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91-617: A diversity of earlier Southern dialects once existed: a consequence of the mix of English speakers from the British Isles (including largely English and Scots-Irish immigrants ) who migrated to the American South in the 17th and 18th centuries, with particular 19th-century elements also borrowed from the London upper class and enslaved African-Americans. By the 19th century, this included distinct dialects in eastern Virginia,

182-577: A New York accent than with other Southern accents, due to commercial ties and cultural migration between the two cities. Since at least the 1980s, this local New Orleans dialect has popularly been called " Yat ", from the common local greeting "Where you at?". Some features that the New York accent shares with the Yat accent include: Yat also lacks the typical vowel changes of the Southern Shift and

273-545: A High Tider (or "Hoi Toider") accent, including: The people of the major central ( Piedmont ) and eastern ( Tidewater ) regions of Virginia, excluding Virginia's Eastern Shore , once spoke in a way long associated with the upper or aristocratic plantation class in the Old South . Additional phonological features of this Atlantic Southern variety included: Southern Louisiana , as well as some of southeast Texas ( Houston to Beaumont ), and coastal Mississippi , feature

364-489: A High Tider (or "Hoi Toider") accent, including: The people of the major central ( Piedmont ) and eastern ( Tidewater ) regions of Virginia, excluding Virginia's Eastern Shore , once spoke in a way long associated with the upper or aristocratic plantation class in the Old South . Additional phonological features of this Atlantic Southern variety included: Southern Louisiana , as well as some of southeast Texas ( Houston to Beaumont ), and coastal Mississippi , feature

455-473: A distance between the speaker's claim and the hearer. It serves to soften obligations or suggestions, make criticisms less personal, and to overall express politeness, respect, or courtesy. Southerners also often use " evidential " predicates such as think, reckon, believe, guess, have the feeling, etc.: Evidential predicates indicate an uncertainty of the knowledge asserted in the sentence. According to Johnston (2003) , evidential predicates nearly always hedge

546-424: A huge movement of non-Southerners into the area during the 1990s. Modern-day Charleston speakers have leveled in the direction of a more generalized Midland accent (and speakers in other Southern cities too like Greenville, Richmond, and Norfolk), away from the city's now-defunct, traditional Charleston accent , whose features were "diametrically opposed to the Southern Shift... and differ in many other respects from

637-469: A laid-back, plain, or humble attitude. The accent is also associated nationwide with the military , NASCAR , and country music . Furthermore, non–Southern American country singers typically imitate a Southern accent in their music. The sum of negative associations nationwide, however, is the main presumable cause of a gradual decline of Southern accent features, since the middle of the 20th century onwards, particularly among younger and more urban residents of

728-497: A mix of the speech of these and later immigrants from many different regions of the British Isles , who moved to the American South in the 17th and 18th centuries, as well as perhaps the English, creole, and post-creole speech of African and African-American slaves. One theory of historian David Hackett Fischer 's book Albion's Seed is that, since indentured servants chiefly from England's South and Midlands primarily settled

819-442: A mix of the speech of these and later immigrants from many different regions of the British Isles , who moved to the American South in the 17th and 18th centuries, as well as perhaps the English, creole, and post-creole speech of African and African-American slaves. One theory of historian David Hackett Fischer 's book Albion's Seed is that, since indentured servants chiefly from England's South and Midlands primarily settled

910-562: A more regionally unified Southern American English . Meanwhile, among Black Southerners, these dialects transformed into a fairly stable African-American Vernacular English , now spoken nationwide among Black people. Certain features unique to older Southern U.S. English persist today, like non-rhoticity , though typically only among Black speakers or among very localized White speakers. This group of American English dialects evolved over two hundred years, from older varieties of British English , primarily spoken by those who initially settled

1001-453: A number of dialects influenced by other languages beyond English. Most of southern Louisiana constitutes Acadiana , dominated for hundreds of years by monolingual speakers of Cajun French , which combines elements of Acadian French with other French and Spanish words. This French dialect is spoken by many of the older members of the Cajun ethnic group and is said to be dying out, although it

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1092-402: A number of dialects influenced by other languages beyond English. Most of southern Louisiana constitutes Acadiana , dominated for hundreds of years by monolingual speakers of Cajun French , which combines elements of Acadian French with other French and Spanish words. This French dialect is spoken by many of the older members of the Cajun ethnic group and is said to be dying out, although it

