Southerners and their interesting pronunciations of words

May 2024 · 12 minute read

It's peculiar how they often cut 2 syllable words into one. Example "roy-al" becomes "rohl"

they also often elongate 1 syllable words into two. Example "bed" becomes "be-yead"

they pronounce a lot of "e" letters as "i" Example: "tension" becomes "tinsion"

what gives?

by Anonymousreply 63January 17, 2020 8:47 PM

Insurance and lawyer are two words I always notice among southers. . IN surance and LAW yer.

by Anonymousreply 1January 14, 2020 4:09 AM

"Aah have an aah-lash in mah aah"

by Anonymousreply 2January 14, 2020 4:09 AM

R1, how else is “lawyer” pronounced?

by Anonymousreply 3January 14, 2020 4:11 AM

My dad always pronounced "you" as "ye". And our 3 syllable last name was chopped to sound like "arnt-un".

by Anonymousreply 4January 14, 2020 4:16 AM

Because a lot of English folks went to the south. English actors gave an easier time doing the southern accent because it's cadence is closer.

Not like Scandi influenced Minnesota. I wonder if that's how English from 200 years ago sounded in England. Like when Japanese who immigrated from Japan to America 100 years ago speak a very old fashioned Japanese. It's a time capsule in a way.

Sometimes Australian sounds almost like Texan with how the words lean into each other. I wonder what culture influenced the hard R at the end of American words. It would be so nice to be God and rewind time and watch everything all go down.

by Anonymousreply 5January 14, 2020 4:20 AM

If ye don't like how we do things heee'n 'murica, ye ken git out!

by Anonymousreply 6January 14, 2020 4:20 AM

Do southerners tend to pronounce "battery" as though it has only two syllables? Or is it just the one I keep hearing it from?

by Anonymousreply 7January 14, 2020 4:21 AM

I think most Amreicans pronounce lawyer more like "loy-er" r3. Southerners say the first part just like the word "law."

by Anonymousreply 8January 14, 2020 4:22 AM

There's a difference between the Southern states Some have that Blanche Deveroux sing talk and others sound like a month full of mumble got er done.

by Anonymousreply 9January 14, 2020 4:23 AM

R8, why wouldn’t “law” be pronounced “law”?

by Anonymousreply 10January 14, 2020 4:25 AM

I don't know why it is that way, I was just making an observation. But I guess that means it's Northerners who have the "interesting" pronunciation, since "law" seems more intuitive.

by Anonymousreply 11January 14, 2020 4:29 AM

You ought to take a linguistics class, OP. You could learn all about different regional dialects, their origin language and why/how certain words are pronounced so differently, yet spelled the same. If you're actually interested and not just asking to shit all over one group of people, it's a fascinating subject of study.

by Anonymousreply 12January 14, 2020 4:35 AM

Not OP, but care to share any of your insights, R12?

by Anonymousreply 13January 14, 2020 4:39 AM

People think that Southerners speak more slowly because they draw out their vowel sounds. In studies it has been proven that New Yorkers speak just as slowly, but stretch out different sounds.

To the Texan sounding like Australian idea above, when I was a travel agent and was dealing with people all over the world, Australians asked me if I was a New Zealander in America and the New Zealanders asked me if I was an Australian in America.

by Anonymousreply 14January 14, 2020 4:40 AM

But Northerners do speak faster than Southerners. It’s exhausting to listen to them.

by Anonymousreply 16January 14, 2020 4:52 AM

And Jersey people

And Bronx people

And Minnesotans

I'm fascinated by different accents

by Anonymousreply 17January 14, 2020 4:55 AM

Everything I know about regional dialects I learned from The Golden Girls.

by Anonymousreply 18January 14, 2020 4:56 AM

I was always perplexed as to why Sicilian immigrant Sofia Petrillo spoke like a Borscht Belt comedian. Perhaps she learned English at the Condord?

by Anonymousreply 19January 14, 2020 12:17 PM

The Southern accent is closer to what British English sounded like in the 17th century than what it appears to sound like now.

by Anonymousreply 20January 14, 2020 12:41 PM

There is no "THE" southern accent. There are literally hundreds if not thousands of different accents throughout the south.

by Anonymousreply 21January 14, 2020 12:58 PM

Just like the British accent has a royal version, so does the Southern accent- the Charleston version is royal.

by Anonymousreply 22January 14, 2020 1:11 PM

Another division thread...pathetic.

by Anonymousreply 24January 14, 2020 2:07 PM

I fully admit, as a southern Californian where we technically have no accent (I think the Pacific Northwest is the cleanest American accent, but we are close), I LOVE all other accents. When I travel to the south, I could just listen to whoever I encounter talk forever. Ditto Boston. Ditto New Jersey.

