Why is Missouri so southern? (St. Louis, Rolla: school, shop, garden)

[Smtchll]

To me the South starts below Capre Girardeau; the culture, the accent, and the attitude start to change from Midwestern to Southern. Although, rural areas all over the Southern half of MO feel somewhat Southern.


YouTube - Meth: A County In Crisis 05/05
This documentary is from Franklin County outside of St. Louis, it's pretty far North but many of the people interviewed have Southern-lite accents. The man in the beginning of the clip would fit right in here in TN

[stl4man]

Originally Posted by Smtchll

To me the South starts below Capre Girardeau; the culture, the accent, and the attitude start to change from Midwestern to Southern. Although, rural areas all over the Southern half of MO feel somewhat Southern.


YouTube - Meth: A County In Crisis 05/05
This documentary is from Franklin County outside of St. Louis, it's pretty far North but many of the people interviewed have Southern-lite accents. The man in the beginning of the clip would fit right in here in TN

I find that extremely hard to believe. Maybe some of his religious talk I could understand, but still, believing in God and talking like that does not = Southern. I was in Tennessee in December and the kinds of accents I heard there didn't even come close to resembling this. The man has a practically flat accent for crying out loud.

[Smtchll]

Originally Posted by stl4man

I find that extremely hard to believe. Maybe some of his religious talk I could understand, but still, believing in God and talking like that does not = Southern. I was in Tennessee in December and the kinds of accents I heard there didn't even come close to resembling this. The man has a practically flat accent for crying out loud.

Even without the God talk, he still sounds like some people here in TN. Some people have strong Southern accents, some have flatter Southern accents, which sound similar to that man. His accent wasn't completely Southern, I could still hear some Midwestern accent like when he said "honestly", but he could definitely come to the South and no one would think he was from up North.

The televangelist Joyce Meyer also has a Southern accent, hers is stronger though. I always thought she was from the South and I was very surprised to find out that she's from St. Louis. She might be putting on the Southern accent to appeal to her mostly Southern following. Do you consider this a Southern accent?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjUl8dWdWVA

[momofmany926]

She sounds like a typical Missourian to me, not really heavy on the Southern accent at all. I think Missouri is Southern influenced, but having lived in both the Kansas City area, the St. Joseph area, as far north as Maryville, as well as St. Louis, Freeman, and now Rolla. There is such a difference in each region on the influence. St. Louis has more eastern influence then any of the other cities I have lived in (I also lived at one time in Owosso, MI). Kansas City I would say is more true Midwestern. Rolla has some of the Southern influence, in fact when we first moved down here, we had a neighbor came over, and darn if I couldn't understand half of what he was saying, after a few months could understand him without a problem. Food also varies depending on the part of Missouri. St. Louis bar-b-q is much different then Kansas City's, and you won't hear about a restaurant in Kansas City serving Toasted Ravioli generally, that is a St. Louis thing. I think the truly wonderful thing about Missouri is you can travel a couple of hours and come across a whole different cultural feel, we have it all, Southern influence, Northern influence, the true Midwestern feel, as well as the Eastern influence...We are not Southern, Northern, or Eastern.. we are Missourians.

[STLCardsBlues1989]

Joyce Meyer sounds like some Missourians I've heard. She has a little bit of a southern drawl, but not that bad, not like Arkansas anyway.

[RationalThought]

Growing up in the south (unfortunately) I can say I do not see much of a southern accent in her at all.

I'd also like to point out that there are two separate regions in the south, you have the appalachian accent from around KY, TN, VA, etc. where the accent is much more of that flat "draw" kind of thing as opposed to the deep south accent that is not quite as flat. I DO hear a lot of the appalachian kind of accent a lot in certain parts of Missouri, although not nearly as flat or as heavy on the draw especially in places like Branson, etc. which is HEAVILY southern for some reason.

[stl4man]

Originally Posted by Smtchll

Even without the God talk, he still sounds like some people here in TN. Some people have strong Southern accents, some have flatter Southern accents, which sound similar to that man. His accent wasn't completely Southern, I could still hear some Midwestern accent like when he said "honestly", but he could definitely come to the South and no one would think he was from up North.

The televangelist Joyce Meyer also has a Southern accent, hers is stronger though. I always thought she was from the South and I was very surprised to find out that she's from St. Louis. She might be putting on the Southern accent to appeal to her mostly Southern following. Do you consider this a Southern accent?


YouTube - Trusting God part three 3

Not even close to a Southern accent. How people in Tennessee would think that man from Franklin County isn't from up north is beyond me....especially considering how heavily twanged the accents in Tennessee and Kentucky are compared to that. To counteract your claim, I might guess the guy in Franklin County could be from anywhere around the country just listening to his accent by itself....Joyce Meyer has a St. Louis working class accent....if you listen to Mike Shannon on KMOX he has a very similar accent. It sounds to me like an accent from the Lower Midwest. Maybe a very tiny bit of Southern influence, but so minimal to call it a Southern accent is ridiculous. You compare this to an accent from Louisville and you will notice a tremendous difference. Louisvillians have an accent that is flatter than the average Southern accent but still sounds far more Southern than Midwestern. Not so here. Something else to keep in mind is that Southern Missouri, Southern Illinois, and Southern Indiana, and also Southern Ohio (excluding Cincinnati) all have dialects in which you can hear the Southern drawl somewhat.

[Smtchll]

Originally Posted by stl4man

Not even close to a Southern accent. How people in Tennessee would think that man from Franklin County isn't from up north is beyond me....especially considering how heavily twanged the accents in Tennessee and Kentucky are compared to that. To counteract your claim, I might guess the guy in Franklin County could be from anywhere around the country just listening to his accent by itself....Joyce Meyer has a St. Louis working class accent....if you listen to Mike Shannon on KMOX he has a very similar accent. It sounds to me like an accent from the Lower Midwest. Maybe a very tiny bit of Southern influence, but so minimal to call it a Southern accent is ridiculous. You compare this to an accent from Louisville and you will notice a tremendous difference. Louisvillians have an accent that is flatter than the average Southern accent but still sounds far more Southern than Midwestern. Not so here. Something else to keep in mind is that Southern Missouri, Southern Illinois, and Southern Indiana, and also Southern Ohio (excluding Cincinnati) all have dialects in which you can hear the Southern drawl somewhat.

People in TN have twangs, drawls, flat accents, all kinds...

I asked a few of my friends who are from small TN towns and they said that both the man & Joyce Meyer have Southern accents. They said that the man in the first clip has a stronger Southern accent, which is a surprise to me because I think Joyce has a stronger accent. I have always assumed that Joyce is from the South. I've been to St. Louis several times and most of the people I've heard do not sound like Joyce, they sound more Midwestern. When I think of a St. Louis accent I think of John Goodman, he sounds different from Joyce Meyer.

I think the man in the first clip has what is considered a Lower Midland accent. So basically, his accent has a lot in common with rural areas of the South, especially the Upper South.

[m.melcher09]

Originally Posted by kshe95girl

Ummmmmmm.........no, southern Missouri(bootheel area) is NOT culturally midwestern, have you ever even been there?

yeah ok southern missouri is a little bit

[imperialmog]

In terms of accents as well. I have noticed that there are generational differences in them within the state of Missouri, especially in St. Louis. (Strongest difference is people born before/after 1960 or so)

I just think one of the more fun aspects about here is the fact that there is this mixing of cultures due to the unique history and migration patters that are present. It causes it to make going anywhere else seem different but not too much as to be a shock.