Largest city/metro where the southern accent is still dominant

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by KodeBlue

I would say Baltimore since it is the largest city in the South not inundated with people from everywhere else.

It's also not inundated with a (stereotypically) Southern accent either lol...although admittedly traces of such are present.

http://aschmann.net/AmEng/index_coll...shDialects.png

https://www.languagejones.com/blog-1...nglish-accents (a specifically Black American take on regional accents)

Both sources more or less show how relatively hyperlocal Baltimore's accent is.

[KodeBlue]

Originally Posted by Mutiny77

It's also not inundated with a (stereotypically) Southern accent either lol...although admittedly traces of such are present.

http://aschmann.net/AmEng/index_coll...shDialects.png

https://www.languagejones.com/blog-1...nglish-accents (a specifically Black American take on regional accents)

Both sources more or less show how relatively hyperlocal Baltimore's accent is.

Interesting read, though in the second article, though I disagree with DC and Baltimore having the same accent outside of a couple of words. The local DC AAVE is more similar to Hampton Roads than it is to Baltimore, while Baltimore's accent is completely its own. Neither sound like California.

The Baltimore accent is about as localized as the Gullah accent.

[2020's YouTube Vlog]

Originally Posted by Heel82

But yes, New Orleans, as the French cosmopolitan metropolis of an agrarian society, does strike many as being unSouthern. But that’s only if you think the rest of the South is Mayberry. But that’s simplistic obviously.

South LA (I-10 and below) isn't very "Southern" in the conventional sense. Cajun/Creole culture is distinct from the "deep south".

[As Above So Below...]

Only really among African American Houstonians and a minority of Hispanic Houstonians that grew up in black neighborhoods would I say its common to hear a Southern accent. Among white and Asian Houstonians, its pretty uncommon. But if were just talking about the city of Houston, about 35% of it is foreign born and then you have the children of the foreign born which make those whose ancestors have been in Houston for generations a minority.

I dont think DFW, Atlanta, or Houston belong in this conversation. The last places I went where Southern accents were the norm were Northwest Arkansas, Meridian, MS, and Shreveport, LA. Even in Birmingham and Memphis, I would argue less than half the people Ive encountered there had a Southern accent.

[Gaylord_Focker]

Originally Posted by Redlionjr

So again Houston is number 1 then. And DFW is second and Atlanta is 3rd since we’re going off size alone.

Yes. Even the Asians in Houston have southern accents from my experience

[Gaylord_Focker]

Originally Posted by smokehousecheddar

Sorry, but I come from Georgia/Tennessee...and NO ONE down there thinks Baltimore is the South. That's as yankee as NYC to us. I feel crazy seeing everyone in this thread so confidently call Bmore the south...

Lived in Texas most of my life. Baltimore is not the south

[Redlionjr]

Originally Posted by Gaylord_Focker

Yes. Even the Asians in Houston have southern accents from my experience

I been living in Houston since 2009. Never heard an Asian with a southern accent EVER

[NigerianNightmare]

Originally Posted by Redlionjr

I been living in Houston since 2009. Never heard an Asian with a southern accent EVER

I have but certainly not in the suburbs. I have with Viet people in Alief but even then the FOB or general American accent is probably more common for older Asians and younger Asians respectively.
It really depends on the neighborhood.
Katy a southern accent is probably more prevalent in Old Katy than anywhere else. I feel like you hear Southern accents but it's super age dependent and almost none of the immigrants have it.

I think to really catch the nuances of some of Houston's accent I think this is a good video for at least whiter or older suburban Houstonians. I meet Hispanic people with Southern accents all the time, but mostly at my church which is Pentecostal and thus multi-generationally Texan across the board. But when I was in Highschool at the same time you couldn't convince me the average person had a Southern accent. This was all in Katy.

I think the suburbs under 25, if your not white it's dying out pretty hard, and even half of the white people are either transplants or have a general American accent either way. Not to mention all of the immigrant white folks from oil and gas. The City of Houston and older Harris County neighborhoods if it's not an immigrant neighborhood or like Memorial/Memorial Villages I would expect the Southern accent to be prevalent until certain parts of the inner loop. Then I would have no clue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFxwSUwQhic
Around 46:00 minutes in.

[RocketDawg]

Originally Posted by trinkanchan

Somebody mentioned in another thread that Richmond, VA is one of the few major metros in the South where the southern accent is still dominant.

Is there a larger metro where the southern accent is still widely spoken by the population? What if we are only talking about city limits?

Louisville?

[chicken_nuggets24]

Think of a city that hasn't been getting a large influx of non-Southern transplants, such as Memphis or Jackson.