I dislike the Texan accent (San Antonio, Austin: restaurant, moving, venues)

[AlGreen]

Originally Posted by TexasReb

I very much see and agree with your general point, Al Green, but just wanted to quibble a hair by mentioning that just as there is no single "Texas accent", there is no single "Southern accent" either. So to say that most East Texans sound like most other Southerners seems to suggest that most of our southeastern cousins sound the same as well.

As it is, the broad classification of Southern American English embraces so many different sub-dialects as to be staggering. For some reason, probably Hollywood plays a role in it (no pun intended) when people think of a "Southern accent" the sound imagined is that stereotypical "moonlight and magnolias" speech of Gone With the Wind fame (which is silly in itself, as very few of the players were even from the South! LOL).

Oh man, there are even broad differences between north and south Alabama. In fact, one of the most noteable experiences ever related to me was by a distant cousin/friend who was originally from north Alabama. She married and moved with her husband to central Mississippi. She got a job with the school district and shortly after, a co-worker asked where she was from. It was a friendly question and she deflected in the same jocular spirit with "What makes you think I am not from here"?

The other lady said her accent just didn't mark her as from that part of Mississippi. Finally, S. said she was originally from north Alabama. The other smiled and said something like "I was going to guess either north Alabama...or Texas!" LOL

Personally, I think the single most distinguishing thing about Southern American English (which obviously includes most of Texas) is not so much the dialect (although that is a large part of it) but the idiom and the use of double-modals. That is, "fixing-to, might-could, coke for most soft-drinks, the use of the 2nd person plural pronoun y'all, etc"

Here is an interesting link that gives some overview of SAE:

Southern American English - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

i do agree with that for the most part, and there are definitely many different dialects throughout the south. but at the same time, i've heard many folks that speak with a very nondescript, general southern accent. and it's virtually impossible to tell exactly what state they're from just from hearing them speak. but who knows, maybe these folks may have spent their lives throughout different places down south or have different influences around them (i.e. they might've been born and raised in texas, but have a mother from louisiana and a dad from south carolina).

at the same time, i've met people born and raised in the exact same city but speak in seemingly different dialects, which might lead someone to think that they're from two seperate places when in reality, they could've grown up just a few blocks from each other

i guess what i'm saying is, due to varying degrees of influence, you can sometimes hear an accent in one state, and hear someone talking that exact same way in a whole other state. on the other hand, there are certain dialects that are pretty much unique to one area that you won't hear anywhere else

[TexasReb]

Originally Posted by AlGreen

i do agree with that for the most part, and there are definitely many different dialects throughout the south. but at the same time, i've heard many folks that speak with a very nondescript, general southern accent. and it's virtually impossible to tell exactly what state they're from just from hearing them speak. but who knows, maybe these folks may have spent their lives throughout different places down south or have different influences around them (i.e. they might've been born and raised in texas, but have a mother from louisiana and a dad from south carolina).

That is a very good point! Something on a related tangent is that, at least IMHO, is that SAE is probably the most identifiable characteristic of marking someone as being from the South (i.e. Old Confederate and all or parts of certain border states) to those in the rest of the country who might otherwise have no clue in terms of manner, dress, etc.

I mean, my ex-wife (kid's mother) is from Kansas and past g/f was from Ohio. Invariably, when I would open my my mouth among strangers, the first thing said to me (assuming they spoke at all) was something along the lines of "you are from the South, aren't you...?"

*remembering fondly* In fact, MOST of such comments came from dis-placed Southerners Up There who recognized a fellow traveler just by the speech! LOL

at the same time, i've met people born and raised in the exact same city but speak in seemingly different dialects, which might lead someone to think that they're from two seperate places when in reality, they could've grown up just a few blocks from each other

Another good point. I notice this most in larger cities in Texas (and I am pretty sure it is the same throughout the Southern states). I get down to DFW a bit, and if I didnt know any better, I wouldn't know where the hell I was...if speech was the only indicator...