I might have a fetish.

by Anonymousreply 25January 14, 2020 2:08 PM

Anybody who thinks they have no accent is WRONG. All people have an accent.

by Anonymousreply 26January 14, 2020 2:10 PM

Not sure what ya mean, OP.

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by Anonymousreply 28January 15, 2020 10:09 AM

"Are you blond?" means "Are you blind?"

by Anonymousreply 29January 15, 2020 10:58 AM

[quote]I was always perplexed as to why Sicilian immigrant Sofia Petrillo spoke like a Borscht Belt comedian. Perhaps she learned English at the Condord?

She probably lived in Brooklyn where the Jewish and Italian neighborhoods were close together and there was interaction creating a distinct "Brooklyn" accent.

by Anonymousreply 30January 15, 2020 11:07 AM

I grew up in the burbs in northern NJ close to NYC people always ask me if I'm from Denver or CA. I thought I sounded like everyone in my town.

by Anonymousreply 31January 15, 2020 11:10 AM

The Philly / South Jersey accent on a masculine guy is hot

by Anonymousreply 32January 15, 2020 11:10 AM

R25 I too like regional accents my mother grew up in Boston and never lost her accent, I also enjoy my partners southern accent which becomes more pronounced when we are in the Deep South.

by Anonymousreply 33January 15, 2020 11:14 AM

Oh I'm a yankee transplant in Georgia. People love my accent by the way.

by Anonymousreply 34January 15, 2020 12:47 PM

My late mother was a blue blooded Savannah steel magnolia who had a very elegant southern accent. She never met an "R" she could pronounce. In 1966 we went on vacation to England for 12 days. After hearing my mother speak many people wanted to know when she left Britain for the states because they just assumed she was British born and bred.

by Anonymousreply 35January 15, 2020 1:23 PM

I notice that in New England the R is either not pronounced, or it is sounded like a D. For example, Putter vs. Puddah or Puttah. Dart vs. Dot.

by Anonymousreply 36January 15, 2020 1:30 PM

My friends from South Carolina pronounce right as rat, night as nat and doll as dowel.

One of them made the joke, "Just show me on the dowel where he touched you". I had no idea what he was talking about.

by Anonymousreply 37January 15, 2020 1:37 PM

North Carolina: grits vs. gray-ettes. From a book on how to talk like you are from North Carolina. Wish I had kept it.

by Anonymousreply 38January 15, 2020 1:42 PM

OP is from Boston, right?....

by Anonymousreply 39January 15, 2020 2:49 PM

The only people who would call grits "gray-ettes" are some uneducated goober who lives in a trailer at the end of a dirt road with junk cars all over the yard. That's a stereotypical pronunciation you'll only find on some stupid TV show.

by Anonymousreply 40January 15, 2020 4:32 PM

[quote]some uneducated goober who lives in a trailer at the end of a dirt road with junk cars all over the yard.

Y’all call me?

by Anonymousreply 41January 15, 2020 4:52 PM

The only person I've ever heard say "gray-ettes" was Polly Holliday on Alice. And her accent on that show was so exaggerated as to be laughable.

by Anonymousreply 42January 15, 2020 5:40 PM

I’m not southern but I catch myself pronouncing “winter” as “winner” and “milk” as “melk” and “human” as “youman.”

by Anonymousreply 43January 16, 2020 3:26 PM

I think the southern accent has changed a lot. when I was in high school in the 60's a girl moved into our area on Long Island from OK. There was only 1 person in the entire school who could understand what she was saying. (there were 1,000 kids in the school) The girl that did understand her went with her to all her classes with her so she could translate for the teachers. It took 3 months before she could pronounce words clear enough for others to understand.

Their drawl doesn't seem as pronounced as it once was.

by Anonymousreply 44January 16, 2020 3:43 PM

It's interesting that "ya'll" has become ubiquitous all over the country. So it appears the southern dialect(s) have more influence than some give credit for.

by Anonymousreply 45January 16, 2020 3:44 PM

Greenville/Spartanburg SC airport used to be called the Jet-poet

by Anonymousreply 46January 16, 2020 3:51 PM

I've picked up on "him" morphing into "'eem" throughout various regions in the south, but more recently have noticed it as far north as southern Illinois, and parts of Indiana.

