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That's the same with the southern half of Illinois also, especially around Cairo. That doesn't really reflect in the city itself though.
I'd choose Chicago if I had to (though neither city is very southern) mainly because of the southern roots of the black population and much of the white population. East Coast cities (outside of Baltimore/DC) don't have that same feeling.
The white population? What about the white population in Chicago feels southern?
The white population? What about the white population in Chicago feels southern?
I think the reason for ignoring the white population in those two cities is because migration from the South accounts for a very small (vanishingly so in Chicago's case) share of the total white population, while most of their black populations trace their roots to the Southeastern US, as they were children of the Great Migration of the early 20th century (and maybe also the Underground Railroad in Philadelphia's case).
But if you do want to look at the white populations, Philadelphia has had a greater degree of interaction with the South in its past thanks to its location. The Mason-Dixon Line, the symbolic border between North and South, is Pennsylvania's southern border, and that border is just 15 miles southwest of Philadelphia. Penn's medical school, the nation's oldest, educated most of the South's doctors prior to the Civil War, and there was significant opposition to the Abolitionist cause in the city. And yet, despite all this, I don't find too many "Southern" cultural markers among Philadelphia's white population, while I can find them among the Black population. (FTR, I'm Black myself, but a native of the Midwest; one side of my family can trace part of its roots to Missouri's days as a territory while much of the rest of it came up from Texas and Louisiana, a different and earlier Great Migration.)
Hillary Clinton is from Chicago and she sounds super country sometimes. Barack Obama does too and he and Michelle lived in Chicago. They all sound super country.
I’ve heard people from Chicago and they all sound different. I use to think they all spoke with a Midwestern accent there. Now I think the major variable there is where the parents are from.
Hillary Clinton is from Chicago and she sounds super country sometimes. Barack Obama does too and he and Michelle lived in Chicago. They all sound super country.
Barack Obama was born in Hawaii to a white Kansan mother* and a Black Kenyan father, so maybe that's the children-of-the-Great-Migration ambiance of Chicago's "Bronzeville" rubbing off on him.
Similarly, I wonder if Hillary Clinton's speech patterns may not be the result of the Wellesley grad marrying an Arkansan and moving there instead. I know some of my high-school friends in KC said I'd picked up a slight New England accent after just one semester at Harvard, though I disagreed.
*Though come to think of it, while I consider the accent of rural Central/Great Plains residents about as far from Southern as it's possible to get (and the Central/Great Plains accent continues to be the dominant one that broadcast news organizations prefer), I have met some small-town Kansans who sound a little more hillbilly than they do Central Plains.
In contrast, Philadelphia did not receive the southern white migration wave. Philadelphia's white population historically has always been entirely European immigration based.
In contrast, Philadelphia did not receive the southern white migration wave. Philadelphia's white population historically has always been entirely European immigration based.
He's calling you hillbillies, Chicago. Funny thing...I lived there for YEARS, and never ran into what you are calling, a "hillbilly." Not once. BTW, why is this an acceptable term in today's society????? I think it's terribly demeaning.
In contrast, Philadelphia did not receive the southern white migration wave. Philadelphia's white population historically has always been entirely European immigration based.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RonnieinDallas
Hillary Clinton is from Chicago and she sounds super country sometimes. Barack Obama does too and he and Michelle lived in Chicago. They all sound super country.
I’ve heard people from Chicago and they all sound different. I use to think they all spoke with a Midwestern accent there. Now I think the major variable there is where the parents are from.
Barak Obama is not from Chicago. He's from Hawaii.
I think that Philly's white population actually sounds more Southern in speech. Overall, Chicago is more Southern-influenced because of the black population, but the white population of Chicago is less southern-influenced that Philly's.
The classic Chicago accent is Rahm Emmanuel. Well-known Chicago born and raised, include: Harrison Ford, Robin Williams, Bill Murray, Fred and Ben Savage, Cindy Crawford, Jennifer Morrison (Once Upon a Time), John Cusak, Vince Vaughn, Jeff Garlin (Goldbergs), Frank Caliendo, Gina Rodriquez, Michael Pena, Jamie Gertz, Alison Victoria (Windy City Rehab), and too many other examples to name.
None of them have event a hint of a Southern accent.
Philadelphia is right next to Appalachia and is right at the border of the traditional North-South divide line. It's not surprising whites from Philly have more of a southern twang to their accent than whites from Chicago.
Here is a good clip of the classic White Philly accents vs. Chicago. Philly's is clearly more Southern-influenced:
I remember reading that the black population in Chicago and Detroit mainly came from the poorest parts of the South. In Chicago's case so many people were from Mississippi. Im not sure what parts of the South the black population came from in Phillys case.
As of 2019, here are the number of people who live in each born in the South:
I remember reading that the black population in Chicago and Detroit mainly came from the poorest parts of the South. In Chicago's case so many people were from Mississippi. Im not sure what parts of the South the black population came from in Phillys case.
As of 2019, here are the number of people who live in each born in the South:
Chicago - 458,800
Philadelphia - 405,241
For African Americans it's Virginia and South Carolina. My mothers' mother is from South Carolina as was her Grandmother. I have relatives in VA. I'll also throw in NC, I knew several people that moved there from Philly.
For African Americans it's Virginia and South Carolina. My mothers' mother is from South Carolina as was her Grandmother. I have relatives in VA. I'll also throw in NC, I knew several people that moved there from Philly.
Right. Overall, Chicago is more Southern-influenced because of it's African American population is much more Southern influenced than Chicago's. Chicago's AA influence also comes from much deeper south, where I have also heard, as you have mentioned, Philly's comes from VA and South Carolina (I have also heard people mention NC too).
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