How come the only country accents i hear from ppl who are from NJ are only singers. (Clifton: pre-school, living)

[FromDaSack]

I never see a NJ native talk widda country/southern accent.. accept Springsteen and Bon Jovi... what are they, Fakin it?

[BobKovacs]

When have you heard Springsteen or Bon Jovi with a "country accent"???? And why on earth would you expect anyone from NJ to have a "southern accent"? "South Jersey" isn't actually a part of "the south"......lol

[gmboy559]

Well, technically I live below the Mason-Dixon line, but it_is a little humorous to expect a southern accent in New Jersey.

[Badfish740]

Originally Posted by gmboy559

Well, technically I live below the Mason-Dixon line, but it_is a little humorous to expect a southern accent in New Jersey.

Southern? Definitely not. Definitely different though. Rural people in New Jersey talk differently than suburban/urban people. This goes for north and south. Folks who live up in the hills (I mean natives, not people who moved out from Clifton 10 years ago) in Sussex, Warren, and Hunterdon don't talk like suburbanites from Caldwell or West Orange. Likewise, Pineys from Tabernacle and farmers from Woodstown don't talk like folks from Mount Laurel or Cherry Hill. It's as much word usage, inflection, and a difference in speed as it is accent. People have told me that my grandmother sounds like she's from the South but she's lived her entire life in Burlington and Mercer Counties-however, most of that life was spent on farms in small towns. Call it more "blue collar" or "working class" sounding, but whatever it is its definitely different.

[EEEPNJ]

I don't think they have Southern accents...

[Zebra Pimp]

I think its just a rural-type accent, not southern.. if that makes any sense.

[Diane Giam]

I know some people from Creme Ridge, near six flags that speak in a "hick Accent" . It's not sounthern, and to me it sounds kind of low class, and uneducated.

Diane G

[njkate]

Originally Posted by Diane Giam

I know some people from Creme Ridge, near six flags that speak in a "hick Accent" . It's not sounthern, and to me it sounds kind of low class, and uneducated.

Diane G

Creme Ridge?? low class and uneducated?? Creme Ridge is in the heart of Jersey horse country...living there is not cheap

[Badfish740]

Originally Posted by Diane Giam

I know some people from Creme Ridge, near six flags that speak in a "hick Accent" . It's not sounthern, and to me it sounds kind of low class, and uneducated.

Once again the glaring bias against the working class rears its ugly head on the New Jersey forums. It's also ironic that you mention that people from "Creme Ridge" sound uneducated. It's spelled C-R-E-A-M Ridge. We're getting together with some friends this weekend from Bordentown. He's a marine mechanic originally from Forked River and she's a pre-school teacher. Maybe I should comment on how his "hick accent" is so low class and uneducated Diane, if you're actually a real person who actually lives in Tennessee, why the hell did you move there?

Anyway, this thread has got me thinking a bit-here are some "rural Jerseyisms" that I've come to know and love:

"Fluke" - Flounder
"Goin flukin" - Fluke fishing
"Scrub pine" - Virginia Pine-found in the New Jersey Pine Barrens
"Piney" - Everyone knows this one
"Sugar sand" - Very soft, deep, sand found in the Pine Barrens that is VERY easy to get hopelessly stuck in
"Sneakbox" - Small coffin-like boat used for hunting waterfowl in bays and marshlands
"Garvey" - Homemade plywood boat
"Sand road" - Unpaved road in the Pine Barrens
"Ruff" - Roof
"Chimley" - Chimney

I guess this type of language sounds "uneducated" because of the dropped "G"s ("huntin and fishin" not "hunting and fishing"), slower speech, the tendency of words to run together at times (eg: My grandmother will say "I'm goin back over the house," instead of "I'm going back to my house."), and the frequent use of double negatives ("That don't make no sense," instead of "That doesn't make any sense."), but nevertheless, it's an informal pattern of speech that, for better or worse, is used by the working class and rural people of New Jersey. However, "low class" and "uneducated" are not accurate in either respect many times. I have friends who are highly educated in the trades who speak in this manner-and they make a good living. Not to mention the fact that they are good, hardworking people who I feel privileged to call friends. Funny, this past Saturday I was at the 2008 Diesel Truckin Nationals at Englishtown Raceway and there were lots of these "low class" and "uneducated" folks there. Many of them (excavators, freight haulers, etc...) brought their $100,000+ trucks and equipment out to show and race, and a good time was had by all.

[FromDaSack]

Yea so i got it now.. i meant by "southern accent" was it sounds simaler..

Because i never lived in rural jersey, and the accents i hear are what non-jerseyites consider an NY accent or a regular all around accent.

I have the jersey accent or the better known "NY" accent, but when i was in i think lakewood, or somewhere near there, i was talkin to kids my age and they kept tellin me to say certain words like "dog" "talk" the basic stuff.

I guess cuz they're young they don't see it as much but.. but i never went through that where i live. hah im the third generation in north jersey so thats probably why i still got it.. i never really think about it tho unless i hear a different american accent.