1183-490: A range from obligated to forbidden and are mostly used as markers of politeness in requests whereas epistemic modals refer to probabilities from certain to impossible. Multiple modals combine these two modalities. People from the South often make use of conditional or evidential syntaxes as shown below (italicized in the examples): Conditional syntax in requests: Conditional syntax in suggestions: Conditional syntax creates

1274-610: A renewal among primarily male speakers born since the 1970s, who have been the most attracted by, and the biggest attractors of, a successful Cajun cultural renaissance. The accent includes: Cajun English is not subject to the Southern Vowel Shift. A separate historical English dialect from the above Cajun one, spoken only by those raised in the Greater New Orleans area, is traditionally non-rhotic and noticeably shares more pronunciation commonalities with

1365-430: A row ( might could, might should, might would, used to could, etc.--also called "modal stacking") and sometimes even triple modals that involve oughta (like might should oughta ) The origin of multiple modals is controversial; some say it is a development of Modern English , while others trace them back to Middle English and others to Scots-Irish settlers. There are different opinions on which class preferably uses

1456-753: Is a diverse set of American English dialects of the Southern United States spoken most widely up until the American Civil War of the 1860s, before gradually transforming among its White speakers , first, by the turn of the 20th century, and, again, following the Great Depression , World War II , and, finally, the Civil Rights Movement . By the mid-20th century, among White Southerners, these local dialects had largely consolidated into, or been replaced by,

1547-487: Is a geographic term, "Southern dialect" may also encompass dialects developed among other social or ethnic groups in the South. The most prominent of these dialects is African-American Vernacular English (AAVE), a fairly unified variety of English spoken by working and middle-class African-Americans throughout the United States. AAVE exhibits a relationship with both older and newer Southern dialects, though there

1638-851: Is experiencing a minor resurgence among younger Franco-Louisianaise. A related language called Louisiana Creole also exists. The older English of Southern Louisiana did not participate in certain general older Southern English phenomena, for example lacking the Plantation South's trap–bath split and the fronting of / aʊ / . New Orleans English was likely developing in the early 20th century, in large part due to dialect influence from New York City migrants in New Orleans. A project devised by Old Dominion University Assistant Professor Dr. Bridget Anderson entitled Tidewater Voices: Conversations in Southeastern Virginia

1729-651: Is experiencing a minor resurgence among younger Franco-Louisianaise. A related language called Louisiana Creole also exists. The older English of Southern Louisiana did not participate in certain general older Southern English phenomena, for example lacking the Plantation South's trap–bath split and the fronting of / aʊ / . New Orleans English was likely developing in the early 20th century, in large part due to dialect influence from New York City migrants in New Orleans. A project devised by Old Dominion University Assistant Professor Dr. Bridget Anderson entitled Tidewater Voices: Conversations in Southeastern Virginia

1820-449: Is known for some unique vocabulary: long sandwiches are often called poor boys or po' boys , woodlice/roly-polies called doodle bugs , the end of a bread loaf called a nose , pedestrian islands and median strips alike called neutral ground , and sidewalks called banquettes . Discussion of "Southern dialect" in the United States sometimes focuses on those English varieties spoken by white Southerners; However, because "Southern"

1911-491: Is not yet a broad consensus on the exact nature of this relationship. The historical context of race and slavery in the United States is a central factor in the development of AAVE. From the 16th to 19th centuries, many Africans speaking a diversity of West African languages were captured, brought to the United States, and sold into slavery. Over many generations, these Africans and their African-American descendants picked up English to communicate with their white enslavers and

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2002-402: Is spoken by many older Cajun ethnic group members and is said to be dying out. A related language, Louisiana Creole French , also exists. Since the early 1900s, Cajuns additionally began to develop their vernacular dialect of English , which retains some influences and words from French, such as "cher" (dear) or "nonc" (uncle). This dialect fell out of fashion after World War II but experienced

2093-536: Is still documented as widespread as of the 2006 Atlas of North American English . Specifically, the Atlas definitively documents a Southern accent throughout Virginia , North Carolina , South Carolina (except Charleston ), Georgia (though not particularly in Atlanta ), Alabama , Mississippi , Tennessee , Kentucky , Arkansas , Louisiana (alongside Cajun and New Orleans accents ), southern West Virginia ,

