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Problem is I've done this in other threads, so it's becoming repetitive IMO. I'll just stick with the point that Black accents in Baltimore to me overall sound more East Coast/ NE, than the Chicago black accent. I'm positive that I'm not alone in this thinking. I don't think that Baltimore has true Southern speech period, no matter what "version" of their accent is posted here. I lived in the city for 6 years, I know it very well.
You didn't have to post more videos, just different ones.
That said, I largely agree that Southern influences in the speech of Black Chicagoans is more discernible, at least from my experiences. I wouldn't say there are hardly any in the speech of Blacks Baltimoreans though, if that's what you mean by "true Southern speech." I've heard some people say they can detect hints of Southern in the speech of Black Philadelphians, which differs from my experiences, but I don't have extensive experience with that population. If there's some truth to that, then surely that would also be at least as true, if not more so, for Black folks in Baltimore.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade
Baltimore people definitely sound northern. YOu can hear some southern twang but its mostly just the Baltimore accent. Id have to agree DC to Bmore is like crossing some north/south linguistic line. When i first got to DC i couldn't even understand some of the black people there. No hyperbole, id have to ask them to repeat and listen closely way too often. Sometimes id just kind of guess what they were saying. Not the case in Bmore.
I'll be honest bro, I'm from PG and if it only wasn't for the fact that I've grown up in the region overall, and just communicate fluidly with many different types of people, including speak at least one foreign language (Spanish), and have a good ear for accents. There are people in DC that even I will have to pause and think about what they said, depending on how strong their accent is.
That's basically my point though, it's anywhere between 6 to 8 million people around here, trying to understand the exaggerated form of the local accent here or in many other cities may be a challenge for plenty of people.
Like I don't sound like I'm from SE, you would probably (possibly) be able to detect me being from the DMV area, but my speech isn't is strong as the local "twang". I go to NYC and fit right in. I don't sound like one of them at all, but I don't stick out like a sore thumb either. Someone with a local Benning Rd accent would though.
We could cherry pick back and forth all day. Bottom line like I stated each of these cities have a "core" accent that most of us would consider what the cities are most known for sounding like, but then also have people with a milder version of an accent from that region. Just like in DC area, Mya doesn't sound or talk like Shy Glizzy, he is from SE and she is from Largo. She doesn't have that exaggerated version of a "DC" accent. Which contradicts the post about everyone in that region having the same tone Southern accent. That's simply not accurate. Just like those videos of Chicagoans are mostly dudes from the Southside etc. I'm aware that many in Chicago's accent are not that exaggerated, it's a mixed bag.
The overall point of the last post is that Baltimore clearly has a less Southern twang in it's local Black accent than Chicago. Their accent is like a step and a half down from Philly.
From what I’ve heard, almost ever black Baltimorian has a southern twang to their accent. As I said, overall, Baltimore is much more Southern in their accents, simply because almost every black Baltimorian has at least some southern twang to their accent.
You can’t provide any examples of native Baltimorians who sound like Briant Gumble or Mike Wilbon, or countless others. I can given numerous examples of black native Chicagoans who have ZERO hint of a southern accent. There are few (if any) examples of black Baltimorians.
To me, Monique definitely has some southern twang to her accent. Although maybe because I am white, I’m not fully knowledgeable about the intricacies of what constitutes a Black Southern accent.
Baltimore’s current mayor is another example.
Compare Baltimore’s mayor to Chicago’s mayor (both black), and hear the difference. To me, Baltimore’s mayor clearly has more of a southern twang. Again, it’s another example showing that Baltimore’s blacks are more southern.
Baltimore and Philly black accent are probably closer than Baltimore and DC...
But in DC and Baltimore, both of those black populations say 'Urrick' instead of Airrick (Eric).
I agree with this. With Black Baltimore accents I hear a hint of southerness to their dialect. Some words stick out more but for the most part I say it’s a hint. DC southern influence though I hear all day. And now that I think about it, DC Black vs. Chicago Black southern influence probably would have been a better topic.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mutiny77
You didn't have to post more videos, just different ones.
