Challenging the notion that South Texas isn't Southern (Houston, Dallas: college, plantations)

[S.Allen]

Most people I meet in Houston were not raised here. Most were also not born in Texas.

[Nuclear Bear]

Originally Posted by S.Allen

Most people I meet in Houston were not raised here. Most were also not born in Texas.

True.

Same with Austin.

Houston, Austin and Dallas are now all full of transplants.

San Antonio is full of retired military transplants.

This dilutes the Texan accents that were once prevalent in many parts of Texas.....but in my lifetime I've never heard a bunch of people in Texas with southern acccents unless they were from East Texas.

[S.Allen]

Originally Posted by Nuclear Bear

True.

Same with Austin.

Houston, Austin and Dallas are now all full of transplants.

San Antonio is full of retired military transplants.

This dilutes the Texan accents that were once prevalent in many parts of Texas.....but in my lifetime I've never heard a bunch of people in Texas with southern accents unless they were from East Texas.

I am a native Texan but not a native Houstonian. Mom and Dad were also born in Texas.....Dallas area.



However, when I travel to my brother's place in CA, I have people in his small town 2hrs north of L A ask me where I am from, quite often. Not once do they ask, "are you from Texas?" ... but "Where are you from?"



So I am guessing I do not have that strong of a Texas accent....who knows? LOL

[michaeltx9412]

Originally Posted by Nuclear Bear

True.

Same with Austin.

Houston, Austin and Dallas are now all full of transplants.

San Antonio is full of retired military transplants.

This dilutes the Texan accents that were once prevalent in many parts of Texas.....but in my lifetime I've never heard a bunch of people in Texas with southern acccents unless they were from East Texas.

Yeah, I watched Dallas TV news from the 60s-70s on Youtube (the name of the Youtube channel is SMU Jones Film) and it's crazy how a lot of people back then had noticeable Texas accents.

[S.Allen]

Originally Posted by michaeltx9412

Yeah, I watched Dallas TV news from the 60s-70s on Youtube (the name of the Youtube channel is SMU Jones Film) and it's crazy how a lot of people back then had noticeable Texas accents.

Funny, but I was raised in Dallas and we always laughed at how wrong they got Dallas and the whole accent and culture thingy. The REAL oil biz tycoons were in Houston...not Dallas and nobody talked like that anywhere.


It always amazes me how wrong Hollywood gets Texas...even today. You would think with Hollywood heavy-hitters like Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones, Steve Martin and Matthew McConaughey, they would get Texas right, but I still see terrible stereotypes and accents that sound more like Arkansas than Texas on film and tv.

[Redlionjr]

Originally Posted by Nuclear Bear

True.

Same with Austin.

Houston, Austin and Dallas are now all full of transplants.

San Antonio is full of retired military transplants.

This dilutes the Texan accents that were once prevalent in many parts of Texas.....but in my lifetime I've never heard a bunch of people in Texas with southern acccents unless they were from East Texas.

not all southern accents are created equal though. Hell, Texas has different accents depending on what region. I think Texas has a standard "Texan" accent that people associate the state with but even that varies. I say you find the thickest southern accents in the most rural towns all throughout the state or in in small to mid size cities with a low influx of transplants.

Yes, East Texas has the thickest southern accents and ties to the south. I'm from Northeast Texas so I'm well aware of that connection. And it even gets more distinct the closer you get to the Louisiana/Arkansas border. Marshall/Jefferson/ Atlanta(TX)/Linden/ Waskom/Pittsburg/Uncertain/Karnack are probably more southern than even other cities and towns in East Texas.

Now in Houston where I've lived for over 10 years, it's more common not to hear a southern accent but because of my line of work and the clientele I have(electrical, construction, o&g) I do tend to hear it every now and then. Mostly with older people or Millennials that come from exurbs. I also tend to notice the southern accent is more consistent in the burbs east of Houston. I believe it's the part of the metro that has the less amount of transplants and it shows. First time and only time I drove to Cloverleaf I was taken back how stuck in time it felt compared to the rest of Houston.

[LocalPlanner]

I am a native Houstonian. My parents were transplants in the mid-1960s (from OK, and the Midwest prior to that, though Mom's heritage is a Midwestern/Southern/Southwestern combo). I very much recall Texan-inflected speech being very dominant through my youth. It seemed to change in the 1990s-2000s. People in other parts of the country think I have a Texas accent though I really don't.

[turf3]

I remember in 1980 when I went to Houston for school noting that the speech there was different than Dallas where I grew up, and with a little practice you got to where you could tell people from Clear Lake, League City, Dickinson from those from Rosenberg, or those from Conroe or Huntsville.

[Dopo]

San Antonio Southern?
is that a joke?

Every time I go to San Antonio I feel like I'm in Mexico.

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by S.Allen

Texas is "Southern" only east of I-45.

100% Accurate