2184-580: Is the trap–bath split , which also helped define the eastern Virginia accent in its British-style imitation. The split was also adopted in the Gulf, Appalachian, and plantation regions of the South, though with their own articulation distinct from the British one. The feature is extinct in virtually all these areas today. By the time of the American Civil War in the 1860s, many different Southern accents had developed, namely: eastern Virginia accents (including

2275-474: Is the trap–bath split , which also helped define the eastern Virginia accent in its British-style imitation. The split was also adopted in the Gulf, Appalachian, and plantation regions of the South, though with their own articulation distinct from the British one. The feature is extinct in virtually all these areas today. By the time of the American Civil War in the 1860s, many different Southern accents had developed, namely: eastern Virginia accents (including

2366-534: Is used to say that something exists (rather than saying where it is located). The construction can be found in Middle English as in Marlowe 's Edward II : "Cousin, it is no dealing with him now". Standard English has a strict word order . In the case of modal auxiliaries , standard English is restricted to a single modal per verb phrase . However, some Southern speakers use double or more modals in

2457-715: The Civil Rights Movement . By the mid-20th century, among White Southerners, these local dialects had largely consolidated into, or been replaced by, a more regionally unified Southern American English . Meanwhile, among Black Southerners, these dialects transformed into a fairly stable African-American Vernacular English , now spoken nationwide among Black people. Certain features unique to older Southern U.S. English persist today, like non-rhoticity , though typically only among Black speakers or among very localized White speakers. This group of American English dialects evolved over two hundred years, from older varieties of British English , primarily spoken by those who initially settled

2548-623: The Jacksonville area of northern Florida , the Springfield area of southern Missouri , and much of Texas . Other 21st-century scholarship further includes within the dialect region southern Maryland , eastern and southern Oklahoma , central West Virginia, the rest of northern Florida and southern Missouri, and southeastern New Mexico . The Atlas , furthermore, documents the South Midland accent as sharing key features with

2639-612: The US Department of Energy at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee offered a voluntary "Southern accent reduction" class so that employees could be "remembered for what they said rather than their accents". The course offered accent neutralization through code-switching . The class was canceled because of the resulting controversy and complaints from Southern employees, who were offended by

2730-542: The cot–caught merger is very close to completed. Some sub-regions of the South, and perhaps even a majority of the biggest cities, are showing a gradual shift away from the Southern accent (toward a more Midland or General American accent) since the second half of the 20th century to the present. Such well-studied cities include Houston, Texas , and Raleigh, North Carolina ; in Raleigh, for example, this retreat from

2821-602: The creoles and pidgins spoken by Black Caribbeans. There is also evidence of some influence of West African languages on the vocabulary and grammar of AAVE. It is uncertain to what extent current white Southern English borrowed elements from early AAVE, and vice versa. Like many white accents of English once spoken in Southern plantation areas—namely, the Lowcountry, the Virginia Piedmont, Tidewater, and

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2912-551: The pin–pen merger that is commonly heard elsewhere throughout the South. Yat is associated with the working and lower-middle classes, and a spectrum of speech patterns with fewer notable Yat features is often heard among those of higher socioeconomic status; such New Orleans affluence is associated with the New Orleans Uptown and the Garden District , whose speech patterns are sometimes considered distinct from

3003-433: The pin–pen merger , and the most defining sound of the current Southern accent (though rarely documented in older Southern accents): the glide weakening of /aɪ/ . However, while this glide weakening has triggered among white Southerners a complicated "Southern Vowel Shift", African-American speakers in the South and elsewhere are "not participating or barely participating" in much of this shift. AAVE speakers also do not front

3094-401: The "Inland South" as a large linguistic sub-region of the South located mostly in southern Appalachia (specifically naming the cities of Greenville, South Carolina, Asheville, North Carolina, Knoxville and Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Birmingham and Linden, Alabama), inland from both the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts, and the originating region of the Southern Vowel Shift. The Inland South, along with

