Does simply being born in the South make one a true Southerner? (live in, vs.)
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This could work for any region of the country, but since the South is so rooted in tradition, I felt that it fits most here.
Scenario 1: Say someone is born in Georgia- the Deep South, no question. But they grow up in Brooklyn, NY. Are they really a Southerner?
Or this
Scenario 2: Person is born in the South, but their parents and their family roots are from the North. They have no ancestral ties to the South, no predilection for Southern culture, mannerisms, or even dialect. Is this person a Southerner?
I only consider someone a true Southerner if they spent most of their childhood there. Being born there definitely for sure but if you spent your infant years in a Northern city and the rest of your childhood in a Southern city, then you're a Southerner for sure.
If you were born in the south and your parents and grandparents going back to 1790 or before with all of them being born in the South, you can pretty much consider yourself a southerner. Others may fake it but it has to be ingrained to be real.
If you were born in the south and your parents and grandparents going back to 1790 or before with all of them being born in the South, you can pretty much consider yourself a southerner. Others may fake it but it has to be ingrained to be real.
Agree. 1790 is the cutoff. If your people weren't there by then, you're not a true southerner.
So we are saying here that a lot of southerners are fakes? Because there were immigrants in places like New Orleans, Texas, etc. Is that to say they are really Yankees even though many never set foot on northern soil? I don't believe any of these folks have ever claimed anything else but Southern?
If you were mostly raised in the South, then I think you can lay some claim to being Southern. If you were only born in the South but mostly raised elsewhere, I don't think you're really a Southerner although you could have Southern influence if your parents were born and raised in the South.
If you were mostly raised in the South, then I think you can lay some claim to being Southern. If you were only born in the South but mostly raised elsewhere, I don't think you're really a Southerner although you could have Southern influence if your parents were born and raised in the South.
We fell into scenario 2 when my first child was born. She was definitely something of a hybrid as she got older. My NYC mother was always trying to "correct" her pronunciation of words because she had a bit of a Southern accent. She also starting saying "yes, ma'am," which she didn't learn from us. We still call her our country mouse and joke that we need to turn her back into a city mouse. (She did, however, say "you guys" vs. "y'all.")
I like to think our "New York values" would have rubbed off on her eventually. And obviously being able to "pass" for Southern doesn't mean you'll be "accepted" as Southern.
Anyway, we no longer live in the South so it's all a moot point.
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