# Actors with a genuine (or convincingly faked) rural Mississippi accent? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 4, 2008, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-a-genuine-or-convincingly-faked-rural-mississippi-accent/432308 "2008-01-04T20:24:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2008, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-a-genuine-or-convincingly-faked-rural-mississippi-accent/432308/1 "2008-01-04T20:24:45Z")
Doing a bit of theater research, and looking for good examples. Any native Mississippians care to weigh in with their expertise? ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2008, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-a-genuine-or-convincingly-faked-rural-mississippi-accent/432308/2 "2008-01-04T21:05:36Z")
Morgan Freeman is from Clarksdale. It doesn’t get any more authentically rural Mississippi than that. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2008, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-a-genuine-or-convincingly-faked-rural-mississippi-accent/432308/3 "2008-01-04T21:05:48Z")
[QUOTE=Kizarvexius] Doing a bit of theater research, and looking for good examples. Any native Mississippians care to weigh in with their expertise? [/QUOTE] What sort of character? The accent might differ by social class. I can tell you generally that all the Southern accents in [Sling Blade](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117666/fullcredits#cast) are authentic, and it is set in nearby Arkansas. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2008, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-a-genuine-or-convincingly-faked-rural-mississippi-accent/432308/4 "2008-01-04T21:20:53Z")
You could also look up YouTube clips of Mississippi politicos like [Haley Barbour](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5oc6jZbAhA) and [Trent Lott](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRLqT_ZoJPQ), if you can stomach that sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2008, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-a-genuine-or-convincingly-faked-rural-mississippi-accent/432308/5 "2008-01-04T21:48:43Z")
_“Maybe someday, after Old Mrs. Hatcher (Lord love her) goes to her heavenly reward, Great Auntie Eliza’s whole misguided marriage to that Yankee will be forgotten and we’ll be accepted back into the social register.”_ That’s the kind of accent I’m looking for. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2008, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-a-genuine-or-convincingly-faked-rural-mississippi-accent/432308/6 "2008-01-04T23:12:53Z")
A female character, I guess? Well, [here’s a video blogger with a good Southern accent](http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=CraZiiBex). ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-a-genuine-or-convincingly-faked-rural-mississippi-accent/432308/7 "2008-01-05T13:09:41Z")
May I ask a favor? Pronounce your 'r’s. This is something actors always get wrong (and which grates on the ears of native Southerners). There are only a few coastal accents which are non-rhotic. In other words, don’t imitate Scarlett O’Hara. I see you’re in Austin. Shouldn’t be too tough to find a Southern accent there. I know Texans often deny being Southern, but the fact is there’s not a nickel’s worth of difference between the so-called Texas twang and the typical Southern accent. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-a-genuine-or-convincingly-faked-rural-mississippi-accent/432308/8 "2008-01-07T15:44:12Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] May I ask a favor? Pronounce your 'r’s. This is something actors always get wrong (and which grates on the ears of native Southerners). There are only a few coastal accents which are non-rhotic. In other words, don’t imitate Scarlett O’Hara. [/QUOTE] And that, friend, is precisely why I’m looking for good samples of the genuine article. I’d rather hear an accent produced by a native of the region in question than depend on an imitation performed 70 years ago by an English actress. [QUOTE=spoke-] I see you’re in Austin. Shouldn’t be too tough to find a Southern accent there. I know Texans often deny being Southern, but the fact is there’s not a nickel’s worth of difference between the so-called Texas twang and the typical Southern accent. [/QUOTE] But there are many different accents recognizable as distinctly Texan. Dallas, Waco, and Houston, to name a few, can be readily identified by the practiced ear. So to prepare for the role of a rural Mississippian, I’d prefer to hear examples of the genuine dialect than to assume all Southern accents are pretty much the same. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-a-genuine-or-convincingly-faked-rural-mississippi-accent/432308/9 "2008-01-07T16:05:43Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] May I ask a favor? Pronounce your 'r’s. This is something actors always get wrong (and which grates on the ears of native Southerners). There are only a few coastal accents which are non-rhotic. [/quote] Although, in the past, non-rhoticism was more common in the south than it is now. And, the accents in parts of Mississippi are non-rhotic. ---
**Author:** ![Grave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/71c47a/32.png) [@Grave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grave)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-a-genuine-or-convincingly-faked-rural-mississippi-accent/432308/10 "2008-01-07T16:27:59Z")
‘Rural’ (as in the geographic descriptor) covers many different races, cultures, education levels and income brackets. Can you be more specific as to the character? There are several major ‘accents’ I notice on a daily basis. ---