3185-406: The "Texas South" (an urban core of central Texas: Dallas , Lubbock , Odessa , and San Antonio ) are considered the two major locations in which the Southern regional sound system is the most highly developed, and therefore the core areas of the current-day South as a dialect region. The accents of Texas are diverse, for example with important Spanish influences on its vocabulary; however, much of

3276-473: The 1760s to 1780s, major population centers of the coastal American South, such as Norfolk, Virginia and Charleston, South Carolina maintained strong commercial and cultural ties to southern England and London. Thus, as the upper-class standard dialect around London changed, some of its features were mirrored by: the dialects of upper-class Americans in eastern Virginia and the Charleston area, followed by

3367-414: The 1760s to 1780s, major population centers of the coastal American South, such as Norfolk, Virginia and Charleston, South Carolina maintained strong commercial and cultural ties to southern England and London. Thus, as the upper-class standard dialect around London changed, some of its features were mirrored by: the dialects of upper-class Americans in eastern Virginia and the Charleston area, followed by

3458-529: The American Civil War – and the subsequent national abolition of explicitly racial slavery in the 19th century – many newly freed African Americans and their families remained in the United States. Some stayed in the South, while others moved to join communities of African-American free people living outside of the South. Soon, racial segregation laws followed by decades of cultural, sociological, economic, and technological changes such as WWII and

3549-505: The South entirely. The main result, further intensified by later upheavals such as the Great Depression , the Dust Bowl and perhaps World War II , is that a newer and more unified form of Southern American English consolidated, beginning around the last quarter of the 19th century, radiating outward from Texas and Appalachia through all the traditional Southern States until around World War II. This newer Southern dialect largely superseded

3640-726: The South, best documented before the Civil War , on the decline during the early 1900s, and non-existent in speakers born since the civil rights movement . Little unified these older Southern dialects since they never formed a single homogeneous dialect region to begin with. Some older Southern accents were rhotic (most strongly in Appalachia and west of the Mississippi ), while the majority were non-rhotic (most strongly in plantation areas); however, wide variation existed. Some older Southern accents showed (or approximated) Stage 1 of

3731-542: The South. In a study of children's attitudes about accents published in 2012, Tennessee children from five to six were indifferent about the qualities of persons with different accents, but children from Chicago were not. Chicago children from five to six (speakers of Northern American English ) were much more likely to attach positive traits to Northern speakers than Southern ones. The study's results suggest that social perceptions of Southern English are taught by parents to children and exist for no biological reason. In 2014,

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3822-498: The South. Most of the Southern United States underwent several major sound changes from the beginning to the middle of the 20th century, during which a more unified, region-wide sound system developed, markedly different from the sound systems of the 19th-century Southern dialects. The South as a present-day dialect region generally includes all of the pronunciation features below, which are popularly recognized in

3913-506: The Southeastern fronting of /oʊ/ and the status of the pin–pen merger is highly variable. Non-rhoticity ( r -dropping) is now rare in these cities, yet still documented in some speakers. Most of southern Louisiana constitutes Acadiana , a cultural region dominated for hundreds of years by monolingual speakers of Cajun French , which combines elements of Acadian French with other French and Spanish words. Today, this French dialect

4004-650: The Southern States. Also, before World War II, the demographic tendency of the South was out-migration, but after the war a counter-tendency emerged, with the South receiving masses of migrant workers from the North, especially toward urban areas: another possible motivation for the abandonment of older Southern accent features. Finally, the Civil Rights Movement seems to have led White and Black Southerners alike to resist accent features associated with

4095-460: The Southern States. Also, before World War II, the demographic tendency of the South was out-migration, but after the war a counter-tendency emerged, with the South receiving masses of migrant workers from the North, especially toward urban areas: another possible motivation for the abandonment of older Southern accent features. Finally, the Civil Rights Movement seems to have led White and Black Southerners alike to resist accent features associated with

4186-820: The Southern Vowel Shift—;namely, the glide weakening of /aɪ/ —however, it is virtually unreported before the very late 1800s. In general, the older Southern dialects lacked the Mary–marry–merry , cot–caught , horse–hoarse , wine–whine , full–fool , fill–feel , and do–dew mergers , all of which are now common to, or encroaching on, all varieties of present-day Southern American English. Older Southern sound systems included those local to the: These grammatical features are characteristic of both older and newer Southern American English. Standard English would prefer "existential there ", as in "There's one lady who lives in town". This construction

