Missouri...Southern or Midwestern? (St. Louis, Springfield: motel, university, business)

[ajf131]

Originally Posted by JohnKing67

I've been to St. Louis a few times and it seemed very midwestern to me. The people didn't have any noticable accent either as I remember.

I'm an STL native who has resided here more than 20 years and couldn't agree more with you. I myself have no accent whatsoever.

[rollagirl]

Originally Posted by ozarksboy

Missouri is unique, probably because we're smack-dab in the middle of the country. In the early 19th Century, we were part of the West. Later we got a star in the Confederate flag. Now Midwest Life magazine includes us in their coverage area. Nevertheless, I don't think we're classifiable as Western, Midwestern, Southern or anything else. Here in the Ozarks of Phelps County (and surrounding counties, too), our lifestyle includes hunting, fishing, gardening, canning/freezing/drying. We eat lots of fried fish and barbecue. We have gospel singings and bluegrass jam sessions. We go to revivals in the spring and fall and send the kids to vacation Bible school in the summer. We like our fairs and festivals, and we go to stock-car races, tractor pulls and mud runs when we get a chance. My sister-in-law lives in northern Missouri and they do the same things. I think all of that is just because we're rural, not Southern or Midwestern.
If you're interested in Ozarks country living, try this place: KDBS Publishing LLC/The Ozarks Chronicle/The Ozarks Home & Garden .

Where you from Ozarkboy?....you mentioned Phelps Co.

[rollagirl]

Originally Posted by ajf131

Yes, I suppose you are probably right about the Panhandle now that I think about it. The Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles are both different from the rest of the respective states they belong to IMO.

What is IMO?

[da jammer]

Originally Posted by rollagirl

What is IMO?

"In My Opinion" You may also see in some posts IMHO "In My Humble Opinion"

[JohnKing67]

Originally Posted by ajf131

I've been to Columbia, SC and it seemed nothing like any part of Missouri that I've ever been to. Missouri and South Carolina for the most part are two entirely different states in every single sense. The Ozarks to me are only semi-Southern when taking the whole amount of area they occupy into account. The parts around Arkansas and Springfield are definitely Southern. Lebanon and Rolla and Sullivan, MO are what I'd call semi-Southern. THe lower half of the Ozark region is definitely Southern. The upper half is something in between Southern and Midwestern, coming from many I know that live there. I honestly see the Ozark region as being one more unique to itself than to any particular region of the country. The Ozarks are a truly blended and distinct region to me, and in fact are featured that way as well.

You'll definately hear a bit of a southern draw in the northern part of Missouri. Not extremely heavy like the deep South, but it's definately noticable. I heard it once described as a "Missouri Twang", if there is such a thing.

[ajf131]

Originally Posted by rollagirl

What is IMO?

IMO=In my opinion

[ajf131]

Originally Posted by JohnKing67

You'll definately hear a bit of a southern draw in the northern part of Missouri. Not extremely heavy like the deep South, but it's definately noticable. I heard it once described as a "Missouri Twang", if there is such a thing.

I have a grandmother who was originally from Mexico, Missouri. She had that twang of which you speak. "Missouri Twang" is exactly the right word for it, but it's not anything even close to what I'd describe as a southern draw. In fact I've noticed it only among the older folks. They may twang a few words here or there, but it's still a pretty flat accent, not even close to the Deep South or even the Upper South. From my experience you don't hear true Southern dialect until you are around the southern quarter of the state (Cape Girardeau, Springfield, Sikeston, etc.)

[ozarksboy]

AJF131, you have my sympathy. How sad not to have a regional accent. I speak with a thick Southern/hillbilly/Ozarks twang/drawl/accent, and it gets thicker depending on who I am speaking to, particularly over the phone. My wife is a native Texan and her accent is distinctly Southern.

Rollagirl, I'm right here in "Rolla, The Middle of Everywhere" with you.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by rollagirl

What is IMO?

Along with IMO and IMHO you may see BTW which stands for By the Way.

Nita

[ajf131]

Originally Posted by ozarksboy

AJF131, you have my sympathy. How sad not to have a regional accent. I speak with a thick Southern/hillbilly/Ozarks twang/drawl/accent, and it gets thicker depending on who I am speaking to, particularly over the phone. My wife is a native Texan and her accent is distinctly Southern.

Rollagirl, I'm right here in "Rolla, The Middle of Everywhere" with you.

Could you please clarify what you're trying to say? I'd say my accent is right for my region. People from St. Louis and the Northern half of Missouri sound Midwestern to me and sources confirm that. People from the Northern half of Missouri talk like Midwesterners, the appearance and landscape is DEFINITELY midwestern, the architecture is Midwestern, the climate is more Midwestern than Southern, I can clarify without a doubt that modern Missouri today is solidly Midwestern in its northern half. I've met plenty of people from Rolla and honestly I'd have to say while they do speak with an accent it's not the same accent as say, Sikeston, Missouri. I've heard just as many Midwestern accents in Rolla as Southern ones. I just don't think Rolla meets the definition of solidly Dixie. It certainly has Southern tendencies but I always thought it was something more in between, not quite Southern or Midwestern. Most of Southern Missouri I would argue is something in between Southern and Midwestern. My dad lived in Rolla for several years and he thought of it as a hybrid-type city. Most of Southern Missouri to me is not quite Midwestern but not quite Southern either. As DefaultAlias said awhile back, once you're around Cape Girardeau, Springfield, all that **** down there, THEN you're truly in Dixie.