Read an interesting article on this subject last night. They have been doing a study of the Confederados in Brazil and their accents and they are concluding that the Southern Accent is more of a manifestation of Post-CW America because the accent of the Confederados is not pronounced at all. These researchers were theorizing that the American accent was more homogeneous before the war than previously thought. For example, the Confederados pronounce pin and pen differently but Southerns today tend to pronounce them as homonyms. I have to admit I pronounce those two words the same (drives my Yankee wife nuts, but then I don't eat bannaners like she does).

Fun thread. My easy explanation:

New York to Boston, which have very distinct accents, is 200 miles.
Marshall to Del Rio is 500. Ditto with Marshall to Odsessa.

Texas is freaking huge.

I was raised in San Angelo. My Dad was from Ballinger. We all had the West Texas twang. When we moved to the DFW area my Dad lost his accent but mine stayed with me. My wife who is from Brownsville said one of the reasons she married me was for my accent. I don't think it is that thick bit she thinks it is. Our relatives all came from Tennessee in the 1800s.

My people have lived in the San Augustine County area since the 1820's. When I was at A&M I would get asked about it all the time. I was never made fun of, but was definitely asked about it. I've lived in various parts of the country since college and could have "lost" my accent by now, if I had wanted to. But I'm very proud of my southern accent and it goes over well with the women from other parts of the country! Plus to be honest, I've never wanted to have some generic accent neutral tone like many of the people from Dallas or Houston or apparently even east Texas now, with all of those whom have tried their best to lose theirs.

expresswrittenconsent said:

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BQ78 said:

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I find it funny that some people from New Orleans often sound like they just walked off Turdy Turd and Turd in New Yok City.

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the NOLA accent is definitely different from the run of the mill cajun. i can hear some of the NYC accent you mentioned but also a strong boston accent as well.

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Read an article many years ago explaining the accents from different cities. The article specifically noted populations from immigrant ports had unique accents.

The theory was that it was a blend of unique accents from the country of origin of the immigrants. Boston and NOLA were specifically mentioned. Galveston was an immigrant port as well and you can still hear a distinct accent similar to some of the NOLA population in the older Galvestonians.

CenterHillAg said:

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I was born and raised behind the pine curtain, and as such have the accent. I've spent a good amount of time in the Mississippi Delta and Deep South, and their accent is similar to mine. What I find interesting living in Wharton County now, is the thick Czech accent of people around my age (late 20/early 30's). Many of their grandparents and some parents are fluent in Czech, but I know none of the youngest generation that speak it. Yet some of them have an accent that would make you think English is their second language.

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That's my wife's family. My accent (country metroplex suburb) comes out at random times. When I get around my hometown friends and family (Cleburne), when I have more than a couple beers, and oddly often in situations where my wife says I'm subconsciously trying to be non threatening (talking to little old ladies, small children, drive through of a fast food place). I can't control it popping out

Yes, accents regionally vary across Texas.
I can tell my Galveston relatives from my East Texas relatives by sound.
I showed up in College Station with a Dallas/East Texas accent.
I moved to Houston thereafter and married a woman from W. Virginia, who did not like terms like "worsh"
My kids found a video from my Zip year and noted that in 25 years, my accent was more of a Houston (not strong) accent. Fortunately, my accent is restrengthend when I visit with family. My wife notes the difference.

I grew up in the hill country and friends at A&M thought I talked 'weird.' Almost all of them were from either Houston, Dallas or some suburb of the two. Now some years after I've graduated and lived in San Antonio, LA, Seattle and now Charleston the locals guess I'm from Canada for some reason. And when I talk to people who grew up in central TX they sound to me like they have a huge accent. Guess whatever I had back then is long gone.

People who are actually from here or rural SC/GA/AL I just about need an interpreter for. They're just plain unintelligible.

et98 said:

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I'm from northeast Texas (Rusk County, near Henderson) as well, and one of my best friends is from Corinth, MS (northeast corner of MS). We noticed that many of the nuances unique to the northeast Texas within our state are also unique to the northern Mississippi accent within its state.

After a little research, he found that the construction of the railroad was to blame. I don't remember all the details, but I'll do my best.

A major stage coach line connected Meridian Mississippi (east central edge of MS) to Marshall, TX starting in the early 1800s. The company that owned much of the building & maintenance contracts for the network of rail lines connecting central & northern MS together (Vicksburg-Meridian-Corinth & other smaller offshoots) won the contract to begin building what became a small network of tracks in northeast Texas (what's now Rusk, Harrison, Gregg Counties I think) and eventually to Shreveport. The proposed line wouldn't really connect to the rest of the US yet, but it helped get the cotton & timber to the Sabine. I don't recall if the company itself was hired to build the railroads, or if some of the leadership split from it and came to Texas to start their own.

