Southern accents in Virginia (Virginia Beach, Richmond: living in, beach, area)

[Mount of Counti Christo]

I don't think "YA'LL" at all is common to the Virginia "southern" vernacular. Comments on this? From my travels in WNC, "you-ens" was used with some frequency. As in: "Whatch youens getting into today?"

[JayJayCB]

Originally Posted by Mount of Counti Christo

I don't think "YA'LL" at all is common to the Virginia "southern" vernacular. Comments on this? From my travels in WNC, "you-ens" was used with some frequency. As in: "Whatch youens getting into today?"

Sounds accurate. "Y'all" is still pretty common across NC, even among younger kids in the major urban areas that are less southern than the rural areas. Even if you don't have a strong southern accent, you'll still say "y'all." I know someone from Lynchburg, VA and he doesn't really have a strong southern accent at all, plus a few around NOVA but that area really isn't southern anymore. However, I have a few relatives who live near Clarksville, VA just on the VA side of the NC/VA border (north of Raleigh) and they have southern accents, but it's different from a lot of the accents you hear in NC. I've heard "you-ens" but mostly among people from rural areas of NC. So overall, I'd say the stereotypical southern accent is a lot more prominent in NC compared to VA, and it's definitely more extreme once you get down to South Carolina and Georgia.

[lammius]

Originally Posted by JayJayCB

Heading north through Virginia, what is the last area where southern accents are prominent? Be as specific as you want, name any counties or towns.

Somewhere around Cross Junction, VA methinks.

[FabianS]

In parts of Southwestern NOVA/Fauquier you can still hear the old local accent. It's pretty unique compared to North Carolina etc. If you've ever heard Vince Gilligan(creator of Breaking Bad) talk you've heard a version of it.

[Charlesaf3]

Originally Posted by JayJayCB

I'm still curious to find the last area going north through Virginia where southern accents are prominent, maybe Fredericksburg? Or, maybe you find a specific Virginia accent throughout the whole state.

I very rarely hear a southern accent in Richmond. Say once a week or so. Richmond sounds and feels like nova now. Only without the traffic thankfully

[JayJayCB]

Originally Posted by Charlesaf3

I very rarely hear a southern accent in Richmond. Say once a week or so. Richmond sounds and feels like nova now. Only without the traffic thankfully

Really? That's pretty interesting, maybe it's just the Civil War/Confederate history and the tobacco industry but I've always envisioned Richmond as a southern city, in fact the last major southern city on the east coast if you're going north. In VA, once you get to NOVA, you're definitely out of the south. Maybe all the southern accents are below Richmond, because that area is not too dissimilar from NC and you definitely still hear southern accents across NC, even the major urban areas like the Triangle and Charlotte.

[Charlesaf3]

Originally Posted by JayJayCB

Really? That's pretty interesting, maybe it's just the Civil War/Confederate history and the tobacco industry but I've always envisioned Richmond as a southern city, in fact the last major southern city on the east coast if you're going north. In VA, once you get to NOVA, you're definitely out of the south. Maybe all the southern accents are below Richmond, because that area is not too dissimilar from NC and you definitely still hear southern accents across NC, even the major urban areas like the Triangle and Charlotte.

Yeah, Richmond used to be southern, now you're more likely to hear Spanish than a southern accent. Lots of move downs from nova, and northeasterners like me.

NC is noticeably southern still to my mind

[JayJayCB]

Originally Posted by Charlesaf3

Yeah, Richmond used to be southern, now you're more likely to hear Spanish than a southern accent. Lots of move downs from nova, and northeasterners like me.

NC is noticeably southern still to my mind

True, but overall, I still consider Virginia to be a southern state. North Carolina is more southern than Virginia in general, you'll definitely hear more accents in NC as opposed to VA.

[murksiderock]

I don't know how many times I've repeated myself on this site....

I spent my 8th grade year in Memphis. Even at that age, everyone at my middle school told me I "sounded weird". One of my best friends that year even told me "you ain't from the South, you're from Virginia". Lol its funny how preteens and teens pick up on dialects and disassociated mine and my brother's from a Southern sounding one...

@Charlesaf is right on point. I haven't visited home since October 2012, but when I was last there I only heard on person with a real Southern accent, a receptionist at the hotel I was staying at by the airport....

I've been telling people as long as I've been on this site that there are plenty of Richmond commuters to Nova, and vice-versa. Not only were my parents in this demographic, but I knew other people as well. Realistically, for all intents and purposes, when Richmond is only a 4 - minute drive to Fredricksburg, and a 95 - minute drive to The City on a good day, how southern in dialect and character do you expect it to retain in modern America? I grew up here, and all this extra stuff about Richmond ' s Southern heritage has very little impact on the region today. I'm only 24, so I'm speaking of recent history when I talk about Nova and Richmond....

Petersburg and the Tri - Cities are weird. Physically, Petersburg looks just like Richmond. There's the sections with narrow, dense streets and rowhouses, then there's the sections with single family homes, less dense. Phonetically, Petersburg definitely carries a stronger Southern tone, but interestingly enough, I'd compare Petersburg-Hopewell ' accent more to the Tidewater. Either way you cut it, it's not the same type of Southern accent you'll find in Emporia or Danville. I've been to Emporia several times, and have known people from Danville. Those towns are "country" compared to even Petersburg, in both accent and physical appearance....

When will City - data start listening to people (NATIVES) who know better?

[Kbank007]

I have lived in the Lynchburg, Farmville, Nottoway, and Tidewater areas of VA (Norfolk, Chesapeake, Hampton). Also, I frequently visited Richmond when I was younger (once per week). The accents are fairly different in each area of VA. Lynchburg still retains more of the traditional central VA accent mixed with the southwest mountain accent, while many in Farmville/Nottoway have southside VA accents that sound slightly more traditionally southern. However, I remember a few kids from Rocky Mount and Raleigh went to school with me in Nottoway and they were mocked about how southern they sounded. The Piedmont/eastern NC accents normally sound different and more like what you would hear in Georgia compared to the VA accents. For example, I noticed some people I have met from NC tend to pronounce "help" kind of like "hey-ulp" if that makes sense. When I moved to the Tidewater area (Chesapeake) from central/southside VA in HS a few people told me I had a southern accent. The Tidewater accents that can be heard from some people today (especially AA's) sounds very similar to the accents heard in the DC area. I have met many AA's from the Tidewater area who have accents similar to what you would hear in Philly also. Other people from the 757 area speak with more of a southern drawl, but the accent is still extremely distinct from the eastern NC accents of Rocky Mount/Elizabeth City. I have worked with people from Eastern NC and some of them were teased about their southern accents in Newport News/Hampton area. Some people I have met from NC insist that NC is completely different than VA and is the real south compared to VA. Basically, many of the VA accents are southern, but some people from further south don't detect the accents as being southern.