A Curious Look at the Southern Accent

Caption

Are Southern accents disappearing?

Credit: Adobe Stock

 

TRANSCRIPT:

Chuck Reece: I saw a new Associated Press with this headline: 

Is the Southern accent fixin’ to disappear in parts of the US South?

This happens every couple of years. Professors of linguistics at colleges here publish research papers claiming that how Southerners have traditionally spoken is disappearing—that our idioms, our dialects, our slang terms are fading. This current story from AP cited new research showing—and I quote “the diminishment of the regional accent among Black residents of the Atlanta area, white working-class people in the New Orleans area, and people who grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina.”

Since 1970, the population of the South has grown tremendously. People from all parts of the nation have moved here, bringing with them their accents. The internet, of course, also brings opportunities to hear idioms, slang, and dialects from all over. 

I have no quarrel with such stories, because they are true. With this recent story, my only quarrel is with the headline writer. I suspect they threw in the “fixin’ to” because they thought that would be cute. But the Southern accent has been so frequently used to make fun of our people, I don’t think it’s appropriate for a venerable news organization known for its objectivity to publish stories with headlines like that. 

So, to that headline writer, I want to say, “What you wrote? That ain’t cool.”

I cannot, however, quibble with the substance. Our accent is disappearing. 

But although young people in the South might be less likely these days to say they are “fixin’ to” do something, I have noticed lately their increasing interest in learning more about the way Southern folks have historically talked. Every day or so, I check Reddit to see what’s going on in the subreddit dedicated to Appalachia. Not a week goes by when I don’t see a post with a title like “AppalachianAphorisms,” from someone asking to learn more about the phrases they heard from their mountain ancestors. 

Phrases like “right quick.” As in, “How ’bout helping me out with this right quick?”

Or “usedtacould.” As in, “I usedtacould eat three hot dogs at one settin’, but I cain’t no more.”

Or “do what now?” Which is the standard reply when someone says something that makes no sense whatsoever. You cock your head, squint your eyes, and say, “Do what now?” 

It can be fun to catalog the disappearing pieces of Southern speech. But I believe that how our ancestors told us stories matters much less than the substance of the stories they told. So I have an idea for Generation Z Southerners. If you have grandparents or other relatives whose accents are thicker than yours, sit down with them. Take the smartphone from your pocket and film your conversation with them. Ask them about things that happened when they were your age.

Please visit us as SalvationSouth.com, where we tell stories about the South—what used to happen and what’s happening right now—every day.

 

Salvation South editor Chuck Reece comments on Southern culture and values in a weekly segment that airs Fridays at 7:45 a.m. during Morning Edition and 4:44 p.m. during All Things Considered on GPB Radio. Salvation South Deluxe is a series of longer Salvation South episodes which tell deeper stories of the Southern experience through the unique voices that live it. You can also find them here at GPB.org/Salvation-South and wherever you get your podcasts.