**Author:** ![Mint\_Julep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc79bd/32.png) [@Mint\_Julep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mint_Julep)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-a-genuine-or-convincingly-faked-rural-mississippi-accent/432308/11 "2008-01-07T16:58:44Z")
I agree with Slingblade and Morgan Freeman being acceptable. In general, I cringe when I see someone try to portray the authentic Southern accent because so many actors butcher it. But it does vary by region. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-a-genuine-or-convincingly-faked-rural-mississippi-accent/432308/12 "2008-01-07T19:18:37Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Amazing] Although, in the past, non-rhoticism was more common in the south than it is now. [/quote] Was it? Maybe so, but my 108-year-old grandmother pronounced her 'r’s until she died. > [@](#): > > And, the accents in parts of Mississippi are non-rhotic. Where? I used to live there as a kid, and I never heard it that way. The only place I can imagine where it _might_ be that way would be the immediate environs of Biloxi, since the non-rhotic accents are confined to pockets on the coasts these days. A recent movie with surprisingly good Southern accents is _Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby_. All the actors did good work there. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-a-genuine-or-convincingly-faked-rural-mississippi-accent/432308/13 "2008-01-07T19:26:18Z")
Oh, and in _Sling Blade_, you might listen especially closely to the accent of Natalie Canerday (who plays Frank’s mother). It’s the real thing. (Check out some of her other films, too. _October Skies_, for example.) I can imagine her delivering the line you’ve given us. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-a-genuine-or-convincingly-faked-rural-mississippi-accent/432308/14 "2008-01-07T20:22:12Z")
The character in question is from a small town in the Jackson area. Age, about 30. White, working class. Time period is the early 70s. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-a-genuine-or-convincingly-faked-rural-mississippi-accent/432308/15 "2008-01-07T20:41:46Z")
As it happens, I was a kid in that area, in that time period. (We lived in Meridian. Just for a short time, though. My family’s roots are in Georgia.) I think Natalie Canerday’s accent is the one you’ll want to emulate. ---
**Author:** ![Grave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/71c47a/32.png) [@Grave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grave)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-a-genuine-or-convincingly-faked-rural-mississippi-accent/432308/16 "2008-01-07T20:45:44Z")
**spoke-** speaks the truth. Don’t forget to be overly polite, never pronounce a ‘g’ at the end of a word (running = runnin’), no religous swearing, and groups of people are _always_ ya’ll. ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-a-genuine-or-convincingly-faked-rural-mississippi-accent/432308/17 "2008-01-07T23:11:41Z")
[QUOTE=Grave] **spoke-** speaks the truth. Don’t forget to be overly polite, never pronounce a ‘g’ at the end of a word (running = runnin’), no religous swearing, and groups of people are _always_ ya’ll. [/QUOTE] This is true, but a single person is **never** ya’ll. It’s something that I hear and immediately know the person is affecting the accent. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-a-genuine-or-convincingly-faked-rural-mississippi-accent/432308/18 "2008-01-07T23:38:02Z")
[QUOTE=Grave] …never pronounce a ‘g’ at the end of a word (running = runnin’)… [/QUOTE] Whoa, now, wait a minute. There are exceptions. (And actually, this is another thing actors often screw up.) For example, the ‘g’ gets pronounced in these words: thing = _thang_ anything = _anythang_ everything =_everythang_ or _everthang_ On the other hand: Nothing = _nothin’_ Something = _sumpthin’_ ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-a-genuine-or-convincingly-faked-rural-mississippi-accent/432308/19 "2008-01-07T23:49:50Z")
A semi-hijack question: Query to those Dopers in the know: the film _O Brother Where Art Thou?_ was set in rural Mississippi. How well did the actors do with their Mississippi-an accents? I was always curious, as I have never heard a native from Mississippi speak, to my knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2008, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-a-genuine-or-convincingly-faked-rural-mississippi-accent/432308/20 "2008-01-08T00:09:19Z")
[QUOTE=teela brown] A semi-hijack question: Query to those Dopers in the know: the film _O Brother Where Art Thou?_ was set in rural Mississippi. How well did the actors do with their Mississippi-an accents? I was always curious, as I have never heard a native from Mississippi speak, to my knowledge. [/QUOTE] Well, it was a mixed bag. George Clooney, Holly Hunter and Tim Blake Nelson were excellent. (They are all native Southerners. In fact, come to think of it, Holly Hunter is another good example of a genuine Southern accent for the OP. She is from Georgia.) John Turturro was awful. And there were some pretty bad accents in the supporting cast. Didn’t matter, though. The movie was so much fun, I hardly noticed the bad accents. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-with-a-genuine-or-convincingly-faked-rural-mississippi-accent/432308.md?page=2)