Hollywood showcases the "new" Atlanta (Roswell, Alpharetta: cinema, school)

[Newsboy]

Originally Posted by aries4118

This.



And I have started to ponder/conclude something else. Children of non-Southern transplants born in Metro Atlanta (many born in the 80's and early 90's in Metro Atlanta--and are now entering early adulthood) maybe should not consider themselves Native Southerners...???

WHY? Because they don't have ACCENTS? Are you freakin' kidding me? If you are BORN in the SOUTH, you are Southern! Period! GAWD this thread is getting ridiculous! My entire life, I've had people in other parts of the country look down on my because of my Southern heritage -- and now even native Southerners are turning on each other! GET A CLUE PEOPLE: AN ACCENT DOES NOT MAKE YOU SOUTHERN! End of story.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by Newsboy

WHY? Because they don't have ACCENTS? Are you freakin' kidding me? If you are BORN in the SOUTH, you are Southern! Period! GAWD this thread is getting ridiculous! My entire life, I've had people in other parts of the country look down on my because of my Southern heritage -- and now even native Southerners are turning on each other! GET A CLUE PEOPLE: AN ACCENT DOES NOT MAKE YOU SOUTHERN! End of story.

Please stop with the all caps/yelling. Not classy (maybe this is why you've been looked down upon).

I wasn't declaring anything--just pondering/suggesting.

That's why my post had "maybe" and "I don't know..." as well as being peppered with question marks and thinking-man icons.

[muxBuppie]

Originally Posted by kirkwoodhipster

Very mature-lets just turn this into a hipster-bashing fest. Anyway None of the posters who repsonded is under 30. No offense but you ppl wouldnt know what cool was even if it crawled up ur a*$ and f'ed you.

and i dont care about bumblef*ck metro atlanta and how they talk out in the sticks. In the places that matter and are actually cool - intown atlanta and ITP - and acceptable suburbs like Dunwoody, THICK souther accents are not cool or commonplace. Of course, a light accent is perfectly acceptable and very attractive imo. But a thick one is lame. Get with the times or GTFO!

What real hipster braggs about being a hipster and then boast how he and his friends make fun of peoples accents. You can't make this stuff up, lmao.

[Newsboy]

Excuse me, Aries? How have I "been looked down upon"? Please explain? I have fewer than 1/5th the posts and reads on this site as you, yet essentially the same reputation points. That would suggest my opinions here are held in higher regard than yours. AND I USE CAPS FOR EMPHASIS! This is a Web site. If I wanted to yell at you, which can only be done WITH MY SPEAKING VOICE, I would call you on the phone or do it in person.

[waronxmas]

Originally Posted by aries4118

And I have started to ponder/conclude something else. Children of non-Southern transplants born in Metro Atlanta (many born in the 80's and early 90's in Metro Atlanta--and are now entering early adulthood) maybe should not consider themselves Native Southerners...???


I don't know...

Interesting idea, but it depends.

I for one am a native born from two New Yorkers (in the 70s though ).

As far as my accent goes it is a mixed bag. If I were to choose an accent that best fits me it would be the "Queens, NY" accent since both of my parents had THICK ones when I was child (they have since mellowed out) and I used to spend most Summers in Queens. When I am around my family, get really excited/angry, and when using certain words (such as door and floor that really showcase the Queens accent) I could easily pass for a New Yorker.

On the other hand, I see myself as a true blue Southerner and nothing else. Since I also spent most of my time in Atlanta as a child, I have a bit of non-rhotic Southern accent (especially when I am around 100% Southern friends) that when paired with my New Yorker upbringing sounds more like a New Orleans accent. In most situations though it is rather neutral.

Pair that with my biracial ancestry, I usually get stared at very hard when I speak and talk about where I am from.

What is happening/been happening in Atlanta though is something that happened in the Midwest and Northeast a long time ago: There is a distinct urban culture that is forming/formed that is more and more only tangibly connected to the regional culture due to the influx of millions of transplants from other regions and countries. Some would say Miami is already there, but I disagree and would say they are only a few decades ahead in the transition.

Likewise, I do know children of transplants who were born and raised here and do not see themselves as Southerners. I can only blame the brainwashing of their parents and self hate for their region of birth.

[Stars&StripesForever]

Originally Posted by Newsboy

Sorry, but you're wrong. You'd have to listen pretty hard to find a Southern accent in any of the Fayette County high schools. I have 11 nieces and nephews that are the products of that school system and not ONE speaks with a Southern accent.

