places in Western New York State, everytown-ville Pennsylvania and rural New Jersey that have STRONG southern-ism that will have you believe that you're in places such as Alabama, Georgia

No , they don't have that at all .

[tcave360]

Originally Posted by David_J

Maryland residents usually don't consider themselves part of the South because it has nothing in common with most of the South. Its climate is cooler than most of the South, Baltimore is a quintessential Northeastern city in terms of architecture and its working class/lower middle class population, Maryland residents have a non-Southern accent (Baltimore residents have their own residents, most of us really lack no discernible accent due to the influence of DC), and it is politically very blue in the suburbs (of course the rural areas will generally always vote Republican and urban centers will generally vote Democrat). Doesn't sound like the South to me.

The cultural South begins in the southern fringes of NoVA, in my opinion.

You'll hear the DC accent mainly from most of us African American Marylanders living in the adjacent MD suburbs of PG County, MoCo, and Charles County. The DC accent transcends from working class AAs to upper middle class AAs. I don't have much of a DC accent (though a very close friend of mine thinks I sound like I'm from Queens, NY and she goes to school up there) but I do have the dialect and can switch on and off easily when I can. The remnants of the large white working class population that used to predominate in PG and MoCo have a bit of an accent going on as well.

The AA DC accent is an interesting one too. Some can have a southern twang going on (Tidewater influenced) whereas others got a more rougher sounding accent that's somewhat similar to a Philly-lite accent. We tend to drop our 'Rs' which makes some of the words we say sound Southern-lite in a unique way yet at the same time, we tend to say things that are reflective of a Northeastern dialect.

Examples:

Area=Urea
Terrible=Turrible
Maryland=Murlin or Murrlyn or Merlin
Mother=Mova
Father=Fava
Brother=Brova
South=Souf
North=Norf
Washington=Warshington
Charles=Chawles
Mary's=Murry's
America=Amurrica
Water=Wader or Wadha
Norfolk=Nawfolk or Nahhfolk
Baltimore=Baldimore
Sharon=Shern
Parents=Purrents