What I mean is if we all basically started at the same time (North and South) why do we have such different accents??? Is it because of more immigration to the North? Or a faster pace of living in the North? Thanks for responses!
2006-09-04 06:04:24 · 19 answers · asked by Cutie Teacher 3 in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
ALLLLLL Right I know that we in the North have accents... if you had read the info not just the main questions you would know that !!!
2006-09-04 06:12:02 · update #1
While the north and south may have started at the same time, the cultures that founded each colony (that would subsequently become a state) did not initially all come from England. The Spanish ruled in states like Florida, while the French had their own colonies; in addition, the Dutch founded some of their own colonies. These different cultures may contribute to the variation in the accents of the South vs. the North.
2006-09-04 12:12:47 · answer #1 · answered by Hidden 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Accents are of a local geographical origin and subject to perspective. The people in the South think that the North have accents. Look at NYC, do the people in Brooklyn sound like all the other New Yorkers, or are the different? People from west Texas have different accents than those from east Texas. Consider the New England accent, even President Kennedy pronounced "Cuba" different than most of the country. I'm fairly sure a linguist will verify that early childhood expose to language is the source of most accents.
2006-09-04 06:24:01 · answer #2 · answered by jack w 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
They think we have the accents. It's just a matter of how isolated a group is--eventually they will develop speech patterns based on who they hear the most often as they're growing up. That's why the children of immigrants rarely have the accent their parents do--they also hear the voices of the people who live around them, so even if they have an accent, it won't be as pronounced as that of their parents. And the more exposure we have to each other, the more the accents fade. Some people are rather upset because TV shows don't use accents too much, so regional accents are dying out.
2006-09-05 07:06:08 · answer #3 · answered by cross-stitch kelly 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
LOL! You said the south has an accent but the north does not? Hmmm, what do you think southerners think? That's right--they think the north has an accent. I'm from the west coast, and the north DOES have a very distinguishable accent. Everyone seems to pompously think that they're accent isn't an accent at all. How ethnocentric. The English believe all Americans have an accent, as we believe they do. Everybody has an accent--there's no such thing as not having an accent.
2006-09-04 06:07:12 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Every region has its own accent. Northern accents tend to be faster paced than mid western or southern because those coasters are always in a hurry.
Accents in the south tend to be slow and drawn out because they can't hurry in all that heat.
In Wyoming we have a western twang and drawl that is faster paced then the south, but not nearly as fast as a northeast accent. People tend to take a little longer to say what they think and you get more smiles and thank yous. We have the time to shoot the breeze, but there's still work to be done. It's reflected in how we talk.
2006-09-04 06:15:40 · answer #5 · answered by loryntoo 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What do you mean you don't have accents in the North? There is the Yankee accent, the Boston accent, the Jersey accent, and I am sure many, many more accents.
I will add this comment. I think our accents have a lot to do with the groups of people (from other countries) that settled areas of this country.
2006-09-04 06:08:47 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
A persons accent is picked up during childhood. I was born in Georgia but during the ages of 4 to 6 lived in Virginia then moved back to Georgia until age 19. I do not have a Georgian accent but a northern Virginia accent. Figure this one out.
2006-09-04 15:49:30 · answer #7 · answered by Deadguy 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Everyone has an accent. And we didn't all start in the north. The original 13 colonies were settled by various groups of people. The first colony was not wholly responsible for the settling of the other 12.
2006-09-04 06:08:58 · answer #8 · answered by Poison Ivy 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The north does, too. If you live in the north, you just may not notice it. I can tell an Ohio, New York, New Jersey or Massachusetts accent a mile away.
2006-09-04 06:10:07 · answer #9 · answered by First Lady 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
being a military brat i traveled back and forth across the U.S.A.
six times and to Europe twice, there is no such thing as to no one not having some sort of accent. the closest to having no accent
are people from the Chicago area.
2006-09-04 06:18:37 · answer #10 · answered by barrbou214 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