Any of you Southerners ever adopt a Northern accent?

[lucas80]

This morning I was talking to a business partner down in Pearson, GA, and I found my self shifting heavily into a Southern accent. I caught myself, but not before a co-worker gave me a WTF look? I couldn't help it, the dude is country Southern. It's been 20 years since I moved back to Iowa, but when talking to some people I'll still unconsciously style shift.
Anyone else here notice a change in your speech patterns as you've moved around? Any of you Noles move north of I-70 and change your speech pattern? I know Southerners who have softened a little after moving to Iowa, but they still have a drawl. What about a Southerner moving to Boston or Philly? Think they shift to a hard regional dialect?

 

[BelemNole]

I absolutely shift when I'm around different groups. Don't even notice, although my family has pointed it out.
Funniest was when I worked at Busch Gardens Tampa one summer in college. I worked in the food warehouse and was the only white dude. All blacks and Cubans. By the end of summer I sounded like this guy

New guy started just before I left and he got heated when he heard me. Brothers told him to chill and that I was cool.

 

[GOHOX69]

I absolutely shift when I'm around different groups. Don't even notice, although my family has pointed it out.
Funniest was when I worked at Busch Gardens Tampa one summer in college. I worked in the food warehouse and was the only white dude. All blacks and Cubans. By the end of summer I sounded like this guy

New guy started just before I left and he got heated when he heard me. Brothers told him to chill and that I was cool.

Did you call everyone mang?
My brother's name is Jay and at Cafe Versailles he's forever Hai.

 

[Sharky1203]

Yes, I lived in Minnesota for a while, took a long time when I went back to the south to get rid of the ya-u-betcha, A, etc. crap. Now that I travel everywhere, my Iowa accent is back with just a little southern draw.

 

[torbee]

Only if they are trying to sound "smart"

 

[Finance85]

This morning I was talking to a business partner down in Pearson, GA, and I found my self shifting heavily into a Southern accent. I caught myself, but not before a co-worker gave me a WTF look? I couldn't help it, the dude is country Southern. It's been 20 years since I moved back to Iowa, but when talking to some people I'll still unconsciously style shift.
Anyone else here notice a change in your speech patterns as you've moved around? Any of you Noles move north of I-70 and change your speech pattern? I know Southerners who have softened a little after moving to Iowa, but they still have a drawl. What about a Southerner moving to Boston or Philly? Think they shift to a hard regional dialect?

Did you get that from Hillary Clinton or Brian Kelly?

 

[Formerly Rockymtnole]

Thick southern accents are jarring outside of the South. Hate to say it but I think much of the rest of the country stereotypes people with southern accents, and not in a good way.

 

[GOHOX69]

I speak British and have jeeves trim the crust of my sandwiches before he serves them to me on bespoke silver plates.

 

[hawkeyetraveler]

Thick southern accents are jarring outside of the South. Hate to say it but I think much of the rest of the country stereotypes people with southern accents, and not in a good way.

The one redeeming feature of the southern dialect is “y’all”. In a world where some people get upset by the northern use of “guys” I have adopted y’all as the best way to refer to a group of people without getting my ass handed to me by an overly woke crowd.

 

[Moral]

Thick southern accents are jarring outside of the South. Hate to say it but I think much of the rest of the country stereotypes people with southern accents, and not in a good way.

They are desirable in certain Iowa and Illinois rural areas. They just want to be so damn country. The person with the thickest southern accent I know lives in Illinois. Granted, not too far Kentucky.

 

[GOHOX69]

Paging Brian Kelly and Dana Altman.

 

[BelemNole]

Did you call everyone mang?
My brother's name is Jay and at Cafe Versailles he's forever Hai.

No, back around 1990 in Tampa everyone was 'kid'. Daaamnn kiiiid!!!

 

[The Tradition]

I have learned to mask my southern drawl, but when speaking directly with someone who has the drawl, it just comes roaring back.

I'll catch myself and say, "Self, why are you suddenly talking like Larry the Cable Guy?"

 

[SeaPA]

I was born and raised in a small town, rural area of Central Florida; most of the locals have a southern accent (not hard-core like Bama, georgia...but noticeable). My parents were from Boston and Philly, so my siblings and I do not have the southern drawl.
But when I go on my annual guys golf weekend, where most everyone is a hard core redneck, I sound just like them by Saturday afternoon.
I've never spent any more than a vacation in a Northern state, so no idea if I would parrot that accent and dialog if I was there for an extended period.

