Regional accents thrive in U.S. -- but is that a good thing?

[alp227]

(CNN) -- Hours of TV each day. The internet. Increased travel and mobility.

All these factors expose us to culture and voices on a national rather than local scale. But if you think all this exposure is homogenizing our language, think again. Regional accents are going strong around the United States, bringing with them all kinds of cultural flavor.

If you're one of the many that assume all this media exposure must be homogenizing the American accent, you're not alone. It sounds like a logical hypothesis: The accents heard in the media are far-reaching and pervasive, so local accents must be on the decline as the population is exposed to all this "standardized" speech. But experts say it's a common misconception that has no basis in fact.

"There is zero evidence for television or the other popular media disseminating or influencing sound changes or grammatical innovations," wrote linguist J.K. Chambers in a 2006 essay for PBS. And experts agree that regional accents around the United States are alive and well.

full: http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/29/living/american-accents-ireport/index.html

includes an interactive map with recordings from residents of OR, CA, CO, NM, TX, AR, LA, FL, NC, PA, CT, ME, OH, and MN.

[MineralMan]

1. Interesting, but I don't think the samples adequately represent

the accents heard in the locations they supposedly depict. The Texas one and the Maine one were pretty good, but the Minnesota accent was a blended accent, rather than a typical native Minnesota accent. Others, too, I thought showed influences that were not local to the area.

[dtexdem]

2. Hey, all y'all, I reckon I'm fixin' to say that it's gooderin sliced bread.

;-)

[HockeyMom]

3. No, New YAWK?

Do I want to get rid of my accent? Hell, no. I am PROUD of being from New York. The funny thing is that nobody where I live in Florida (Gulf Coast not many from NY), they NEVER comment on it. Maybe they think I am sensitive about it? Nope, not at all.

Be PROUD of your accent, no matter where you are from

[get the red out]

4. "Hick" accents

My "hick" Kentucky accent used to be more of a source of pride; until I began identifying "southern" accents with Republicans and the religious right.

Of course I still sound a bit like Bill Clinton :) Arkansas is somewhat similar (though I sport some serious hick).

[alp227]

5. Kentucky? The state with the two crazy senators?

The Senate Republican leader whose goal of his party is to make Obama lose re-election and the new guy who wants to drown government down the bathtub? I see what you mean.

[tropicanarose]

7. I love KY. (I don't like their Senators at this moment) They have many wonderful people theree

[era veteran]

8. No, we have one crazy-dullard Senator and one slimy one.

My accent would be from Panama, Georgia, & Kentucky. I revel in my accent which is Southern and oft have used it in arguments, negotiations, and so on. The victim usually makes the false assumption that I was not as smart as they , which is an immediate advantage. I can see it in their eyes when they realize their mistake.
Our literature would be so poor if our regionalism was eliminated and we melded into a Stepford America.

[X_Digger]

6. There's a difference between..

understanding more accents on one hand, and homogenization of one's own accent on the other.

We've had midwestern-genericized accents in the tv news and radio since the late 1920's (radio at least.)

The fact that we can better understand more accents in no way means that we will mimic them.

Close exposure to a different accent in daily life, however, does seem to rub off sometimes. Ask my Philly-born wife who lives in Texas.

[hobbit709]

9. Regional accents thrive in almost every country.

[Blue_Tires]

10. I found it kind of lacking...

I couldn't really discern much difference other than the 50-something dudes from AR, TX and CT...Those were good...

I've lived in RI and overall the "New Englandese" in their conversation is VERY strong...The NC and FL were pretty weak southern examples (I would have gotten an example from GA, TN, KY or AL)...Why isn't Chicago represented? or Pittsburgh? and how do you NOT have New York? (you could probably do both the city and upstate)

[mike dub]

12. interesting article...

I love this subject. Nice to see a MSM outlet actually do a cultural story like this... fascinating topic. And I'm glad regional accents definitely aren't going anywhere.

As a native Southerner in a growing area of North Carolina, I love just listening to people in public places, to hear what they all (from all over the country, and some folks from other nations worldwide) sound like. I like my drawl. And whenever I have to call a national call center (many seem to be based in the North?, or the folks on the phones at them seem to have northern accents), I sometimes can hear a smile or reaction in the voices of female customer service representatives, when they hear an accent not at all native to *their region.

But as a North Carolinian, who has also lived in "Old Florida" (read; rural Florida), I too think the NC and FL examples are pretty weak.

The FL example is from a growing coastal area. You really need to sample Florida 'natives' in the panhandle (Pensacola over to Jacksonville) and down the rural center of the state for a better shot at hearing a true Old Florida accent / a smooth but light Southern accent.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

11. Those were poor examples

I've lived in Minnesota, Wisconsin, New York, Connecticut, and Oregon and known people from all over the U.S., as well as traveling to all but eight states.

I don't think these were good examples of typical regional accents at all. They all seemed homogenized in the direction of TV English.

For example, I know plenty of people, especially older or rural people, who speak with the accent portrayed in Fargo. It's very emphatic, with exaggerated and backed "r" and "l." In fact, it's largely spoken in the back of the mouth. It's not in any way "Scandinavian," as outside commentators like to say. (Having just traveled in Scandinavia and heard a lot of Scandinavian speakers of English, I can assure you that they do not sound Minnesotan.)

The Pacific Northwest accent is similar to a Canadian accent in having a softer touch on the consonants and short vowels. (No "abaout the haouse" pronunciations, though.) When I returned to Minnesota after 19 years in Oregon, a few people asked if I was English! (Obviously, these are people who don't get around much, because I most emphatically do not sound English.)

And where's the mumbly accent of Southern California?

Southern Connecticut has a distinct New York-ish sound to it. Boston, New Hampshire, and Maine all sound like the Kennedys.

The Southern U.S. has a lot of different accents. A Texan does not sound like a Mississippian, who does not sound like a resident of New Orleans, who does not sound like a Virginian.

They also missed Hawaii. People who speak Hawaiian Pidgin at home sound like native speakers of Chinese when they speak standard English.

Despite what the article said, the older speakers sounded more regional than the younger ones.