4277-403: The Southern accent but to a weaker extent; these features extend across all of Texas, Oklahoma, and West Virginia as well as eastern and central Kansas , southern Missouri, southern Indiana , southern Ohio , and possibly southern Illinois . African-American accents across the United States have many common points with Southern accents due to the strong historical ties of African Americans to

4368-476: The Southern highlands and Piney Woods , as in yesterday they riz up, come outside, drawed, and drownded , as well as participle forms like they have took it, rode it, blowed it up, and swimmed away . Drug is traditionally both the past tense and participle form of the verb drag . Y'all is a second-person singular pronoun that used to refer to a single group . It is originally a contraction  – you all. Southern Louisiana English especially

4459-636: The Tidewater Virginia region and poor Northern English and Ulster Scots families primarily settled the Southern backcountry , the Tidewater and backcountry (now, Appalachian) dialects were most directly influenced by those two immigrant populations, respectively. Indeed, the Appalachian dialect shows such likely immigrant influences as evidenced by, for example, their preservation of rhoticity . However, linguists have disputed many of

4550-451: The Tidewater Virginia region and poor Northern English and Ulster Scots families primarily settled the Southern backcountry , the Tidewater and backcountry (now, Appalachian) dialects were most directly influenced by those two immigrant populations, respectively. Indeed, the Appalachian dialect shows such likely immigrant influences as evidenced by, for example, their preservation of rhoticity . However, linguists have disputed many of

4641-533: The Tidewater accent), Lowcountry (or Charleston) accents, Appalachian accents , plantation accents (those primarily of the Black Belt region), and accents among secluded Pamlico and Chesapeake islands . After the Civil War, the growth of timber, coal, railroad, steel, textile, and tobacco mill industries throughout the South, along with the whole country's resulting migration changes, likely contributed to

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4732-418: The Tidewater accent), Lowcountry (or Charleston) accents, Appalachian accents , plantation accents (those primarily of the Black Belt region), and accents among secluded Pamlico and Chesapeake islands . After the Civil War, the growth of timber, coal, railroad, steel, textile, and tobacco mill industries throughout the South, along with the whole country's resulting migration changes, likely contributed to

4823-486: The United States as making up a "Southern accent". The following phonological phenomena focus on the developing sound system of the 20th-century Southern dialects of the United States that altogether largely (though certainly not entirely) superseded the older Southern regional patterns. However, there is still variation in Southern speech regarding potential differences based on factors like a speaker's exact sub-region, age, ethnicity, etc. William Labov et al. identify

4914-533: The United States were diverse. The following pronunciation features were very generally characteristic of the older Southern region as a whole: Older speech of the Plantation South included those features above, plus: Due to the former isolation of some regions of the Appalachian South, a unique Appalachian accent developed. This dialect is rhotic, meaning speakers consistently preserve

5005-400: The United States were diverse. The following pronunciation features were very generally characteristic of the older Southern region as a whole: Older speech of the Plantation South included those features above, plus: Due to the former isolation of some regions of the Appalachian South, a unique Appalachian accent developed. This dialect is rhotic, meaning speakers consistently preserve

5096-680: The accent appears to have begun around 1950. Other sub-regions are unique in that their inhabitants have never spoken with the Southern regional accent, instead having their distinct accents. The Atlas of North American English identified Atlanta, Georgia , as a dialectal "island of non-Southern speech", Charleston, South Carolina , likewise as "not markedly Southern in character", and the traditional local accent of Savannah, Georgia , as "giving way to regional [Midland] patterns", despite these being three prominent Southern cities. The dialect features of Atlanta are best described today as sporadic from speaker to speaker, with such variation increased due to

5187-581: The area. Given that language is an entity that is constantly changing, the English varieties of the colonists were quite different from any variety of English spoken today. In the early 1600s, the initial English-speaking settlers of the Tidewater area of Virginia, the first permanent English colony in North America, spoke a variety of Early Modern English , which itself was diverse. The older Southern dialects thus originated in varying degrees from