They brought 100s families from central & northern MS along that stagecoach line that connected Meridian to Marshall in order to build the tracks. Because of that familial & cultural connection along with the availability of land, even more families came from that area on the stage and especially once the railroad was connected all the way. At first, that connecting line went up through Tennessee & then down through Arkansas to get to Texas, but eventually a more straight shot was constructed that went through Louisiana (which is basically the same route of what I-20 is now).

There's a LOT more detail that I don't remember, and some of this info is a little fuzzy in my memory, but this is the general gist of what happened and why the northeast Texas accent is different from everyone else.

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That's how ancestors on my dad's side got to Palestine from Rankin, MS after the Civil War.

Also recommend the history of English podcast.

There is no TEXAS accent, only right-speaking and derned foreigners.

Quote:

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Plus to be honest, I've never wanted to have some generic accent neutral tone like many of the people from Dallas or Houston

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From what I've read, accents are largely adopted and in many cases voluntary.

I've read that at the time of the American Revolution, both colonist and the British spoke the same. The current "British accent" is a product of the industrial revolution and was adopted by the wealthy as a form of class distinction. Public radio caused the accent to be adopted among the general populace.

Similarly, I've read that the Southern accent is at least in some part, a product of reconstruction and that during the Civil War, there would not have been such a contrast between the North and the South. After the Civil War, Southerners continued to identify with pride as a distinct geographical and cultural region apart from the rest of the country and speaking a certain way is a way to distinguish one's self.

93Spur said:

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Yes, accents regionally vary across Texas.
I can tell my Galveston relatives from my East Texas relatives by sound.
I showed up in College Station with a Dallas/East Texas accent.
I moved to Houston thereafter and married a woman from W. Virginia, who did not like terms like "worsh"
My kids found a video from my Zip year and noted that in 25 years, my accent was more of a Houston (not strong) accent. Fortunately, my accent is restrengthend when I visit with family. My wife notes the difference.

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Having spent over a decade in a professional environment, I have had people note the disappearance of accent in and around meetings, and re-appearance in office among friends...with known 'country' folk, it's full on. It's not something I have ever realized until it was pointed out.

et98 said:

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I'm from northeast Texas (Rusk County, near Henderson) as well, and one of my best friends is from Corinth, MS (northeast corner of MS). We noticed that many of the nuances unique to the northeast Texas within our state are also unique to the northern Mississippi accent within its state.

After a little research, he found that the construction of the railroad was to blame. I don't remember all the details, but I'll do my best.

A major stage coach line connected Meridian Mississippi (east central edge of MS) to Marshall, TX starting in the early 1800s. The company that owned much of the building & maintenance contracts for the network of rail lines connecting central & northern MS together (Vicksburg-Meridian-Corinth & other smaller offshoots) won the contract to begin building what became a small network of tracks in northeast Texas (what's now Rusk, Harrison, Gregg Counties I think) and eventually to Shreveport. The proposed line wouldn't really connect to the rest of the US yet, but it helped get the cotton & timber to the Sabine. I don't recall if the company itself was hired to build the railroads, or if some of the leadership split from it and came to Texas to start their own.

They brought 100s families from central & northern MS along that stagecoach line that connected Meridian to Marshall in order to build the tracks. Because of that familial & cultural connection along with the availability of land, even more families came from that area on the stage and especially once the railroad was connected all the way. At first, that connecting line went up through Tennessee & then down through Arkansas to get to Texas, but eventually a more straight shot was constructed that went through Louisiana (which is basically the same route of what I-20 is now).

There's a LOT more detail that I don't remember, and some of this info is a little fuzzy in my memory, but this is the general gist of what happened and why the northeast Texas accent is different from everyone else.

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That's interesting. I'm from Van Zandt County, and one part of my family is from the Meridian area of Mississippi

Ha, when I go back to Houston to visit my family, with strong east Texas accent, I totally fall right back into it. My wife noticed it takes me a a day or two to slip out of it.

East Texas accents are not prevalent in Youston. I would say there's some similarities, but growing up here I have always noticed Youston to have an accent of its own. It's more of blend between SE Texas and East, but light on the east. Somewhat generic Texan, but always know it when I hear it.

It's Yewsten, you chub!

Neches21 said:

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The eastern side of the state was the first to be settled by anglos. Many of those settlers came from the Deep South. They were expanding plantations into Texas. The piney woods of the region was familiar geography to those pioneers and they tended to stay put.
As the central region of the state began to open up, it attracted other settlers, notably German and Czech immigrants, but also those from other mid-western and northern states.
I recommend reading "Gone to Texas".

There is no one southern accent although they are all similar. The sound of a coastal Carolina accent is very different than the country drawl of an Alabama accent which is also different than the piney woods twamg.

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Yep.... And a practiced ear can differentiate which you're hearing. NC different than SC different than coastal GA different than W Ga and FL panhandle