[sxrckr]

Originally Posted by NintendoTogepi

I think it's probably my least favorite.

I don't know why this flame thread wasn't shut down from the start.

[jjshphrd]

[quote=Cupcake77;13187148]I have known a few guys from Geogia and I liked the way they talked. they were soft spoken and it wasn't a strong accent. I just felt really comfortable around them and the way they told jokes with their accent was cute.

In texas I don't find it appealing at all, just a total turn Then leave!

[PanTerra]

Originally Posted by jjshphrd

Fix your tags.

[catman]

Originally Posted by sxrckr

I don't know why this flame thread wasn't shut down from the start.

Agreed. It certainly is silly. As if Texans all have the same accent anyway.

[DanielWayne]

Originally Posted by catman

Agreed. It certainly is silly. As if Texans all have the same accent anyway.

Ain't that the truth. In general - someone from El Paso will sound different from someone from Austin, and again for someone from E. Texas, etc. The nitwit who complained about a Texan accent probably learned about the state through re-runs of Walker, Texas Ranger.

[doctorjef]

I am more and more coming to the conclusion that the critical factor in whether or not a regional accent is perceived as pleasant has to do with the unique vocal characteristics of the speaker. I find that almost any regional accent can be nasalised in certain speakers, with the effect that it almost always sounds bad - to me anyway. I find that twangy accents tend to sound pleasanter than drawly ones, but I suspect that part of that is that the twang and nasal tones tend to be mutually exclusive, whilst drawling and nasalisation aren't incompatible. Around the general neck of the woods where I live now, the accents that I find unpleasant tend to be in women from PA, NJ and Long Island who have a very pinched, slightly nasalised quality to their accents (this is rare in men from the same area IME). So this is a vocal quality that transcends regional accents. An example of a Southern accent that I loathe would be found in former TX Sen. Phil Graham (sp?) (yes, I know he's originally from Georgia or somewhere) -- it's drawly and nasal (a quality that in TX I do think you tend to run onto somewhat more around Lubbock than other places). Contrast that with the twangier, non-nasal accents of most Central Texas natives, which I think are quite a bit pleasanter -- or with the slightly twangy accent of Sen. Lindsey Graham, which is not unpleasant. Maybe the pleasanter male speakers are also tenors, whilst the nasal drawlers have a lower range, and I suspect are likely to be musically tone deaf/monotones.

Consider all of the above just throwing out ideas as I go along. However, this ultimately derives from a friend in Lithuania who, when I mentioned hearing apparently very cultured, educated women in certain restaurants in Vilnius (i.e. they seemed to speak nicer Lithuanian than many Lithuanian men I heard), countered my observation with the contention that this was simply explained by many women having pleasant voices, not that they were more cultured/educated than the male speakers I was hearing. But then I realise that of two equally educated Alabamian men that I might compare, I like the Alabamian accent of one of them and hate the Alabamian accent of the other one -- and I think it boils down to the fact that I find the vocal qualities of one speaker to be pleasant and the other to be abrasive.

[blkgiraffe]

I still to this day have a hard time distinguishing the difference between twang and drawl.

[NCN]

I don't dislike any accent. I find most accents interesting. There are some area traits that make me cringe. But not many. I hate hearing the letter "R" instead of the word "our." It makes you want to tell the person talking to use all the word and not just the last letter.

I don't like the rude "honesty" some say they have where they feel it necessary to explain to you that they don't agree with you about something. If you need to tell someone something you don't agree with for a reason such as "you are about to break your leg," then yes that would be necessary. I can talk to someone all day and never agree or disagree with what they just said. Listening is a skill that those of us who worked with the public had to learn.

There is one QVC hostess that sounds like a duck when she talks. Don't know where she learned to talk like that, but I turn the sound off.

Four letter words hurt my ears. I won't listen to it long. I move on.