5278-462: The area. Given that language is an entity that is constantly changing, the English varieties of the colonists were quite different from any variety of English spoken today. In the early 1600s, the initial English-speaking settlers of the Tidewater area of Virginia, the first permanent English colony in North America, spoke a variety of Early Modern English , which itself was diverse. The older Southern dialects thus originated in varying degrees from

5369-515: The assertions and allow the respondents to hedge theirs. They protect speakers from the social embarrassment that appears, in case the assertion turns out to be wrong. As is the case with conditional syntax, evidential predicates can also be used to soften criticisms and to afford courtesy or respect. In the United States, the following vocabulary is mostly unique to, or best associated with, Southern U.S. English: Unique words can occur as Southern nonstandard past-tense forms of verbs, particularly in

5460-654: The cities of Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia , once constituted its own entirely unique English dialect region. Traditionally often recognized as a Charleston accent , it included these additional features, most of which no longer exist today: The " Down East " Outer Banks coastal region of Carteret County, North Carolina , and adjacent Pamlico Sound , including Ocracoke and Harkers Island , are known for additional features, some of which are still spoken today by generations-long residents of its unincorporated coastal and island communities, which have largely been geographically and economically isolated from

5551-654: The cities of Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia , once constituted its own entirely unique English dialect region. Traditionally often recognized as a Charleston accent , it included these additional features, most of which no longer exist today: The " Down East " Outer Banks coastal region of Carteret County, North Carolina , and adjacent Pamlico Sound , including Ocracoke and Harkers Island , are known for additional features, some of which are still spoken today by generations-long residents of its unincorporated coastal and island communities, which have largely been geographically and economically isolated from

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5642-447: The class since it stigmatized Southern accents. Older Southern American English Older Southern American English is a diverse set of American English dialects of the Southern United States spoken most widely up until the American Civil War of the 1860s, before gradually transforming among its White speakers , first, by the turn of the 20th century, and, again, following the Great Depression , World War II , and, finally,

5733-557: The distinctive words used in Appalachia have their origins in the Anglo-Scottish border region, a more realistic comparison is the way that some people in North America would have spoken in the colonial period. Researchers have noted that the dialect retains a lot of vocabulary with roots in " Early Modern English " owing to the make-up of the early European settlers to the area. The Lowcountry , most famously centering on

5824-434: The distinctive words used in Appalachia have their origins in the Anglo-Scottish border region, a more realistic comparison is the way that some people in North America would have spoken in the colonial period. Researchers have noted that the dialect retains a lot of vocabulary with roots in " Early Modern English " owing to the make-up of the early European settlers to the area. The Lowcountry , most famously centering on

5915-490: The expansion of a more unified Southern accent (now associated with the 20th century), which gradually ousted 19th-century Southern accents. The South's 19th-century linguistic prestige was rooted in the plantation areas and higher-class White people, including features such as non-rhoticity. However, by the mid-20th century, linguistic features originating from Texas, Appalachian towns, and lower-class White people—such as rhoticity—were suddenly expanding throughout all

6006-490: The expansion of a more unified Southern accent (now associated with the 20th century), which gradually ousted 19th-century Southern accents. The South's 19th-century linguistic prestige was rooted in the plantation areas and higher-class White people, including features such as non-rhoticity. However, by the mid-20th century, linguistic features originating from Texas, Appalachian towns, and lower-class White people—such as rhoticity—were suddenly expanding throughout all

6097-546: The greater Lowcountry area surrounding Charleston, the Appalachian upcountry region, the Black Belt plantation region, and secluded Atlantic coastal and island communities. Following the American Civil War , as the South's economy and migration patterns fundamentally transformed, so did Southern dialect trends. Over the next few decades, Southerners moved increasingly to Appalachian mill towns, to Texan farms, or out of

6188-497: The historical phoneme /r/ . Moreover, Appalachians may even insert it innovatively into certain words (for example, "worsh" or "warsh" for "wash"). The Southern Appalachian dialect could be heard, as its name implies, in north Georgia , north Alabama , east Tennessee , northwestern South Carolina , western North Carolina , eastern Kentucky , southwestern Virginia , western Maryland , and West Virginia . Southern Appalachian speech patterns, however, are not entirely confined to

