Missouri...Southern or Midwestern? (St. Louis, Springfield: tropical climate, farms, claim)

[aragx6]

Originally Posted by onegoalstl

again memphis is a major city. It seems major cities lack southern accents.

Times I've been to Atlanta did not hear much in the way of a southern accent.

Really? My family in Atlanta sounds like the damn Dixie Chicks! Y'all and fixin' and yes ma'am and the like. SUPER southern.

Atlanta also has a ton of transplants, so that may well have something to do with it.

[aragx6]

Originally Posted by CantWait2Leave

My husband and I just got back from visiting our family in KC. We spent some time in St. Louis and had a blast! Anyway, I've lived in CA my whole life and moved to Nashville 6 months ago. We both agreed that it seemed Missouri was definitely midwestern and not southern, yet no one had that midwestern accent. I have family in MN and he has family in IA and they have STRONG accents.

I went to Mizzou's J-School, and they told us natives from Day 1 that we had a huge advantage if we wanted to go the broadcast journalism route because we already spoke with the flat midwestern accent that's considered industry standard.

I honestly was in middle school before I understood the concept that we had an accent -- I was like "but I talk like the people on the TV!

[kshe95girl]

Originally Posted by aragx6

I went to Mizzou's J-School, and they told us natives from Day 1 that we had a huge advantage if we wanted to go the broadcast journalism route because we already spoke with the flat midwestern accent that's considered industry standard.

I honestly was in middle school before I understood the concept that we had an accent -- I was like "but I talk like the people on the TV!

I went there, too....boy, was I shocked when they told us about the accent advantage!

[Smtchll]

Originally Posted by onegoalstl

again memphis is a major city. It seems major cities lack southern accents.

Times I've been to Atlanta did not hear much in the way of a southern accent.

It's not that most people in Memphis dont have a Southern accent, I think most do, at least slightly. (although a decent amount of natives really dont have a Southern accent) It's the fact that the American media mostly uses a General American accent, similar to what you'd hear in most of Missouri and other parts of the Midwest. That's probably why my friends think that most people in St. Louis just sound "normal"

[GunnerTHB]

Originally Posted by aragx6

I went to Mizzou's J-School, and they told us natives from Day 1 that we had a huge advantage if we wanted to go the broadcast journalism route because we already spoke with the flat midwestern accent that's considered industry standard.

I honestly was in middle school before I understood the concept that we had an accent -- I was like "but I talk like the people on the TV!

Who do they consider to be "natives"? If it's the state as a whole I'm pretty sure I would start at quite a bit of a disadvantage if I were to pursue that route. lol

[kshe95girl]

Originally Posted by GunnerTHB

Who do they consider to be "natives"? If it's the state as a whole I'm pretty sure I would start at quite a bit of a disadvantage if I were to pursue that route. lol

Believe it or not, the STL accent is highly prized in the TV journalism world.
Seems as though there isnt as much effort involved to transition to a very neutral accent.

[onegoalstl]

Originally Posted by GunnerTHB

Who do they consider to be "natives"? If it's the state as a whole I'm pretty sure I would start at quite a bit of a disadvantage if I were to pursue that route. lol

Probably the metro or nothern areas of the state. I doubt southeast Missouri, or the Ozarks would be at such an advantage.

Also to the OP large cities seem to have a lot of transplants from all over the place. Guess because of the large companies people move to where the jobs are.

[GunnerTHB]

Originally Posted by kshe95girl

Believe it or not, the STL accent is highly prized in the TV journalism world.
Seems as though there isnt as much effort involved to transition to a very neutral accent.

I see. Even when I try to talk more "neutral" people still notice an accent if I'm away from home . lol

[onegoalstl]

Originally Posted by kshe95girl

Believe it or not, the STL accent is highly prized in the TV journalism world.
Seems as though there isnt as much effort involved to transition to a very neutral accent.

Even though many St. Louis natives have the nasal accent, and say farty four? Kathleen England the traffic report is a classic example of the Stl nasal sound.

I wonder what causes Stl area natives to have a slightly different accent than others?

Could it because it is such a diverse city from so many different cultures due to its location bordering north/south, east/west? I mean you have the East, northern, southern, and western cultures.

You have the Germans who settled here, Irish, southern English people, and the French.

Could that be a reason why St. Louisan's say certain words diffrently due to all the cultures?

[GunnerTHB]

Originally Posted by onegoalstl

Even though many St. Louis natives have the nasal accent, and say farty four? Kathleen England the traffic report is a classic example of the Stl nasal sound.

I wonder what causes Stl area natives to have a slightly different accent than others?

Could it because it is such a diverse city from so many different cultures due to its location bordering north/south, east/west? I mean you have the East, northern, southern, and western cultures.

You have the Germans who settled here, Irish, southern English people, and the French.

Could that be a reason why St. Louisan's say certain words diffrently due to all the cultures?

No southern culture in St. Louis. Period.