During the impeachment hearings, I even caught Gym Shoe Jordan use it several times. It must also be somewhat common in Ohio and Pennsylvania as well. Is this originally an authentic southern thing, or something else entirely?

by Anonymousreply 47January 16, 2020 4:44 PM

R44, Oklahoma is not the south. I guess high school didn’t take in your case...

by Anonymousreply 48January 16, 2020 4:51 PM

Remember how George W Bush used to pronounce "terror" as "terrrr"? And "Afghanistan" as "Iraq"?

by Anonymousreply 49January 16, 2020 4:56 PM

R48 I would be in agreement with you, however many Americans disagree whether or not it is to be officially considered the Midwest Plains, or the Southwest. I lean toward those both, yet linguistics state their dialect to be southern in many parts....I'm British, so I defer, yet I do NOT consider it "The South" either.

by Anonymousreply 50January 16, 2020 4:56 PM

There are different Southern accents depending on which state you're from my friends from Georgia and Texas sound different from my partner who's from Mississippi. Perhaps some of the southern DLers who are more knowledgeable can describe the differences.

by Anonymousreply 51January 16, 2020 5:01 PM

Many people not from the South (and some who are) confuse a southern accent with a country accent...

by Anonymousreply 52January 16, 2020 5:05 PM

R48 As a Southern Studies Minor, the first week of every course was spent defining which states we would accept as Southern for that course. The eleven states of the former Confederacy was a given, the debate was over West Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma, and Missouri. The subject of the course usually decided which states were included. When the focus was on language Oklahoma was almost always included. Just listen to some famous Okies such as Reba, it is clear that she speaks with a Southern accent.

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by Anonymousreply 53January 16, 2020 5:14 PM

[quote] R44, Oklahoma is not the south. I guess high school didn’t take in your case...

You mean you couldn’t tell just by his writing?

by Anonymousreply 54January 16, 2020 5:16 PM

I took a very popular course taught by a husband and wife historian team which covered the accents of North Carolina. There are something like 23 and they all are discernible to me now. We had bad roads until after WWII so they persisted due to isolation.

The High Tiders out on the Outer Banks speak with an accent which sounds like a Scottish brogue. It’s disappearing.

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by Anonymousreply 55January 16, 2020 6:08 PM

I had to stop at an airport in North Carolina for a brief layover. I swear they weren't speaking English.

by Anonymousreply 56January 16, 2020 7:54 PM

Those who have mentioned above that current Southern American English probably sounds like what British English sounded like in the 1700s is spot on. I read that in some study somewhere once. Can't remember where. My husband grew up in West London and any time we're in the US everyone thinks he's Australian. Apparently many of the initial prisoners from England who were sent to Australia were from the area he grew up in. As for me, I grew up in Minnesota and while I don't get accused of having a MN accent much anymore, when my parents visit me in the UK, no one can understand where in the world they might be from. They are pure Cohen Brothers full-on MN accent. Love it.

by Anonymousreply 57January 16, 2020 8:29 PM

Oklahoma most certainly is "south", it's just not the "southeast". There are 3 southern sections to the USA. Southwest, South Central (Oklahoma is part of this region), and Southeast.

by Anonymousreply 58January 16, 2020 8:56 PM

[quote] There are different Southern accents depending on which state you're from

Actually there are different accents depending on what area of whichever state you're from. Here in Georgia there are more regional Georgia accents than I can count.

by Anonymousreply 59January 16, 2020 8:59 PM

We ain’t talk funny in Texas.

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by Anonymousreply 60January 16, 2020 9:53 PM

R38 the Charlotte accent makes me want to cry blood. It’s a special breed of awful.

“Speekon’ uh’ shooduhn, Mayn - ruhmaymbr thait da-yee way broke ay-oat thuh guh-urns?”

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by Anonymousreply 61January 16, 2020 10:14 PM

R52/R53 Would you two deem 'eem as country, or truly Southern?

by Anonymousreply 62January 17, 2020 1:09 AM

R19 / R30 - my sainted Italian American (first generation) grandma lived most of her life in Brooklyn and said “Oy vey” about a hundred times a day. She also called everyone “doll” which I loved.

by Anonymousreply 63January 17, 2020 8:47 PM

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