Thicknesse: Question on Pronunciation - All and Oil in Texas

[Steve]

---  Barbara Roberts <miamibarb at ...> wrote:
>
> >I am also a Texan, and I loath the 'southern' 
> >method of speaking.

> 
> Not sure that I would equate " Texan" and "Southern"
> speech.  I always thought that certain  accents from
> the deep South to be refined.  Ever hear someone from
> Vicksburg, Miss?  It's quite different from a Texas 
> Drawl.
> 
> Barbara Roberts

bboyminn:

Regional accents are a fascinating thing. Barbara is
right, a common deep southern twang is nothing like
a Texas drawl. I would say there are probably six
different distinctly 'southern' accents, some 'high'
and some 'low'. A high refined southern accent can
actually sound quite charming. On the other hand,
low southern common can be like listening to finger-
nails on a blackboard.

Further, it is not just accent but grammar, figures of
speech, and idioms. I've always been baffled by the
apparent need of some people to cultivate the dumb
country boy sound like it was the pinnacle of 
achievement; as if being an ignorant moron was a 
desirable thing. 

I also saw this in school. If you were in anyway 
considered smart or refined, you were practically
an outcast in grammar, junior, and high school. How
did we allow ourselves to reach such depth?

I think you will find many accent variations where 
every you go. In California, a valley boy doesn't 
sound anything like an Orange County boy. And a San
Diego boy doesn't sound like a typical LA boy. 

There are probably three or four distinct New England
accents. A Vermont or Maine farmer doesn't sound 
anything like a Boston businessman.

In the midwest, I think we have the most neutral
accents. The accents we do have tend not to be regional,
but more a reflection heritage. For example, while I am
college educated and moderately well read, on occasion
my Scandinavian heritage creeps in and I say 'ya'
instead of 'yeh' or yes. So, in the midwest, if 
there is an accent, it is probably a hint of 
Scandinavian, German, or Russian.

If you've seen the movie 'Fargo' then you have a 
hint of a Midwest accent, which originates from
Scandinavia. 

However, lacking a ancestral accent, the Midwest 
accent is considered the most neutral, and it most
desired in TV newsreaders. I think officially it
is an Iowa 'sound', but really anyone from the
Midwest that doesn't have a heritage accent would
be perfect. For the record, I do find some areas
of southern California that have a very neutral
accent.

I believe there is even a standard accent that is
preferred for British TV newsreaders, though I
don't know what it is called. 

I can understand regional accents in a country like
the USA that is very large and also a melting pot
of many cultures. But the Brits live all trapped
on one or two small islands, it seems odd that
so many regional and very distinct accents could 
evolve there. I would venture to say that even 
London has a range of distinct accents. 

Don't mind me, I'm just rambling.

Steve/bboyminn