The Louisville "accent" - Is it Southern or Midwestern? (metro area, area)

[JohnBoy64]

Originally Posted by CraigCreek

True, but to my ears, having lived in both cities, Cincinnati's German influence is much stronger and more pervasive than is Louisville's. This is true culturally as well as linguistically.

During the 19th century at the peak of European immigration Cincinnati had up to 80% foreign born residents, same with St. Louis and East Coast Baltimore. Louisville's immigration peaked at 30% during that time. You had the "Know nothing" riots of 1855 in Louisville that resulted in the loss of about 50% of the population of German and Irish immigrants in the city and also the Antebellum Louisville was a slave holding city (not in a small way) which prevented workers moving into to the city only to not compete with slave wages.

[ABQConvict]

Originally Posted by sheena12

I am originally from NYC and I agree completely. One would be hard-pressed to find a New York accent in Manhattan and it's almost gone from Brooklyn.

Same of other cities, for the reasons that you gave. Another reason? People in metropolitan areas want to sound sophisticated and actively try to lose their accents.

I am also a New Yorker (Bronx and the very southernmost part of Westchester raised) and I agree. I think it mostly has to do with the fact that there are way fewer multi-generational families in Manhattan and Brooklyn these days. No reason to expect residents from those boroughs who moved to NYC in their 20s and 30s from places like Illinois, California, Russia, France, Jamaica, or Nigeria to have a classic NY accent.

Although the intensity of the accents have been diminished (no one has said "toity-toid street" since the 1950s), you can still hear the accents in much of the outer boroughs and especially in the counties surrounding the city like Rockland, Orange, Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, etc.

Once you get upstate, there are still accents, but I feel they fall under the more general rubrik of Northeastern accents with just a bit of New York specific features.

I really think the key in the changes in accents in New York has as much to do with a radical influx of residents from outside the region as it has to do with conformation to another standard by traditional multi-generational residents.

[aab7855]

To me there´s no question that it´s southern. I was surprised to learn that southern Indiana also has that twang, but that´s indeed true. There´s not much midwest in there, though we all have ears that can be tuned to hear things differently than others. Probably northern KY across from Cincinnatti would be the most Midwestern bastion in KY.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by aab7855

To me there´s no question that it´s southern. I was surprised to learn that southern Indiana also has that twang, but that´s indeed true. There´s not much midwest in there, though we all have ears that can be tuned to hear things differently than others. Probably northern KY across from Cincinnatti would be the most Midwestern bastion in KY.

Southern accents in southern Indiana, yes. I'm not from here, so have a mostly different accent than locals would I assume.

[KY_Transplant]

Louisville’s accent is indeed Southern...an Appalachian sound and twang to the accent. Oddly enough, besides the accent, Louisville is a Midwestern City. Once you get outside the Gene Snyder it becomes decidedly more Southern and once you get South to E-Town or East to Shelbyville, you are firmly in the Upper South and the dialect further reflects that.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by KY_Transplant

Louisville’s accent is indeed Southern...an Appalachian sound and twang to the accent. Oddly enough, besides the accent, Louisville is a Midwestern City. Once you get outside the Gene Snyder it becomes decidedly more Southern and once you get South to E-Town or East to Shelbyville, you are firmly in the Upper South and the dialect further reflects that.

I live in Floyd County, IN- rural western part. It seems mostly like the South and Appalachians. Lots of Purdue University alumni living in the area seem to add a bit to the Midwest flavor, though.

[censusdata]

Which accent? Locals in this area can sound like almost anything. Really diverse area for accents.

[JohnBoy64]

Originally Posted by KY_Transplant

Louisville’s accent is indeed Southern...an Appalachian sound and twang to the accent. Oddly enough, besides the accent, Louisville is a Midwestern City. Once you get outside the Gene Snyder it becomes decidedly more Southern and once you get South to E-Town or East to Shelbyville, you are firmly in the Upper South and the dialect further reflects that.