 

[TJ8869]

Many years ago I worked for a Japanese company and I gradually adopted a different cadence and tone when I spoke with the Japanese employees in order for them to more easily understand what I was saying. Eventually it just became automatic and I almost didn’t even realize I was doing it.

One day I got a phone call from one of the Japanese guys while I happened to be at my parents’ house. We talked for about 10 minutes and then when the call ended I looked up and noticed that both of my parents were just staring at me. Several seconds went by and I said “What?”.

Several more seconds went by and then finally my Dad said “What the hell was that?”.

/csb

 

[jamesvanderwulf]

I have learned to mask my southern drawl, but when speaking directly with someone who has the drawl, it just comes roaring back.

I'll catch myself and say, "Self, why are you suddenly talking like Larry the Cable Guy?"

Larry the cable guy is from Nebraska I believe..,

 

[wilson reborn]

There are a number of southern accents. I tried to use the South Carolina accent once in a while. Gentile, like Governor McMaster. Most people in Florida coastal areas speak with a NY or Boston accent.

 

[The Tradition]

Larry the cable guy is from Nebraska I believe..,

Yes, he faked his drawl, but did a good job of it.

 

[nolesincebirth]

I grew up in FL panhandle and lived in Mississippi. I then moved to NYC and now live in NJ. I had a pretty good drawl at one point but now it’s gone. Every now and then someone will ask me where I’m from because they can hear it but it’s rare.

But, get me back home around my boys and a few drinks deep and it comes right back.

 

[lucas80]

Many years ago I worked for a Japanese company and I gradually adopted a different cadence and tone when I spoke with the Japanese employees in order for them to more easily understand what I was saying. Eventually it just became automatic and I almost didn’t even realize I was doing it.

One day I got a phone call from one of the Japanese guys while I happened to be at my parents’ house. We talked for about 10 minutes and then when the call ended I looked up and noticed that both of my parents were just staring at me. Several seconds went by and I said “What?”.

Several more seconds went by and then finally my Dad said “What the hell was that?”.

/csb

So, you just talked louder? And, at the end of the call they would say, "I don't speak fluent English, schmuck, I'm not deaf"?

 

[SansAgain]

I know some people find it insulting if you change the way talk to fit in if it’s not authentic. While living in Iowa City around the late 90s I worked with quite few Latinos and they would address me as “pendejo” out of respect. I tried to do same with them and new Latino clients and I just received funny looks and head shakes. I just went back to first names, friend, or bud. Maybe it’s different now.

 

[The Tradition]

I know some people find it insulting if you change the way talk to fit in if it’s not authentic. While living in Iowa City around the late 90s I worked with quite few Latinos and they would address me as “pendejo” out of respect. I tried to do same with them and new Latino clients and I just received funny looks and head shakes. I just went back to first names, friend, or bud. Maybe it’s different now.

I hope that doesn't happen in Hawaii if I say, "aloha" or 'mahalo"... are white guys allowed to say that?

 

[SansAgain]

I hope that doesn't happen in Hawaii if I say, "aloha" or 'mahalo"... are white guys allowed to say that?

Yeah, pendejo means fiend I think. I don’t know what white people can do right.

 

[BelemNole]

I was born and raised in a small town, rural area of Central Florida; most of the locals have a southern accent (not hard-core like Bama, georgia...but noticeable). My parents were from Boston and Philly, so my siblings and I do not have the southern drawl.
But when I go on my annual guys golf weekend, where most everyone is a hard core redneck, I sound just like them by Saturday afternoon.
I've never spent any more than a vacation in a Northern state, so no idea if I would parrot that accent and dialog if I was there for an extended period.

When my brother graduated FSU he interviewed with some accounting firms in Atlanta. They found him too “California“. When he interviewed for the masters program at USC they told him he sounded like a hillbilly. It’s all relative.