6279-497: The historical phoneme /r/ . Moreover, Appalachians may even insert it innovatively into certain words (for example, "worsh" or "warsh" for "wash"). The Southern Appalachian dialect could be heard, as its name implies, in north Georgia , north Alabama , east Tennessee , northwestern South Carolina , western North Carolina , eastern Kentucky , southwestern Virginia , western Maryland , and West Virginia . Southern Appalachian speech patterns, however, are not entirely confined to

6370-414: The increasing prevalence of mass media further complicated the relationship between AAVE and all other English dialects. Modern AAVE retains similarities to older speech patterns spoken among white Southerners. Many features suggest that it largely developed from nonstandard dialects of colonial English as spoken by white Southern planters and British indentured servants, plus a more minor influence from

6461-520: The lower Mississippi Valley—the modern-day AAVE accent is mostly non-rhotic (or " r -dropping"). The presence of non-rhoticity in both AAVE and old Southern English is not merely coincidence, though, again, which dialect influenced which is unknown. It is better documented, however, that white Southerners borrowed some morphological processes from Black Southerners. Many grammatical features were used alike by white speakers of old Southern English and early AAVE, more so than by contemporary speakers of

6552-431: The lower-class Yat dialect. Before becoming a phonologically unified dialect region, the South was once home to an array of much more diverse accents at the local level. Features of the deeper interior Appalachian South largely became the basis for the newer Southern regional dialect; thus, older Southern American English primarily refers to the English spoken outside of Appalachia: the coastal and former plantation areas of

6643-604: The main body of Southern dialects". The Savannah accent is also becoming more Midland-like. The following vowel sounds of Atlanta, Charleston, and Savannah have been unaffected by typical Southern phenomena like the Southern drawl and Southern Vowel Shift: Today, the accents of Atlanta, Charleston, and Savannah are most similar to Midland regional accents or at least Southeastern super-regional accents . In all three cities, some speakers (though most consistently documented in Charleston and least consistently in Savannah) demonstrate

6734-425: The mountain regions previously listed. The dialect here is often thought to be a window into the past, with various claims having been made that it is either a surviving pocket of Elizabethan English or the way that the people of Scotch-Irish origin that make up a large fraction of the population there would have spoken back when they first migrated and settled there. However, these are both incorrect. Though some of

6825-425: The mountain regions previously listed. The dialect here is often thought to be a window into the past, with various claims having been made that it is either a surviving pocket of Elizabethan English or the way that the people of Scotch-Irish origin that make up a large fraction of the population there would have spoken back when they first migrated and settled there. However, these are both incorrect. Though some of

6916-465: The older and more diverse local Southern dialects, though it became quickly stigmatized in American popular culture. As a result, since around the 1950s and 1960s, the notable features of this newer Southern accent have been in a gradual decline, particularly among younger and more urban Southerners, though less so among rural white Southerners. Despite the slow decline of the modern Southern accent, it

7007-443: The other racial group and even develop newly distinguishing features, which may have further contributed to the sudden mid-20th-century adoption of rhoticity among White Southerners of all classes, despite continuing non-rhoticity among Black Americans. Today, this linguistic divide on the basis of rhoticity (and other accent features) largely persists between Black versus White Southerners. The phonologies of early Southern English in

7098-443: The other racial group and even develop newly distinguishing features, which may have further contributed to the sudden mid-20th-century adoption of rhoticity among White Southerners of all classes, despite continuing non-rhoticity among Black Americans. Today, this linguistic divide on the basis of rhoticity (and other accent features) largely persists between Black versus White Southerners. The phonologies of early Southern English in

7189-527: The regional dialects of these areas in general, regardless of socioeconomic class. One such example accent feature is the " r -dropping" (or non-rhoticity ) of the late 18th and early 19th century, resulting in the similar r -dropping found in these American areas during the cultural " Old South ". Contrarily, in Southern areas away from the major coasts and plantations (like Appalachia), on certain isolated islands, and variously among lower-class White speakers, accents mostly remained rhotic. Another example feature

7280-527: The regional dialects of these areas in general, regardless of socioeconomic class. One such example accent feature is the " r -dropping" (or non-rhoticity ) of the late 18th and early 19th century, resulting in the similar r -dropping found in these American areas during the cultural " Old South ". Contrarily, in Southern areas away from the major coasts and plantations (like Appalachia), on certain isolated islands, and variously among lower-class White speakers, accents mostly remained rhotic. Another example feature

