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2. Yeah, DC doesn't have as much of the blue collar, Catholic, strong-ethnic identity type of residents that many other Northeastern cities have, but this is mainly because of its unique history. DC, unlike Baltimore, never fully industrialized, so it didn't receive the masses of European immigrants (mostly Catholic) that other NE cities did. However, Catholic is still Catholic, and the city still shares a Catholic history with the rest of the Northeast predating the European immigration during the 2nd Industrial Revolution.
The bolded language pretty much settles this discussion. The DC area did not share the same history with the northeast, which explains why it is so demographically and culturally different from Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. Similarly, Massachusetts did not share the same history with the southeast, which explains why Boston is demographically and culturally different from Richmond, Charlotte and Atlanta.
The only people who believe Washington, DC is a culturally southern city are people who have never spent a significant amount of time in our nation's capital or surrounding areas.
The only people who believe Washington, DC is a culturally southern city are people who have never spent a significant amount of time in our nation's capital or surrounding areas.
D.C. is definatly southern. They locals have southern accents.
D.C. is definatly southern. They locals have southern accents.
No they don't. In fact, I think their accent is uniquely Mid-Atlantic or just DC. Has variations of the Northeast and South. But to say either or is false. People in the South don't pronounce brother as bruva and people in the Northeast don't pronounce carry like curry.
No they don't. In fact, I think their accent is uniquely Mid-Atlantic or just DC. Has variations of the Northeast and South. But to say either or is false. People in the South don't pronounce brother as bruva and people in the Northeast don't pronounce carry like curry.
I dunno; DC today has a mostly very nuetral accent mainly due to all the transplants but among people native to DC I find the accent to have much more in common with a Southern theme then what to me is Mid-Atlantic accent. DC natives sound nothing like the VAST majority of folks from the mid-atlantic
No they don't. In fact, I think their accent is uniquely Mid-Atlantic or just DC. Has variations of the Northeast and South. But to say either or is false. People in the South don't pronounce brother as bruva and people in the Northeast don't pronounce carry like curry.
To me these are Mid-Atlantic accents and by far the most prevelant based on the number of Mid-Atlantic residents; to me even baltimore is a lot different than the native DC accent
This is not strong but pretty typically (well maybe sans MA)
I dunno; DC today has a mostly very nuetral accent mainly due to all the transplants but among people native to DC I find the accent to have much more in common with a Southern theme then what to me is Mid-Atlantic accent. DC natives sound nothing like the VAST majority of folks from the mid-atlantic
And honestly to me native Washingtonians sound nothing like the vast majority of folks from the South. I can agree with the neutral argument of DC. So I guess DC has it's own accent.
I hate to bring up this subject again, but here are my two cents (and this is my first post, by the way):
Most people in the more affluent neighborhoods and suburbs of DC (those who are natives, anyways) mostly consider DC a northern city. For example, I conducted an informal poll about this, and all of my friends, who are Northwest Quadrant and Bethesda natives, feel that DC shares more with places like Philadelphia than Richmond or Charlotte and is definitely a Northern city. However, just to the east, in Shaw, there's definitely a Southern vibe -- about 50% of DC is Black, which is definitely a characteristic of a Southern city. Suburbs like Bethesda, Potomac, Rockville, Mclean and Fairfax seem very northern, whereas suburbs like Beltsville, Bladensburg and College Park seem Southern. Also, many of the people I spoke to who just moved to DC from the northern states think that it is a Southern city. However, in Atlanta and in New Orleans, most people consider it to be a very northern city, along with Philly, NYC and Boston.
In conclusion, it depends on which neighborhood in DC you're talking about and the person you're talking to! I, personally, consider it a Northern city because that's the impression I always got (I was born and brought up here) -- we're always paired with Philly, New York and Boston, so I always assumed it was a northern city until I talked to other people outside of the area and until I went to places outside of Northwest DC, Montgomery County and Northern Virginia.
Also, I'm not sure how much this factors into the argument, but there definitely aren't many pickup trucks here at all -- only contractors use them! The type of cars here in DC are more similar to those in the north rather than in the south. Small cars are favored more than big cars.
I consider it more northern but with many southern undertones.
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