Peachtree City is the lone exception on the southside, because it has a majority non-southern population. In places like Fayetteville, Newnan, Sharpsburg, McDonough, Stockbridge, or whatever other town on the southside, southern accents are the norm.

[Newsboy]

Originally Posted by Stars&StripesForever

Peachtree City is the lone exception on the southside, because it has a majority non-southern population. In places like Fayetteville, Newnan, Sharpsburg, McDonough, Stockbridge, or whatever other town on the southside, southern accents are the norm.

And how do you know this? Do you live in Fayette County? No .. you don't! My entire extended family does! And my parents and 7 generations of my family were from FAYETTEVILLE, not Peachtree City. Southern accents are NOT the norm in Fayette County, where the MAJORITY of the population (not just in Peachtree City) is made up of transplants from other regions, including a booming international population! And BTW, Southern accents are not that common anymore in Coweta or Henry counties either. Griffin-Spalding? Yes! But that's an entirely different demographic.

You're trying to hold on to something that just DOES NOT EXIST in vast regions of Metro Atlanta anymore, S&SF

[Stars&StripesForever]

I wonder if Newsboy thinks that when listening to a light southern accent that he hears no distinguishable southern accent.

I know that many southerners think that they don't have an accent, but when they go up north, they can then easily hear the south in their voices.

This is to Newsboy and Kirkwood hipster.

I think that you are suffering from regional hatred. Seriously, why would you despise the accent of the people of your region? My only opinion on that, I suppose, is that you have learned to hate the accent because the media has treated it with contempt. I also think that you're fairly young, and those in their late teens and early twenties tend to care more about what others, especially those from other regions, think about them. They also tend to adopt the mentality of the media. Since the media has portrayed southerners in a negative light, youth tend to shun that which is not seen as "cool" by the media, and the southern accent is not cool, for southerners are not cool (as determined by the media).

I know this to be the truth, because I attempted to get rid of my southern accent when I was eighteen years old. In fact, I did a pretty good job of ridding myself of it, to the point where people questioned whether I was actually from Georgia. From about eighteen to twenty-one, my southern accent was a no-show. As I aged, however, I realized that I wasn't being myself, and was exhibiting shame for my people and my upbringing. When I realized my error and stopped trying to consciously listen to how I pronounced words, my southern speech returned around age twenty-five, albeit a light southern accent, but it has only continued to thicken as I've gotten into my thirties.

By the way, I think that you'll come home to your roots one day.

[Stars&StripesForever]

Originally Posted by Newsboy

And how do you know this? Do you live in Fayette County? No .. you don't! My entire extended family does! And my parents and 7 generations of my family in in FAYETTEVILLE, not Peachtree City. Southern accents are NOT the norm in Fayette County, where the MAJORITY of the population (not just in Peachtree City) is made up of transplants from other regions, including a booming international population! And BTW, Southern accents are not that common anymore in Coweta or Henry counties either. Griffin-Spalding? Yes! But that's an entirely different demographic.

You're trying to hold on to something that just DOES NOT EXIST in vast regions of Metro Atlanta anymore, S&SF

My job in the past has taken me all over metro Atlanta. I have sat in restaurants, businesses, and storefronts all over metro Atlanta and have carried on multiple conversation. Furthermore, my brother's ex-girlfriend was from Fayetteville, and I was there on numerous ocassions. Fayetteville is every bit as southern, as is all the other places I mentioned. Peachtree City does have a lack of a southern accent, in many local residents, as only around forty percent of residents are southerners.

Not many years ago, a survey was done, which detailed areas all over metro Atlanta. It detailed those who were native southerners but not born in Georgia, native Georgians, as well as those who were transplants. All southside communities, except Peachtree City, had high southern populations, and many of them had high Georgian populations. Other locations that were like Peachtree City included Roswell, Alpharetta, Norcross, and many intown communities.

Southern accents are very common in Henry and Coweta counties. What I think you're looking for is a thick drawl, as opposed to a light to moderate southern accent, which is clearly present in most residents. Griffin displays a thicker southern accent, much like you'd find in Carroll County, or in more rural locations. Accents nationwide are generally not as strong in urbanized areas as opposed to rural areas.

[Box]

Originally Posted by kirkwoodhipster

Very mature-lets just turn this into a hipster-bashing fest. Anyway None of the posters who repsonded is under 30. No offense but you ppl wouldnt know what cool was even if it crawled up ur a*$ and f'ed you.

We should all sound like Justin Bieber!