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As someone who lives just on the other side of the Potomac I'm surprised to read this. I'm not saying that southern accents do not exist in VA, because they do. But it's not close to 90% of the whole population. I might hear a good accent maybe once or twice a week. There are varying degrees of the accent as well, in some people only some words may be accented, in others their entire speech may be heavily accented. Others may just have a barely noticeable accent. I wouldn't even be able to tell you from what areas of the state where people are from based on their accent. Or from other southern states for that matter. I would say that there is about 40% with a real good thick accent here, 20% in between, and 40% with no real discernable accent. In any of VA's larger metros you will be hard pressed to find an accent, but in the country/rural areas it's more common.
In terms of population 40% is probably about right. I was thinking about area.
No body questions VA, and you can add DE to that, but I agree. They need to ban these threads...
I wish they would..all I will say is that I think Virginia belongs in the South Atlantic states, not the Mid-Atlantic. Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and New York are how I would define the Mid-Atlantic. Culturally, Virginia just does not fit in with Maryland or Delaware.
Some people on these threads would even make Maine and Alaska the South, if they could.
That's exactly what I'm trying to say. Anyone who would try and put Virginia North Carolina, or even Florida in the North simply has no understanding of history, culture, etc. Virginia and North Carolina have always been, and always will be, Southern states. There is pretty much nothing either of these states have done that can separate them from the rest of the South in any way, shape, or form. And they remain culturally Southern to this very day. Florida much less so, but 60 years ago it was as Dixie as anything, and it certainly has more similarities to the South today than it does to anyplace else in the U.S. VA, NC, and FL all legally seceded from the Union and to this day retain a noticeable amount of Southern culture.
DC has a southern history, and the highways in No VA named after Confederate generals could throw a northeasterner, not to mention the fact Robert E. Lee lived here, and the Redskins used to be known as "the team of the south". I also know a few people over 45, who are natives, and have southern accents. But the modern culture here is clearly northern. Neighorhoods like Dupont, Logan Circle, and Adams-Morgan look like they could be in NY or Bos, but not Charlotte or Atlanta.
One often overlooked factor is the Southern Baptist church has virtually no presence here, but its membership numbers pick up quickly as you soon as you hit Stafford County, about 40 miles south of DC. Contrast that to Northern Kentucky across the river from Cincy - where the Southern Baptist Church's numbers rise quickly as soon as you cross the state line. Moreover, the towns near the Cincy airport in Northern Kentucky are filled with southern accents, far harder to find that around Dulles Airport in Northern Virginia. Transition from north to south is slow in the east from northern MD to central VA, while the transition from midwest to South occurs very quickly crossing from OH to KY.
That's exactly what I'm trying to say. Anyone who would try and put Virginia North Carolina, or even Florida in the North simply has no understanding of history, culture, etc. Virginia and North Carolina have always been, and always will be, Southern states. There is pretty much nothing either of these states have done that can separate them from the rest of the South in any way, shape, or form. And they remain culturally Southern to this very day. Florida much less so, but 60 years ago it was as Dixie as anything, and it certainly has more similarities to the South today than it does to anyplace else in the U.S. VA, NC, and FL all legally seceded from the Union and to this day retain a noticeable amount of Southern culture.
I agree..I don't see how somebody can honestly say that all of Virginia is pure midatlantic. Somebody from Lynchburg, Danville, many in Richmond, Roanoke, Abington etc..would be noticably different in accent and lifestyle in a room with people from DC, MD, or DE. Many people I know from DC consider Richmond down as southern also and country. People from these parts of VA are much more similar to people in NC, KY, and southern WV (Upper south).
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