DeSoto County,MS accent (Memphis: transplants, incomes, live)

[IndigoBaby86]

I am Black but I have noticed that many other Black people in DeSoto County have a unique accent. They don't sound like Black people from Memphis but don't sound like Black people from other parts of Mississippi such as the Delta.

[Sharif662]

Originally Posted by IndigoBaby86

I am Black but I have noticed that many other Black people in DeSoto County have a unique accent. They don't sound like Black people from Memphis but don't sound like Black people from other parts of Mississippi such as the Delta.

It's most likely just the individual(s) and not the whole community. I've been through that area many times.

[brickpatio2018]

Incomes are higher in DeSoto County, so that could be it.

[viverlibre]

Interesting topic, through the 80s, some whites in the Delta, had a slightly different (from the usual Mississippi southern accent) "foghorn leghorn" accent. I also have a couple of Black coworkers from South Alabama, they have a different (than the usual) accent.

[sammyreynolds1977]

Older people from the delta still have those pronounced southern drawls. People born in my generation or younger, the accent has become less pronounced and in some cases barely noticeable.

[RocketDawg]

Originally Posted by sammyreynolds1977

Older people from the delta still have those pronounced southern drawls. People born in my generation or younger, the accent has become less pronounced and in some cases barely noticeable.

And the ones in coastal and SW Mississippi can sometimes pass for being from New Orleans. Almost.

You don't find many younger people at all that have the traditional Southern "Kay Ivey" (governor of Alabama) accent (she's the only person I can think of that talks like she does, except maybe Haley Barbour, former gov of Mississippi). I think television and other media are homogenizing regional accents, and probably in a hundred years or so there won't be any differences, except possibly in the big cities where people can spend their entire lives and never leave the city limits.

[sammyreynolds1977]

On the coast and some places in southern MS you have transplants from New Orleans.

[supfromthesite]

Originally Posted by RocketDawg

And the ones in coastal and SW Mississippi can sometimes pass for being from New Orleans. Almost.

You don't find many younger people at all that have the traditional Southern "Kay Ivey" (governor of Alabama) accent (she's the only person I can think of that talks like she does, except maybe Haley Barbour, former gov of Mississippi). I think television and other media are homogenizing regional accents, and probably in a hundred years or so there won't be any differences, except possibly in the big cities where people can spend their entire lives and never leave the city limits.

Hooray for getting rid of our culture!