 

[OutbackBowl2017]

Not sure about all of you but I love to hear New York or New Jersey people speak and wish to hear more of it down south. I’m sure southerners wish they could speak with that accent. “How you doin?” I just cringe when I visit FL and hear either these people or the Boston accent and in such a loud and obnoxious manner. We were at a bar in south beach area trying to watch games when a bunch of Boston people came in, loud, out of control, harassing the bartender to get them drinks and change the tv over to hockey so they could watch the Bruins. They were so oblivious to their own assholery. But that’s how those people act and role. I despise them.

 

[SansAgain]

Not sure about all of you but I love to hear New York or New Jersey people speak and wish to hear more of it down south. I’m sure southerners wish they could speak with that accent. “How you doin?” I just cringe when I visit FL and hear either these people or the Boston accent and in such a loud and obnoxious manner. We were at a bar in south beach area trying to watch games when a bunch of Boston people came in, loud, out of control, harassing the bartender to get them drinks and change the tv over to hockey so they could watch the Bruins. They were so oblivious to their own assholery. But that’s how those people act and role. I despise them.

Nothing sexier on woman than a hard Boston or Chicago accent. Nails on a chalkboard.

 

[pink shizzle]

Nothing sexier on woman than a hard Boston or Chicago accent. Nails on a chalkboard.

Yeah, that one is horrid. When I hear it I just think to myself:

 

[Jimmy McGill]

As I once heard Tom Brokaw say in person...if you don't have a midwestern accent, you are going to struggle in national news.

 

[biggreydogs]

This morning I was talking to a business partner down in Pearson, GA, and I found my self shifting heavily into a Southern accent. I caught myself, but not before a co-worker gave me a WTF look? I couldn't help it, the dude is country Southern. It's been 20 years since I moved back to Iowa, but when talking to some people I'll still unconsciously style shift.
Anyone else here notice a change in your speech patterns as you've moved around? Any of you Noles move north of I-70 and change your speech pattern? I know Southerners who have softened a little after moving to Iowa, but they still have a drawl. What about a Southerner moving to Boston or Philly? Think they shift to a hard regional dialect?

Ya sure you betcha

 

[SansAgain]

Yeah, that one is horrid. When I hear it I just think to myself:

I’d give Blake Lively’s character in “The Town” a pass.

 

[Hawgk]

I think northern accents are for the most part closer to neutral than most southern accents, so a southerner picking up a bit of a northern dialect is likely to just sound more neutral, whereas a northerner picking up southern dialect is likely to be more noticeable.

Growing up in Iowa, I never noticed an Iowan accent. About 3 years removed I could start picking it up in other people whenever I returned, especially further north of I80. My closest friends in Texas mostly had southern accents (some thick) and I started picking one up in bits and pieces. Caught shit for it whenever I returned to Iowa. Eventually, kids came along and I don’t see the friends with accents nearly as much and my voice has trended back to more neutral. Now I catch shit for the accent being “gone” when I return to Iowa.

 

[Tenacious E]

I think northern accents are for the most part closer to neutral than most southern accents, so a southerner picking up a bit of a northern dialect is likely to just sound more neutral, whereas a northerner picking up southern dialect is likely to be more noticeable.

Growing up in Iowa, I never noticed an Iowan accent. About 3 years removed I could start picking it up in other people whenever I returned, especially further north of I80. My closest friends in Texas mostly had southern accents (some thick) and I started picking one up in bits and pieces. Caught shit for it whenever I returned to Iowa. Eventually, kids came along and I don’t see the friends with accents nearly as much and my voice has trended back to more neutral. Now I catch shit for the accent being “gone” when I return to Iowa.

To me, Iowa sounds neutral. Throw in Nebraska and Illinois outside of Chicago. I guess I think of Iowa as the same as what I hear on the national news. I can hear the Chicago/Wisconsin accent. I can hear the Minnesota thing. I can definitely hear Boston/NY and the south. I wonder if in those places the national news anchors sound funny.

 

[cfbfan23]

This morning I was talking to a business partner down in Pearson, GA, and I found my self shifting heavily into a Southern accent. I caught myself, but not before a co-worker gave me a WTF look? I couldn't help it, the dude is country Southern.

If I was measuring how country/Deep South a town was on a scale of 1-10, the area around Pearson would be an 11. Nothing but peanuts, cotton and timber. The accents are indeed syrupy-thick there. Of course this is pretty much true of anywhere in Georgia once you get out of metro Atlanta……and there are plenty of them there, too.