7371-528: The rest of North Carolina and the South since their first settlement by English-speaking Europeans. The same is true for the very similar dialect area of the Delmarva (Delaware–Maryland–Virginia) Peninsula and neighboring islands in the Chesapeake Bay , such as Tangier and Smith Island . These two regions historically share many common pronunciation features, sometimes collectively called

7462-410: The rest of North Carolina and the South since their first settlement by English-speaking Europeans. The same is true for the very similar dialect area of the Delmarva (Delaware–Maryland–Virginia) Peninsula and neighboring islands in the Chesapeake Bay , such as Tangier and Smith Island . These two regions historically share many common pronunciation features, sometimes collectively called

7553-473: The same two varieties. Even so, contemporary speakers of both continue to share these unique grammatical features: "existential it ", the word y'all , double negatives , was to mean were , deletion of had and have , them to mean those , the term fixin' to , stressing the first syllable of words like hotel or guitar , and many others. Both dialects also continue to share these same pronunciation features: /ɪ/ tensing , /ʌ/ raising, upgliding /ɔ/ ,

7644-549: The specifics of Fischer's theory, instead arguing that dialect-mixing in both regions was in fact more varied and widespread. For example, an Appalachian Journal linguistic article reveals the flawed premises and misrepresentation of sources in Albion's Seed and asserts that the early Southern dialects are actually difficult to trace to any singular influence. In the decades following the American Revolution of

7735-427: The specifics of Fischer's theory, instead arguing that dialect-mixing in both regions was in fact more varied and widespread. For example, an Appalachian Journal linguistic article reveals the flawed premises and misrepresentation of sources in Albion's Seed and asserts that the early Southern dialects are actually difficult to trace to any singular influence. In the decades following the American Revolution of

7826-434: The state is still an unambiguous region of modern rhotic Southern speech, strongest in the cities of Dallas, Lubbock, Odessa, and San Antonio, which all firmly demonstrate the first stage of the Southern Shift, if not also further stages of the shift. Texan cities that are noticeably "non-Southern" dialectally are Abilene and Austin; only marginally Southern are Houston, El Paso, and Corpus Christi. In western and northern Texas,

7917-461: The term. Atwood (1953) for example, finds that educated people try to avoid multiple modals, whereas Montgomery (1998) suggests the opposite. In some Southern regions, multiple modals are quite widespread and not particularly stigmatized. Possible multiple modals are: As the table shows, there are only possible combinations of an epistemic modal followed by deontic modals in multiple modal constructions. Deontic modals express permissibility with

8008-778: The two racial groups "to stigmatize linguistic variables associated with the other group". This may explain some of the differences outlined above, including why most traditionally non-rhotic white Southern accents have shifted to become intensely rhotic. In the United States, there is a general negative stigma surrounding the Southern dialect. Non–Southern Americans tend to associate a Southern accent with lower social and economic status, cognitive and verbal slowness, lack of education, ignorance, bigotry, or religious or political conservatism, using common labels like " hick ", " hillbilly ", or " redneck accent". Meanwhile, Southerners themselves tend to have mixed judgments of their accent, some similarly negative but others positively associating it with

8099-412: The vowel starting positions of /oʊ/ and /u/ , thus aligning these characteristics more with the speech of 19th-century white Southerners than 20th-century white Southerners. Another possible influence on the divergence of AAVE and white Southern American English (i.e., the disappearance of older Southern American English ) is that historical and contemporary civil rights struggles have over time caused

8190-455: The white servants that they sometimes worked alongside, and they also used English as a bridge language to communicate with each other in the absence of another common language. There were also some African Americans living as free people in the United States, though the majority lived outside of the South due to Southern state laws which enabled white enslavers to "recapture" anyone not perceived as white and force them into slavery. Following

8281-544: Was initiated in late 2008. In collecting oral histories from natives of the area, this study offers insight to not only specific history of the region, but also to linguistic phonetic variants native to the area as well. This linguistic survey is the first of its kind in nearly forty years. The two variants being analyzed the most closely in this study are the /aʊ/ diphthong as in house or brown and post-vocalic r -lessness as in /ˈfɑðə/ for /ˈfɑðər/ . Older Southern American English Older Southern American English

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