Houston's Accent/Dialect (St. Paul: areas, rain, single)

[Texas User]

People in Conroe have southern accents.

[HtownLove]

Houston has been diverse, but I think among our new arrivals, there are many southerners. The thickest accents I have come across in Houston were people (both white and Black) from Louisiana

[AlGreen]

Originally Posted by jluke65780

True. Amongst us Texans we don't sound or consider ourselves as sounding southern or country, but to outsiders; we do.

c'mon guy, you know you don't speak for all texans. most texans i know absolutely consider themselves southerners as well as speaking with southern accents

[AlGreen]

all i hear is southern accents in this video. no more or less thick than what i heard living in south carolina in my younger days

[AlGreen]

Originally Posted by WestbankNOLA

Yes, it's not as strong as say Georgia or somewhere, but it's there black or white. If you're used to hearing southern drawls it may not be as noticeable to you, but coming from an area where a drawl is rare it definitely stands out in black Houstonians and is noticeable in the whites.

no disrespect, but i don't know where people get the idea that atlantans or georgians have this super strong southern accent

for the most part, generally speaking, atlantans sound about as southern as houstonians

you guys know ed helms? (andy from the office)...he's a born and bred atlantan, and i hear no accent in his voice

[MrSykes]

Originally Posted by AlGreen

all i hear is southern accents in this video. no more or less thick than what i heard living in south carolina in my younger days

That about nails it. Those who maintain that Houstonians don't have a distinctive accent clearly aren't listening carefully enough. As this video shows, there is a definite pattern of pronunciation in the Houston dialect, the most prominent features being:

"bowl" "cowl" "yowl" - ball, call, y'all

"Teeusdee" - Tuesday

"narth" - north

"brang" - bring

And sometimes the occasional 'r' thrown in behind a 'u' (e.g., Hourston, commurnity)

[WestbankNOLA]

Originally Posted by AlGreen

no disrespect, but i don't know where people get the idea that atlantans or georgians have this super strong southern accent

Would it be fair to use Nancy Grace or Tameka Cottle as pop. culture examples? We can stretch it and include Jimmy Carter, Alexyss K. Tylor, T.I. or any other mainstream celebrity that is an Atlanta or Georgia native.

[AlGreen]

Originally Posted by WestbankNOLA

Would it be fair to use Nancy Grace or Tameka Cottle as pop. culture examples? We can stretch it and include Jimmy Carter, Alexyss K. Tylor, T.I. or any other mainstream celebrity that is an Atlanta or Georgia native.

exactly. but it's the same way with houston. folks native to these areas can have strong distinct southern accents or little to no accent at all. it just depends on each individual's environment, really. for every atlantan who sounds like alexyss tylor, there's another atlantan who sounds like ed helms.

if you go over to the atlanta board, you'll see the same thing you see in this thread, a whole bunch of natives saying "well nobody here really speaks with a southern accent"

[AlGreen]

Originally Posted by MrSykes

That about nails it. Those who maintain that Houstonians don't have a distinctive accent clearly aren't listening carefully enough. As this video shows, there is a definite pattern of pronunciation in the Houston dialect, the most prominent features being:

"bowl" "cowl" "yowl" - ball, call, y'all

"Teeusdee" - Tuesday

"narth" - north

"brang" - bring

And sometimes the occasional 'r' thrown in behind a 'u' (e.g., Hourston, commurnity)

yep. and it's not just blacks either (as some people are claiming), because i've heard white houstonians with accents as well....furthermore, i would more closely associate the accents in houston with the rest of the south versus the rest of texas. i hear a drawl in houston speech, not that "twang" that you hear further west in the state

[tstone]

It's true, all of us natives sound like the people in all these videos. And all us whites really do sound like Paul Wall.

On a more serious note, I think this article pretty much nailed it. Kept me from losing in IQ point as I flipped through this trainwreck.

Originally Posted by neotextist

Interesting blog on the subject. Seeking The Possibly Inaudible: Is There a Houston Accent? - Houston News - Hair Balls

Some of you really need to get away from your block a little more.