Our accents. (Norfolk, Richmond, Roanoke: subdivisions, plantation, radio)

[vasinger]

Originally Posted by Pigeonracer

Come to Danville, you'll wonder if you're in Alabama or Kentucky.

I would venture to guess that most people in Danville would sound like they are Virginians.

[Louisvilleslugger]

Here are a few dialect maps I posted earlier. Despite Virginia's influx of non natives it still seems to have the traditional Soutern accent overall.

[vasinger]

Thats true of the old timers. But a lot of younger Virginians have a less distinctive local flavor. But its not just Virginia, probably all over the country.


Although, I have to say, a lot of southerners seem to lose their drawls when going up north, but northerners usually never lose their northern twangs when living in the South.

I know people who have lived here for over 40 years and still sound like they are from Upstate New York.

[chinocal]

In my linguistics class in college they said the American accent was the Californian non-accent. It's the accent you hear when you call 4-1-1 (information) or any other number of recordings. It's supposed to be the preferred and most easily understandable accent in the US. When we were in Virginia the last two summers I noticed the people I heard in the real southern part (like Norfolk) sounded much more "Virginian" than the folks further north, but you could still hear the accent everywhere. Maybe when you're immersed in it you can't hear it as well, but as a tranger in a southern land, I was pretty aware of it all over. My personal thoughts are y'all are charming and I wish the rest of America sounded like you.

[DecayingAngel]

Originally Posted by chinocal

In my linguistics class in college they said the American accent was the Californian non-accent. It's the accent you hear when you call 4-1-1 (information) or any other number of recordings. It's supposed to be the preferred and most easily understandable accent in the US. When we were in Virginia the last two summers I noticed the people I heard in the real southern part (like Norfolk) sounded much more "Virginian" than the folks further north, but you could still hear the accent everywhere. Maybe when you're immersed in it you can't hear it as well, but as a tranger in a southern land, I was pretty aware of it all over. My personal thoughts are y'all are charming and I wish the rest of America sounded like you.

There is a standard form of accent known as "American English". It is the equivalent of the accent in the UK known as "Standard British". Both are what newscasters, most actors etc. learn in order to succeed in their field. It is the accent most associated with either country when one mentions an accent. If you notice a lot of newscasters all over the country sound the same. British actors all have the same accent. I found this out by studying Paul Meier (sp?) who teaches dialects to actors.

[Anigirli]

Originally Posted by vasinger

Theres no such thing as a Non-Accent. So basically, you're saying that everyone is adopting the flat midwestern accent that we hear on TV.

I think its awful. I would rather have regional flavor.

And I've always thought the southern accents in general were a mark of refinement- especially in Richmond, Charleston, and Savannah where it was heavily influenced by the upper crust London speech of the 18th Century.

Of course most of the southern aristocrats in the coastal cities were direct descendants of upperclass Britons, so they spoke similar initially and then it evolved over time. While regular folks spoke differently and in that it created a class conscious society similar to England where people knew which part of the social hiarchy you belonged to.

Charleston's old aristo southern accent also had a bit of Gullah and French thrown in. The Huegonats espacing religious prosecution in France and the colonist from Saint-Domingue who espaced the salve revolt , quickly rose to the upper-echelons of Charlestonian society and left a suttle tone in the accent during the 19th century. Sadly it's rare to find a person today who can speak like this other than a Centenarian socialite.

[richmondpics]

Interesting you mention the Huguenots. They also settled in the Richmond area as well. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe they settled near the Chesterfield/Powhatan border. Today, there's a Huguenot Road as well as a Huguenot Bridge. Makes you wonder if these more marginal groups contributed to the local Richmond accent?

[vasinger]

Originally Posted by richmondpics

Interesting you mention the Huguenots. They also settled in the Richmond area as well. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe they settled near the Chesterfield/Powhatan border. Today, there's a Huguenot Road as well as a Huguenot Bridge. Makes you wonder if these more marginal groups contributed to the local Richmond accent?

The way I was told, Richmond and other southern cities had much more assimilation of ethnicities.

Like most cities in the region, Richmond had very few ethnic neighborhoods, and there was much more homogenization.

In Richmond a German lived next door to Frenchman who lived next door to an Irishmen and so on.

In the large northern cities like Boston, New York, and Philly, they had large ethnic neighborhoods and people didn't step outside those boundaries.

So I would imagine before long, those Hugenots, started sounding like Virginians who spoke English as their first language.

[vasinger]

Originally Posted by DecayingAngel

There is a standard form of accent known as "American English". It is the equivalent of the accent in the UK known as "Standard British". Both are what newscasters, most actors etc. learn in order to succeed in their field. It is the accent most associated with either country when one mentions an accent. If you notice a lot of newscasters all over the country sound the same. British actors all have the same accent. I found this out by studying Paul Meier (sp?) who teaches dialects to actors.

The "standard" accent of America is really midwestern plain and simple.

Back in the 1920s when radio was King, they wanted to decide on a dialect that most everyone could agree as middle America.

They picked one that is commonly heard in the plain states and spread out west to California.

Its called the "Kansas-California" dialect.

However, the Southern accents did come close 2nd in terms of the speech people wanted to hear.

Least favorite were the Brooklyn/New York accents.

[shirleyp777]

I am looking to learn the "old Virginian" way of speaking. The eloquent southern style you used to hear all the time. I am trying to find information, preferably free, to learn how to talk with that old, southern, slow drawl for a part in a movie. I have to learn it very quickly and I am looking for something I can possibly type in the dialogue and hear it said in that accent. Any suggestions?