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Well just about all of the US is south of Minnesota!
From a southern perspective (and I mean southern US, not just anywhere south of Minnesota) I would classify the Ozarks as midwestern with a bit of southern thrown in for good measure. But a twangy accent is common throughout the midwest - that alone isn't what makes a place "southern" (and there are many southern accents that aren't twangy at all, but rather softly lilting and gentle on the ear, especially the further east you go).
I would say that the Ozarks have a culture that is akin to Appalachia, which includes some southern portions but also extends far north. Someone living in Mountain View, Arkansas will have more in common with someone living in Altoono, PA than they would have in common with someone living in Rayville, LA.
From a Minnesotan perspective, the Ozarks are unquestionably Southern. Alls y'alls gots Southern accents down yonder, I reckon.
It may not be this way anymore, but not too long ago there were parts of the Ozarks where the dialects were completely non-southern. The Southeast Missouri Lead Belt even had villages with people who still spoke Missouri French. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Mines,_Missouri
I've heard obviously German influenced dialects as far south as Bollinger County, Missouri. (Speakers older than 60) And I'm not talking about a "General American" or "Midwestern" dialect, I'm talking about a rural American who grew up hearing both German and English on a regular basis. I also had a great uncle by marriage who spoke German, but if he went to an adjacent county he couldn't speak to the German descendants there because he spoke High German and they spoke Low German. (This was just east of the Ozarks)
I get what you are saying in your post, but the Ozarks as a whole can't really be grouped with either region. In some ways, I would say that the culture of the rural Ozarks is diverging more and more from mainstream American society every year. Lack of broadband internet and even cell phone service in some areas drives this. I don't know how it is now, but a few years ago there were still entire counties in south central Missouri that had no cell phone service, meaning nobody owned a cell phone.
Culture can change. 120 years ago the Ozarks were as southern as one can get. Just prior to the civil war all Southerners were evicted from the KC counties in Missouri, most went to the Ozarks and never left. Fast forward 50-100 years and the Ozarks became a popular vacation and retirement area for midwesterners, and its had a large cultural shift. The Ozarks are still fairly southern, especially some rural areas, but Branson and the main lakes are majority midwestern. These places saw population booms and nearly everyone came from the midwest. Hearing real southern accents in Branson is fairly rare. Branson is only about 15% Baptist which is typically an important indicator for southern culture.
From a Minnesotan perspective, the Ozarks are unquestionably Southern. Alls y'alls gots Southern accents down yonder, I reckon.
You would absolutely cringe like never before if you could hear how annoyingly twangy the Minnesota accent sounds to Southern and Lower Midwestern ears.
Have you ever seen the movie Fargo? That's Minnesota lite.
You would absolutely cringe like never before if you could hear how annoyingly twangy the Minnesota accent sounds to Southern and Lower Midwestern ears.
Have you ever seen the movie Fargo? That's Minnesota lite.
You would absolutely cringe like never before if you could hear how annoyingly twangy the Minnesota accent sounds to Southern and Lower Midwestern ears.
Have you ever seen the movie Fargo? That's Minnesota lite.
Ehh. I live pretty close to Minnesota, spend a lot of time there, and the accent in non-Twin Cities southern Minnesota is very heavy. "Fargo" is a little exaggerated, but not that much.
I definitely have a tinge of that accent, but people I know in places like Rochester and New Ulm could come right off the sets, practically.
Ehh. I live pretty close to Minnesota, spend a lot of time there, and the accent in non-Twin Cities southern Minnesota is very heavy. "Fargo" is a little exaggerated, but not that much.
I definitely have a tinge of that accent, but people I know in places like Rochester and New Ulm could come right off the sets, practically.
Yeah, I live pretty close to Minnesota, as well, and all I can say, is you and I must talk to different people.
Ozark culture is an extension of upper-South/Appalachian culture. It's completely Southern and I don't see how there would be any debate about that.
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