British and Irish users; How do you perceive the accent of the US South?

[Sikeliot]

Does it sound, in any way, like any British or Irish accent? How do you perceive it?

[Libertas]

It sounds to me rather lazy and drawling and a bit decadent.

[Jack B]

I like some southern accents, depends on the person/voice I guess. I don't think they sound Irish though.

[Nixon]

A Southern accent and an Irish accent are quite different. Michigan and New York City accents are quite different as well.

[Barreldriver]

I like some southern accents, depends on the person/voice I guess. I don't think they sound Irish though.

I'd like to meet the numpty that spread that misnomer about and kick him one square.

Southern accents vary region to region and sometimes family to family depending on relative quirks.

Early on it can be suggested that there was some similarity between certain American Southern accents and those of the Isle's but we must heavily consider time period, meaning pre-Victorian as we came about to develop our own verbal quirks relative to our experiences away from the Isle's since then.

In the past I myself was duped into this notion that our speech is anything but our own, however from listening to native UK speakers in relation to myself and my kin I would say that there is a gap.

Below I am providing a vocabulary list courtesy of listening in on my own kinfolks for comparison purposes:

Warsh - Wash

Tawrn - Torn

Dow - Door

Howrse - Horse

Pow - Poor

Burd-Bird

Arl - Earl

Lear - Leah (name of an aunt, because we as a family for a time became illiterate post-Civil War so we spelled phonetically. That trend was nipped in the bud in due time I will say.)

Considuh - Consider

Surtin - Certain

Ain't

Ya'll

Ya'll'er (You all were)

Ye's (You was)

Ain't never

I done it instead of I did it

I seen it instead of I saw it

Lay down and shut it as opposed to lie down and be quiet

I's a-fixin' ta (I was about to)

Eidy - Howdy/Hello

Didjee - Did ye/Did you

Airish (windy/chilly)

Afeared - afraid

Brickle - brittle

Now then - Hello

How's that - Come again/please restate

Yander/Yonder - Over there

Haint - Ghost

Boog - Goblin

Holler - Hollow

So on and so on.....

Most of these I have struggled to do away with for these speech patterns resulted in much teasing or alien peoples not taking me seriously in conversations. Relapses happen on occasion when excited or amongst familiar faces but in general speech I have been able to eliminate them. Elocution thus improved.

[Scrapple]

Most of these I have struggled to do away with for these speech patterns resulted in much teasing or alien peoples not taking me seriously in conversations. Relapses happen on occasion when excited or amongst familiar faces but in general speech I have been able to eliminate them. Elocution thus improved.

It is a shame you had to do that but I understand. I don't like the loss of regional folkways in this country in the name of homogenity. We loose to much of a connection with our past.

[GeistFaust]

It depends on the area of the south, and the type of Southerner you are talking about. A few of the Southern accents are a bit thick and slow, and sound uneducated and lazy.


The South was home to a large group of elite families, and even to this day a lot of the old families have their cliques. They tend to have more sophisticated and cultured Southern accents, which are more more self-conscious, pronounced, and structured.

It has nice way of rolling off the tongue, and can sound warm and inviting. This depends on the area of the South, because the South was and is still to a certain extent highly tribalistic.

[Dohtig]

Does it sound, in any way, like any British or Irish accent? How do you perceive it?

It depends on what part of the south. In the deep south, along the gulf coast they drop their Rs and is closer to English received pronunciation. In the tidewater region of Virginia their accent is supposed to have derived from the Wessex accent. The Appalachian accent is supposed to have come from the Ulster Scots, so they tend to have a strong draw to their Rs. Although there has been hundreds of years of separation, I still think they somewhat similar to each other. Especially in the phrases and figures of speech.

[Albion]

You mean like this:

[YOUTUBE]cODPt3T0cHE[/YOUTUBE]
When I think about the deep south, that it what comes to mind.

It sounds very, very dumb, especially how they say "veee-hicle". I don't know what dialects it is like here, it is very distinct.

[Joe McCarthy]

A lot of the Southerners originated in the West Country and I think if one compares, say, Tennessee with Somerset, the similarity will be detected.