Accent

Sylvester · Post by **Sylvester** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 8:29 am

This weekend I drove through Kentucky, passing Lexington and the eastern part of the state. I happened upon a radio show telling stories in an Appalacia format in Lexington. I was floored, the enunciation of the words were very familiar, like the long A's and such. It is hard to explain dialect. Anyway, that is where my parents grew up, and a lot of my neighbors were from in Ohio when I was growing up. Although I haven't lived near that dialect in 20 years, you still know it when you hear it. And believe me this is a very specific dialect that was tranplanted to Ohio. Anyone ever noticed something similar, or has noticed a common dialect/accent?

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 8:31 am

East Virginia, the older folks have a very distinct almost regal southern twang. Can't really explain it but it reminds me of my family way back.

Sylvester · Post by **Sylvester** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 8:43 am

I forgot to add, I live in Atlanta, there really isn't a dialect here. Drive a few hours away and you find it. Plus, my inlaws are from southern Mississippi, there is a HUGE difference in dialect between there and Lexington. I do find myself talking like a Mississippian when I am down there, heh.

PDX_Hops · Post by **PDX_Hops** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 11:13 am

Hey Sylvester,

I know just what you're talking about re: the folks in Ohio. I've got several aunts/uncles/cousins in the Cincinnatti area- the people there have a very distinctive way of shaping their vowels. I've also got family in Kentucky, Tennessee, SC and NC. I love to go on family visits and just listen to everybody talk. The folks out here in OR have a pretty neutral (or no) accent. Both my and my wife's parents and grandparents are in the NC mountains. People that know me say I have "just a hint of something" in my voice, but the twang really comes out after I spend a week with kinfolks (or, to a lesser degree, after you get a few beers in me). I love to hear a southern accent- not just one, it can really differ from place to place. My relatives in KY sound nothing like the ones in NC.

Velokid1 · Post by **Velokid1** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 11:35 am

Definitely... I'm from Indiana and there are many people there with what is typically considered a southern accent from the days when the coal mines shut down and all the folks down Kentucky way migrated north for industrial jobs in the urban areas.

The other one that comes to mind is the Southern California accent. It's impossible to describe in written word I think, but when I hang out with SoCal folks, I always start talking like them.

My in-laws are from South Jersey and they all have a very strange version of a Jersey accent. My favorite one is "wooder." As in, "Oh my gowad! Look at that sunrise reflecting off the wooder! Isn't the ocean beautiful?"

PDX_Hops · Post by **PDX_Hops** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 4:00 pm

I always enjoy listening to old country folks talk when I go back home. Love the accent itself, but I also love how they say what sounds like one word, but it is actually another.

Examples:
"Hit"= "it"
"shore= "sure"

In a sentence:
"Hit shore is hot today!"

Man, I "shore" miss my southern accents. I've been know to tune into Paula Dean on the Food Network for a while just to listen to her talk!

LeeE · Post by **LeeE** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 4:49 pm

"Man, I "shore" miss my southern accents."
I shore agree. I'm in Orlando and almost everyone has moved away, farther north towards the South.
It's "shore" in the SouthEast
It's "shuwa" in the NorthEast
It's "sher" in the Upper Midwest

and I'm not sure about the rest of the country.

Velokid1 · Post by **Velokid1** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 5:45 pm

In Indiana, many of the people (not all) say "ees" instead of "he's."

As in, "Oh, look at Greg... ees got ees bikin' shorts on!"

Sylvester · Post by **Sylvester** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 7:46 pm

Velokid1 wrote:In Indiana, many of the people (not all) say "ees" instead of "he's."

As in, "Oh, look at Greg... ees got ees bikin' shorts on!"

In souther Miss, it would sound like hays, in "Lookit Grag, hays gerin bakin again".

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 7:41 am

Oh oh, you mentioned biking shorts, now Repairman is gonna git all lathered up.......

Velokid1 · Post by **Velokid1** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 10:19 am

Even worse, I mentioned cycling shorts and Indiana in the same post! We're doomed.

Sylvester · Post by **Sylvester** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 12:14 pm

Velokid1 wrote:Even worse, I mentioned cycling shorts and Indiana in the same post! We're doomed.

I think we are ok, his PC is still on the fritz. You do know the definition of a Hoosier is a hillbilly that ran out of gas on his way to Michigan to pick mushrooms.

Velokid1 · Post by **Velokid1** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 1:40 pm

I love it! That's hilarious!

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Accent

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