Is there an "accent" in Florida? (Jacksonville, Miami: transplants, YMCA)

[macjr82]

Isn't FL the only state where the majority of the residents weren't born there? I have a Gunny that's from Orlando, and he's as country as they come, has an accent and everything. he says orlando from when he was a kid was still the country, nothing but Orange Groves/farm work which is why he joined the Marine Corps.

I hope the same thing that's happened in South Florida doesn't happen in the Triangle in NC, which is the new hot spot for old New Englander's to retire to, and young ones to relocate to.

[salmanalk]

I thought everybody is retiring in panama or costa rica??

[ferret111]

Originally Posted by TANaples

When we drove back from Orlando to Naples, my husband decided to take secondary roads, not I-75. Scenic route he said. We drove through, and stopped at, some very, very small towns. I think the map said Polk County? The people there DID have very southern accents. In fact I said to my husband, it felt more like being in South Carolina than Florida.

A lot of people say "Southern" Florida exists only in the Panhandle. That's not true, in my opinion. The South exists all over the state, just not in most urban areas. Florida really is quite rural in parts, with tons of small towns. You just won't get the feeling of the South in most urban areas.

[duttygal86]

This is an old post, so I apologize for bringing it back to life, for those of you who dont appreciate that kinda stuff, but I jus' hafta add sumnthin'....

The Southern Accent in Florida is ALIVE and WELL, just not inside of Tampa, Orlando, Miami-Ft Lauderdale, and the SW Coast retirement communities. You can hear the accent all throughout Florida, especially in rural areas, IE the Everglades, Duval County, All the Counties Bordering the Ocala National Forest, Polk County, PLANT CITY, and Lower Alabama...oops I mean the Panhandle.......You can go to Holiday Florida (just North of Tampa) and hear it......You can hear it amongst most African Americans (except for the transplant AA Ny'ers) and from most rural caucasian people. Its a little more rough than the sing-songy Georgia Peach type Southern Accent, We also tend to drop words completely out of sentences, and we do tend to speak somewhat faster than the Southerners to the North, but I have been in Baltimore for a month, and my head is spinnin' at how fast these people go from one sentence to another.Whew! Its a workout just listenin' to 'em 'n' tryna' figure out whatndasam hell th'yre sayin'?

Most of us native, younger Floridians can turn the accent on and off at will. I flow between several different accents because of my multiracial background, and my daughter is even more amazing at going froma Floribbean Accent to a Southern One.

[acejka]

Since you brought it back, I might as well comment since the site emailed me.

I got to take a roadtrip through more of the state in January.

I definitely heard an accent around the panhandle, and through more of the "country" part of the state while we were on the road.

When we finished up and got to Orlando, it was gone.

[NativeFloridan]

This Collier County native and County Commissioner has an unmistakable Southern accent (Collier is extreme South Florida).


YouTube - PART 7 - COLLIER COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS MEETING - THE JACKSON LAB - OCTOBER 12, 2010

[Rabflmom]

Born and raised in NE Illinois; but when I go back people comment on my southern accent. When I go to my husbands home state of Tennessee , they notice I don't have a southern accent. I have lived with my husband longer than I lived in Illinois so I have picked up some of his way of saying words and when his family gets together I notice the accent just automatically comes out. My sons born and raised in Florida don't really have an accent, but do slip into the easy Tn Southern twang when with cousins just because it makes them feel more like part of the family.

But among ourselves at home, I really don't think we have an accent. We say some words sort of Southern, some with the a of Chicago, some with a Spanish hint, some with a Jamaican hint because of our "adopted Jamaican mom/grandma who is part of our family because of living next door to each other for 15 years, and some just plain American. LOL
In this day and age, I don't think it is region you live in that influences the way your words sound, but the people you surround yourself with in your life. TV took the regional stuff out of our lives some.

[Alyzza]

> I thought everybody is retiring in panama or costa rica??

Funny you should mention that… i'm going to panama in october to see what it might be like to live there..

As for accents in Florida, when you get into some of the smaller towns there's a cracker accent which sounds like a cross between southern and texan. I agree with the further you go north the more 'southern' it gets. As for here, nah…

[NowInGreenville]

There is definitely an accent in Florida, and you can find it in Orlando on the outskirts to the North, South, East and West. To the north, in Sanford the accent can be found pretty easily. In and around Apopka to the west, Bithlo and Geneva to the east, and St. Cloud, Narcosse to the South.

I was born in Orlando, but both parents are from Boston. Growing up a lot of my friends had southern accents, but ironically my friends were from North Carolina and Virginia, not Florida. As an adult today, I don't speak with any accent so I'm told, but can slip into a slight southern accent quickly if speaking to someone from "down south".

[southernboy1221]

i was born in collier county and i have some what of an accent i say stuff like down nere and crick and sum ***** stuff like that and goodn fixn just regular southern slang i picked up from my ma and dad all my friends call me redneck, southern boy **** like that cuz of where i come from and im proud uh that