That said, I largely agree that Southern influences in the speech of Black Chicagoans is more discernible, at least from my experiences. I wouldn't say there are hardly any in the speech of Blacks Baltimoreans though, if that's what you mean by "true Southern speech." I've heard some people say they can detect hints of Southern in the speech of Black Philadelphians, which differs from my experiences, but I don't have extensive experience with that population. If there's some truth to that, then surely that would also be at least as true, if not more so, for Black folks in Baltimore.
Didn't have examples on hand like that. It takes a moment to search.
From what I’ve heard, almost ever black Baltimorian has a southern twang to their accent. As I said, overall, Baltimore is much more Southern in their accents, simply because almost every black Baltimorian has at least some southern twang to their accent.
You can’t provide any examples of native Baltimorians who sound like Briant Gumble or Mike Wilbon, or countless others. I can given numerous examples of black native Chicagoans who have ZERO hint of a southern accent. There are few (if any) examples of black Baltimorians.
To me, Monique definitely has some southern twang to her accent. Although maybe because I am white, I’m not fully knowledgeable about the intricacies of what constitutes a Black Southern accent.
Baltimore’s current mayor is another example.
Compare Baltimore’s mayor to Chicago’s mayor (both black), and hear the difference. To me, Baltimore’s mayor clearly has more of a southern twang. Again, it’s another example showing that Baltimore’s blacks are more southern.
As a Black southern myself I didn’t hear a southern accent from Baltimore’s Mayor. He definitely had a Baltimore accent but I didn’t hear any hints of the south. Now I’ll give you Monique she does at times to me. But the Mayor sounded more similar to Northeast than anywhere in the South.
Mayor Lightfoot is originally from Ohio and she grew up in a predominantly White community. She speaks with a standard American accent. There’s no regional emphasis on her pronunciation it’s pretty much a standard broadcasting English. She can be from pretty much anywhere,USA. Matter fact I’m not being stereotypical when I say this but you wouldn’t know what ethnicity she is if you had your eyes closed.
I think it may be more accurate to say that Black Chicagoans collectively have a somewhat wider range of accents/speech influences than Baltimore's Black population, whose range is a bit tighter and shorter and more towards the center of the Northern-Southern continuum.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
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Quote:
Originally Posted by personone
From what I’ve heard, almost ever black Baltimorian has a southern twang to their accent. As I said, overall, Baltimore is much more Southern in their accents, simply because almost every black Baltimorian has at least some southern twang to their accent.
You can’t provide any examples of native Baltimorians who sound like Briant Gumble or Mike Wilbon, or countless others. I can given numerous examples of black native Chicagoans who have ZERO hint of a southern accent. There are few (if any) examples of black Baltimorians.
Compare Baltimore’s mayor to Chicago’s mayor (both black), and hear the difference. To me, Baltimore’s mayor clearly has more of a southern twang. Again, it’s another example showing that Baltimore’s blacks are more southern.
Speaking with professional speech, and accent are completely different things. Lightfoot speaks with professional speech and tone, kudos to her. But I can't detect an accent from any region when she speaks, because it's just proper professional speech. Lighfoot isn't speaking with a "Chicago accent", like Common or Ye.
It's no different from Gayle King (from Maryland):
Someone form Maryland, interviewing someone from Chicago, who's accent is influenced more by the South:
Now I wouldn't use folks who are 60+ as examples of typical speech patterns, but for what it's worth, I bet you'd be hard pressed to find a Black Baltimore professional Boomer that sounds like this:
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mutiny77
Now I wouldn't use folks who are 60+ as examples of typical speech patterns, but for what it's worth, I bet you'd be hard pressed to find a Black Baltimore professional Boomer that sounds like this:
Last edited by the resident09; 06-23-2020 at 07:32 PM..
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