Southward American dialects carrying a distinct Southern accent under threat of vanishing in certain US regions?
Growing up a Southern belle in Atlanta during the 40s and 50s, Susan Levine's trips to NYC relatives were more than just family visits – she was the star of an impromptu novelty show, as her cousin would charge visitors 25 cents just to listen to her lilting Southern accent.
Fast-forward to her sons, however, born over a quarter century later, and they hadn't a lick of that famous dialect in their voices. "My accent is as insignificant as a southern breeze," said her eldest son, Ira Levine, a comment that even his schoolmates and coworkers found hard to believe, given his Atlanta roots.
The Southern accent, noted for its drawn-out vowels and soft "r" sounds, has been thinning out in certain parts of the South. This shift has been explored in a series of research papers published in December, highlighting the diminishment of the regional accent among African-American residents in Atlanta, white working-class individuals in New Orleans, and those raised in Raleigh, North Carolina.
A whopping 5.8 million people have moved to the U.S. South thus far in the 2020s, more than four times the combined total of the nation's other three regions. Linguists suggest that mass media hasn't had a significant impact on this linguistic change, which tends to begin in urban areas and move outwards [1][2].
Migration & Urbanization: The Accel-erating Evolution
The classical white Southern accent in cities like Atlanta peaked among baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964, but the population influx of the latter half of the 20th century caused it to decline among Gen Xers and their successors [1]. This urban renaissance has been underpinned by economic hubs like the Research Triangle Park, which attracted hordes of educated outsiders from beyond the South [4].
A New Pan-Regional Dialect: From the West Coast to the East Coast
In Raleigh, the precipitating factor for the Southern accent's decline was the opening of the Research Triangle Park in 1959. White residents born after 1979, a generation following the park's establishment, usually speak with a different accent altogether. A dialect that first surfaced in California in the late 80s was identified as the culprit by researchers from the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, and Brigham Young University. This dialect, initially detected in Canada, has since spread to various regions of the U.S., altering the accents of Boston, New York, and Michigan, among others [1][2].
Escaping Stereotypes: The New Generation's Accent Dilemma
Many associate the Southern accent with a lack of education, but younger generations, particularly the educated ones, may be intentionally distancing themselves from that stereotype [1]. They want to sound less like they're from a specific hometown and more "nonlocal" and geographically mobile [1].
African-Americans and the 'Reverse Great Migration': The Echoes of a Historical Shift
In Atlanta, the Southern dialect among African-Americans has been on a downward trend largely due to the arrival of migrants from northern U.S. cities during what's known as the "Reverse Great Migration." During the original Great Migration, tens of millions of African-Americans moved from the South to cities in the North, only to have their descendants flock back South during the late 20th and early 21st centuries in greater numbers [1].
Researchers discovered that, among Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012), Southern accents among African-Americans saw a sharp decline. The same researchers had previously studied the Southern accents of white people in Atlanta [1].
Take the Beck family, Gen Xers residing in Atlanta, who still carry their Southern accents, but their sons, born in 1998 and 2001, don't. "I'd say they speak clearer than I do," Richard Beck, a law enforcement officer, commented on his sons. "They don't sound as country as I do when it comes to the Southern drawl" [3].
New Orleans: The 'Yat' Accent on the Verge of Extinction
Unlike other regions, the distinctive white working-class "yat" accent of New Orleans, often described as sounding more like Brooklynese than Southern, has declined due to the exodus of locals following the devastating Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The hurricane served as a major turning point in the linguistic landscape of New Orleans, displacing around a quarter-million residents in the first year and bringing in tens of thousands of newcomers over the following decade [2].
The decrease in the "yat" accent is most notable among millennials, as they were adolescents when the hurricane struck and were exposed to various speech patterns during a critical phase of linguistic development [2].
Loss of Regional Identity?
While the Southern accent is fading in many urban areas, it isn't likely to disappear completely. "Accents are an incredibly straightforward way of showcasing something about ourselves," explained University of Georgia linguist Margaret Renwick, a co-author of the Atlanta studies [1]. They may instead reflect a change in how younger speakers view Southern identity, with a regional accent less associated with traditional Southern notions compared to previous generations, and linguistic boundaries less important than other factors [1].
"So young people in the Atlanta area or Raleigh area have a different vision of life in the South," Renwick explained, echoing the idea that traditional Southern values are no longer the be-all and end-all of identity for the younger generations [1].
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[1] Renwick, M., Glass, L., White, K., & Bakeman, A. (2021, March 12). How the South is Changing. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2021/03/12/977971537/how-the-south-is-changing
[2] Bordewick, R. (2021, March 12). The Southern accent is fading. Research suggests educated people and millennials are to blame. Retrieved from https://news.yale.edu/2021/03/12/southern-accent-is-fading-research-suggests-educated-people-and-millennials-are-to-blame
[3] Rosenberg, S. (2020, July 24). In Raleigh, North Carolina, the Southern Accent Is Fading. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/24/us/raleigh-north-carolina-southern-accent.html
[4] Kim, S. (2021, March 14). How the South Is Changing, in 5 Maps. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/03/14/us/south-changing-maps.html
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- The Southern accent, once a defining feature for residents in Atlanta, has begun to diminish, particularly among the younger generations.
- Researchers attribute this decline in the Southern accent to urbanization and migration, suggesting that the increasing influx of educated outsiders to cities like Atlanta has caused a decrease among Gen Xers and their successors.
- In Raleigh, the Southern accent's decline was also sparked by the establishment of the Research Triangle Park, which attracted a significant number of people who introduced new dialects, such as the dialect initially detected in California, causing a change in speech patterns among Raleigh's residents.
- African-Americans in Atlanta have also seen a decline in the Southern dialect due to the "Reverse Great Migration," with migrants from northern U.S. cities settling in the city and having an impact on the local accent.
- New Orleans' unique "yat" accent, which has been associated with Brooklynese more than Southern, has seen a significant decline in the wake of Hurricane Katrina's devastation, due to the exodus of locals and the subsequent immigration of newcomers.
- With the Southern accent fading in many urban areas, language experts suggest that its disappearance may not be complete, but instead reflect a change in how younger speakers view Southern identity, making regional accents less associated with traditional Southern notions and linguistic boundaries less significant compared to previous generations.