I would call Louisville a River City verses midwestern and historically a major River City at that. The primary midwestern influence in Louisville mostly comes from the German and Irish immigration during the late 19th Century. Most Southern cities did not have a large Roman Catholic presence that these immigrants brought with them. Whereas Louisville's Establishment..."High Society"...Old Money is Southern and this is due it's roots in the Tidewater region of VA and North Carolina, this is the oldest portion and culture in the city....unfortunately this is to due to the pervasive institution of slavery in the city during the antebellum years.

Louisville has been the center for trade and commerce in the state for the vast majority of Kentucky's history, as a result it has long had a managerial class that was absent in many deep southern cities with the exception of Virginia and New Orleans and it gave residents more exposure to difficult cultures.. River Cities are more worldly. If Louisville had the same level of immigration that Cincinnati and St. Louis did (approx 80%)...it would be a much more distinct Midwestern city, Foreign born residents peaked at 30% in Louisville that's why it retains more aspects of southern culture as opposed to a St Louis where it is virtually extinct. Most natives and residents consider Louisville a hybrid.

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by JohnBoy64

I would call Louisville a River City verses midwestern and historically a major River City at that. The primary midwestern influence in Louisville mostly comes from the German and Irish immigration during the late 19th Century. Most Southern cities did not have a large Roman Catholic presence that these immigrants brought with them. Whereas Louisville's Establishment..."High Society"...Old Money is Southern and this is due it's roots in the Tidewater region of VA and North Carolina, this is the oldest portion and culture in the city....unfortunately this is to due to the pervasive institution of slavery in the city during the antebellum years.

Louisville has been the center for trade and commerce in the state for the vast majority of Kentucky's history, as a result it has long had a managerial class that was absent in many deep southern cities with the exception of Virginia and New Orleans and it gave residents more exposure to difficult cultures.. River Cities are more worldly. If Louisville had the same level of immigration that Cincinnati and St. Louis did (approx 80%)...it would be a much more distinct Midwestern city, Foreign born residents peaked at 30% in Louisville that's why it retains more aspects of southern culture as opposed to a St Louis where it is virtually extinct. Most natives and residents consider Louisville a hybrid.

Excellent and fairly accurate analysis. Louisville was a BIG TIME city though. At one point 12th largest, it was just a shade smaller than Cincy and STL, STL being top 5 for a while. Louisville was a 19th century metropolis. Did you know there was an elevated train line that rain until 1905 alon the river at 90 mph into New Albany? New Albany itself was the largest city in Indiana throughout the majority of the 19th century.

People are impressed by urban form in Louisville and it's burbs but due to the decline started by the 1937 floods, only about 50% of the urban cores of the falls cities are intact New Albany, Jeffersonville, Clarksville in IN and Portland, Shippingport, Louisville in KY.

[Doughboy1918]

Originally Posted by JohnBoy64

I would call Louisville a River City verses midwestern and historically a major River City at that. The primary midwestern influence in Louisville mostly comes from the German and Irish immigration during the late 19th Century. Most Southern cities did not have a large Roman Catholic presence that these immigrants brought with them. Whereas Louisville's Establishment..."High Society"...Old Money is Southern and this is due it's roots in the Tidewater region of VA and North Carolina, this is the oldest portion and culture in the city....unfortunately this is to due to the pervasive institution of slavery in the city during the antebellum years.

Louisville has been the center for trade and commerce in the state for the vast majority of Kentucky's history, as a result it has long had a managerial class that was absent in many deep southern cities with the exception of Virginia and New Orleans and it gave residents more exposure to difficult cultures.. River Cities are more worldly. If Louisville had the same level of immigration that Cincinnati and St. Louis did (approx 80%)...it would be a much more distinct Midwestern city, Foreign born residents peaked at 30% in Louisville that's why it retains more aspects of southern culture as opposed to a St Louis where it is virtually extinct. Most natives and residents consider Louisville a hybrid.

Excellent summation.

As far as my answer to the thread question is concerned; Louisville’s accent is indeed Upper Southern/Appalachian.