The accent of an old Southern Civil War Soldier.
- Thread starter EmoBorg
- Start date
Interesting recording. The Virginians I've met haven't had the kind of syrupy drawls that one hears deeper in the South.
Down here in Tejas - the accents are wildly varied from one region to another.
Southeast Texas (aka, Houston-Beaumont) the accent's are generally mild. While out in west Texas (Midland etc.) folks have a much stronger "classic" Texas accent. Dallas/Fort Worth - not so much...
Southeast Texas (aka, Houston-Beaumont) the accent's are generally mild. While out in west Texas (Midland etc.) folks have a much stronger "classic" Texas accent. Dallas/Fort Worth - not so much...
Unless you listen to some people in Franklin County and Rocky Mount, as exemplified by former Congressman Virgil Goode. That accent is so syrupy Mrs. Butterworth serves it pancakes on the limb of a maple tree.
In the Northern Shenandoah Valley there is barely an accent. Go two counties south and you can hear it. We joke that this particular county is 'where the accent begins.'
Needless to say in Nothern Virginia (wich is actually south of here but whatever) there are so many transplants any accent that existed is gone.
Needless to say in Nothern Virginia (wich is actually south of here but whatever) there are so many transplants any accent that existed is gone.
We vacation in Virginia Beach a lot, specifically the Sandbridge area. Nobody has an accent down there when we go to the different places, but we drove down to North Carolina and I swear as soon as you crossed the border it was like we entered a different world. We stopped at this little convenience store, simply called The Store, and everyone working there sounded like they were from the deep south. They as where we were from and I said NY, they got all excited until I told them NYC is about 3 hours away from me.
You mean "Occupied Virginia"?
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There actually is a specific accent called the "Tidewater" accent, it's just not that strong anymore here because of the military bringing in people from all over. One of the giveaways is by how "Norfolk" is pronounced.
I didn't notice anything different, but then again maybe it's because of the way I say Norfolk.
There's Nawf'k, Norf'k, Nor-folk, and I've even heard Norfork. Moving to Northeastern NC, it took a while to understand the locals sometimes. There is a wide variation in accents. From the pronunciation of "Dies E-un" for Days Inn to "Ovuh thay-uh" for Over There. It all sounds natural to me now after nearly 30 years.
Franklin County, Virginia.
You've got to go to the Western and Southwestern part of the state to hear that drawl...it's definitely present there. But in terms of Eastern Virginia, we've got nothing, mostly. Until you go up to the Eastern Shore across the water.
I've always been reluctant to say where I'm from in all the years I've been on this forum, but I live in "Tidewater"/Hampton Roads, Virginia too. We are very "accent neutral", although you do hear things on occasion, like if you go to Suffolk, Smithfield, etc.
We have some pretty thick drawls here in Roanoke as well, though since we're the biggest metropolitan area in the western part of the state we have a diverse mix of different people from all over the country and the world and a far wider range of accents than you'll find in, say, a neighboring county that's much more rural and homogeneous.
Itty bitty "River" City has the country's largest Coast Guard base, so you can hear a wider range of accents than the native accents. It's funny how the way we are born speaking (so to speak) is natural to our ear and not an accent. Someone here mentioned something about my Midwestern accent and I was surprised. I thought everyone knew that there is no Midwestern accent. Unless you're from Chicago. Just kidding.
I'm a native Virginian who's been told more than once that he doesn't sound very Southern or that I don't come from this part of the country. I do have to agree that compared to many people around here I do have a much more subtle Southern accent and it's nowhere near as pronounced as those of so many people I've known and grew up with.
But when I'm on the phone with friends from other parts of the country they often point out that I have a pronounced Southern accent that they notice right away. It's all relative and based on where you're from and what you're used to hearing. To a lot of folks around here I might sound like I'm not from the area, but if I were in Wisconsin or New England I'm sure my accent would stand out like a sore thumb and be more than obvious.
But when I'm on the phone with friends from other parts of the country they often point out that I have a pronounced Southern accent that they notice right away. It's all relative and based on where you're from and what you're used to hearing. To a lot of folks around here I might sound like I'm not from the area, but if I were in Wisconsin or New England I'm sure my accent would stand out like a sore thumb and be more than obvious.
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