Southern Accent-Paul DeVito

Southern accents are definitely a characteristic of the south that are widely thought of in many different ways. Since I'm from Virginia, we still have some southern accents, but I would have imagined that Georgia would have had more. So far, I haven't experienced as strong of a transition as I would have thought. I thought that most people would have a fairly strong accent that were from Georgia, but that hasn't been the case. I've been outside Atlanta a couple times this year, and there is definitely a difference here than Virginia, but it isn't nearly as significant as I thought it would be.
Even with my lack of exposure to southern accents, I still don't think that they are disappearing. I think that I've just been to areas of Georgia where heavy accented people just don't go to as much as lighter accented people might. I've heard from several local Georgia residents that there are definitely still pockets where there are heavy country accents. Also, regardless of where I am I still hear words like Y'all and other southern slang more than I normally would in Virginia.

Southern Accents--Jungyeon Alice Lee

I, as an international student, have been living only in the southern area of America for the last 5 years, so I haven’t got many chances to compare Southerners’ English with non-Southerners’ English. In fact, I have just a few times of feeling some differences between the two, even though I couldn’t explain what they were. When I was in high school in South Carolina, I got a friend from a northern area, who once pointed out that Southerners say in a different way even on TV. I nodded at that time but I do not seem to have noticed it clearly. I also felt that some of the teachers did use some unique accents, tone, and rhythms, but I couldn’t say how different they are and what they come from. Actually it is in this course that I realized that there are clearly some differences in pronunciations: for example, they pronounce ‘fight’ like ‘faat’ and ‘came’ like ‘keem’. In the following video clip, Senator Hillary Clinton shows us good examples of southern accents by pretending to say like a Southerner, even though she is from the North. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaDQ1vIuvZI)

Reflecting on my experience, I come to think that my English might sound like southerners’. It is because I have not experienced so much that my English is different from the English I hear from English native speakers around me. Rather, my English may be close to so-called Standard English (used by mass media). If the latter is right, most of the teachers and professors in schools and colleges might also speak Standard English, rather than southern accents, even though some of them may use more southern accents. I do not have much experience of finding big differences among these groups. If this is true, the future of southern accents is unlikely to be positive in academic situations, at least in terms of vocabulary and grammar. As seen in Clinton’s video, in contrast, southern accents in terms of pronunciation might have a different future, because some of them are observed to be alive even in academia.

Southern Dialect-Carter

I was born in Georgia, so I’m from the south. However, I don’t have a southern accent. I believe this is because both of my parents are from Oklahoma, and their voices are what I grew up hearing and developing my speech in to. I personally don’t like the southern accent mainly because of what the media has turned it in to. When I think of a southern accent, I think of Larry the Cable Guy. Even though this is not how most people from the south talk, it’s what comes to mind when I think of a southern accent and it is extremely annoying. He takes the accent and turns it in to what people assume it sounds like and just fits it in to the stereotype. People like Larry the Cable Guy are why people with southern accents are associated with being just downright dumb.

New Topics: Southern Dialect - Wier

One defining southern characteristic is the southern accent. There are many variations of a southern accent, but when you think of a southern accent, most people generally think of a southern drawl. Many people see a southern accent as a sign of stupidity or ignorance given the slow, relaxed manner of speech and often lazy pronunciations. On the other hand, many people are proud of having a southern accent because they believe it shows a sense of refinement, like what you see in Gone With the Wind.

I have lived in the south my entire life, yet because I grew up around Atlanta, I never had constant exposure to a southern accent and never developed one. I do however find myself slipping into a distinctly southern accent at times though. I believe this to be the case all over the south as communities diversify and kids are exposed to the media so early on.

For those of you not from the south, what has your experience been with southern accents? Have you encountered them often, or do you think they may be gradually disappearing? For those of you from south, do you think you have a southern accent, and if so, what's your opinion of having one? What makes the southern accent so special?

Response to new topic- Carter

Much like Brian Wier, I too have lived in the south my entire life. However, I never really gave much thought about identifying myself as a ‘southerner’. It’s not that I’m embarrassed and don’t want to embrace my roots, I have just never made that connection in my mind. For me personally, this class has made me make that connection to where I would now refer to myself as a southerner. The readings in class haven’t so much exposed me to Southern culture but opened my eyes up to where I am from.

However, people from the South are not the only ones who benefit from learning this material. People from around the world come to Tech, and this class helps show them some of what America is. It also allows them to diversify their knowledge about the area they will be spending 4+ years of their life earning their degrees.

Southern Literature - Wier

I have lived in the south my entire life, and both my parents grew up in the south: my mother in rural Georgia and my father in Charleston, SC. I have been exposed to southern culture throughout my life, and I consider many aspects of southern culture to integral in how I identify myself. Throughout the semester, our readings as well as our various assignments have provided me with interesting cultural and historical perspectives on the south. These different perspectives of the south I've seen throughout the semester have allowed me to develop my view of the south as a whole and learn about what it means to be a southerner.

My mother has been researching my family's genealogy for the past few years, and I've learned a lot about where I come from. Such knowledge of my family history has allowed me to enjoy several of our readings in a different manner. For example, a large branch of my family was poor "white trash" from the Carolinas, living somewhere around Greenville, SC, much like the Boatwright family in Bastard Out of Carolina. In knowing that I have a common history with the Boatwrights, I found it enlightening to read Allison's perspective about what "white trash" is.

I've probably had a different experience in this class than many people given my family history, but it has been truly enjoyable. I suggest to everyone to research their family history. It's a fun and interesting activity, especially when you uncover surprises in your history, such as being related to someone important or someone who participated in some event in history.

Response to the New Topic- Jungyeon Alice Lee

Learning the development of Southern culture or identity might help students to understand the real world they are living in or studying in, which is part of what they need to grow up as mature people who are caring for their region, country, and the global society. Reading Southern literature would be a good strategy to this project because it could give students a detailed description of southern people and their real lives. Reading the literary work, I realized that there is a deep gap in the living conditions even between white people. The novel, Bastard Out of Carolina shows readers how poor white people like Bone’s family live a harsh life and attain their self-identity in relation to their cultural heritage. In contrast, the novel, The Moviegoer, shows the lives of richer white people and how they feel about themselves and their places and cultures.

If this project correctly promotes students’ right understanding of the South, it might help to change the region, and the country containing the region to a right direction. When they understand the people living with them and their lives, students could make a better choice regarding public policies. For example, healthcare reform bills should have different impacts on people’s living conditions, depending on the living conditions of the people. Understanding different living conditions of people could give students a balanced view to understand the importance of such a reform policy, free from a bias coming from a simpler understanding of the society. Understanding poor whites, rich whites might be able to appreciate the importance of the reform bill as President Obama emphasized in an article of the New York Times http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/30/the-last-piece-in-place.