Our accents. (Norfolk, Richmond, Shenandoah: living, military, rated)

[SCBeaches]

Most of my extended family lives in GA (mom's side) or SWVa (dad's side), but I grew up in NWOhio. My parents had Southern accents, though different from one another, so my brother and I grew up with an interesting mix of SWVA, NWGA, and NWOH accents. To confuse the issue further, I now live in Charleston, SC (have for 24 years) where I have picked up a little of the island Gullah as well as a little of the downtown "Chahlston" accent so I doubt anyone meeting me for the first time could tell where in the world I came from! LOL My Ohio friends definitely think I have a "Southern Accent" (they tend to lump the entire South into one accent) and my Charleston friends think I sound like I'm from "off", but definitely from the south.
Just to enlighten you on some of the charm of the local Charleston dialectal terminology (which is Gullah in origin): You are a "Beenyuh" if you are a native to Charleston and the Sea Islands and you are a "Cumyah" if you live here now but are from "off".
Isn't the English language facinating? I love it!

[art2t]

My dissertation deals with American English, specifically Southern American English, and as a Virginian, thought my research might be helpful.

One thing that I think is up for debate is the influence from British English exerted upon American English. It has long been argued that Appalachian English is actually a preserved form of Elizabethan (Shakespearean) English, when several scholars have (recently) shown that this is not likely to be the case.

After a certain point in our history, the influence of British English (received pronunciation [RP]) ceased to be a major force on the language as it is today. This is mainly evident in our lexicon, but also in our pronunciation - American English had varieties that were rhotic ("r"-ful), which contrasted with RP, early on, in part due to immigration (dialects of Ireland, Scotland - the people who settled in what is now West Virginia and Southwestern Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, and many other regions of this area) and in part due to what can only be attributed to gradual and inexplicable linguistic change and variation.

Keep in mind that many of the areas where people settled, particularly in the south, and in mountainous communities were fairly insular - travel was not as easy as it is today, and so speech communities were not exposed regularly to other speech communities. Therefore, it would be nearly impossible for the British (RP) to have entered into those communities. (Take for example, the dialect of Amherst County as opposed to Rockbridge County, these areas are divided geographically by at least one gigantic mountain. Traditionally, Amherst County is r-less, and Rockbridge County is r-ful. This is a distinction that is still apparent in the older generations.)

The U.S. (as shown by the map posted by another member of these fora) is divisible into multiple dialectal regions. Each of these regions is further divisible into microregions that possess traits that are mostly similar - but may possess traits that are not. In Virginia, it seems that there are (at the very basic level) three major subdivisions - Coastal (Norfolk/VA Beach/Delmarva), Plantation (Richmond), and Appalachian (Roanoke, Lexington, points south and west). The influence of the media and their "standard diction" can only be exerted to a certain extent. Linguistic change occurs as a result of multiple factors, so it's hard to narrow the cause of the current state of the language and its dialects to one primary source. There are also plenty of sociolinguistic factors at work - as a woman who grew up speaking Appalachian English, I discovered (not until going to college) that this way of speaking was perceived by many as uneducated or "redneck" - so I adapted my speech in order to not be perceived in such a way.

I realize I'm rambling as only a Ph.D can, so forgive me. Thank you for all your interesting insights into the state of the language.

[Yankee Doodle]

Originally Posted by PghPaNative

Maybe this is evolution at its best? Hee hee, I sorta of have a southern accent but I also have that yankee accent and another one I Have is simliar to mass, I love it! I love accents and think they are soooo cool!

i have almost the same thing but ny brooklyn accent is still very thick people are scared to make fun down here because ill probably kick their asses.

[JennOSU2008]

I moved from Dallas to a small, backward town in Oklahoma for college...and have unfortunately picked up a "twang", which I'm hoping will disappear once I leave Oklahoma. I had (still do, to a degree) a generic metropolitan accent, with the twang added and I absolutely hate it.

[JennOSU2008]

Originally Posted by vasinger

The "standard" accent of America is really midwestern plain and simple.

Back in the 1920s when radio was King, they wanted to decide on a dialect that most everyone could agree as middle America.

They picked one that is commonly heard in the plain states and spread out west to California.

Its called the "Kansas-California" dialect.

However, the Southern accents did come close 2nd in terms of the speech people wanted to hear.

Least favorite were the Brooklyn/New York accents.

No, it isn't. American English is the standard. Someone has a bias for the Midwestern accent.

[vasinger]

Originally Posted by JennOSU2008

I moved from Dallas to a small, backward town in Oklahoma for college...and have unfortunately picked up a "twang", which I'm hoping will disappear once I leave Oklahoma. I had (still do, to a degree) a generic metropolitan accent, with the twang added and I absolutely hate it.

Im not particular fond of twangs. Although most of the nasal accents I hear are from folks up north.

I like the slow drawls of my tidewater Virginia relatives.

Oklahoma accents I'm not familiar with, except for Reba McEntire. Ironically, Texans and Oklahoman accents sound rather clipped to my ears.

More midwestern than southern

[vasinger]

Originally Posted by shirleyp777

I am looking to learn the "old Virginian" way of speaking. The eloquent southern style you used to hear all the time. I am trying to find information, preferably free, to learn how to talk with that old, southern, slow drawl for a part in a movie. I have to learn it very quickly and I am looking for something I can possibly type in the dialogue and hear it said in that accent. Any suggestions?

Go to Richmond on a Sunday morning and find some very old church goers and listen... Just listen. They have to be at least in their 70s though to get the real thing.

[nadkins6001]

Northern Virginia Sucks. Why do they throw all their words together? The girls from my school try to sound like they are from California. I cannot understand one word they say. when they say the word pen like an ink pen, it sounds like they are saying pan. I am from Southeastern Virginia, and i can pick up on their accents very well. Northen Virgina should be considered another state.

[matthews1965]

Funny, this subject is discussed every night during our evening news (in VA). My husband constantly identifies the area of VA different speakers originate from, even the younger folks. So, I guess some accents are still evident. Well, also my hubby is very good at this. I do understand what you're saying because the nuances he identifies are hard for me to discern. What do you think about the dissapearance of proper English grammar? Every time we hear "Are you done" it's as though the terms - finished, concluded etc. have "gone"! The first time we heard the staff on the today show conclude sentences with "at", we almost fell off the sofa, now we notice it more and more often. Have you looked around at the table manners of many children? Yipes!! Scuse me, I seem to have veered off the subject at hand!!!!
Thanks for that thought provoking post!!

[Tennesseestorm]

I like to hear people from central Virginia talk.

I live in northeast Tennessee, just south of the southwest Virginia state line (I actually work in Virginia) and folks in southwestern Virginia speak just like east Tennesseeans, north Georgians and western Caroliners (southern "hillbilly" accent like I have ).

I work with a lady from central Virginia... she says "water" like "whut-uh" and "house" like "hoose", etc. We also had neighbors from that area that spoke the same way and Earl Hamner (narrator on "The Waltons") also has that accent, so it must be a central Virginia thing. I love it.