# Has there ever truly been a genius who had a thick, stereotypical Southern accent? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 12, 2024, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-truly-been-a-genius-who-had-a-thick-stereotypical-southern-accent/1001437 "2024-05-12T04:07:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2024, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-truly-been-a-genius-who-had-a-thick-stereotypical-southern-accent/1001437/61 "2024-05-13T22:19:56Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Jimmy Carter? [Carter had training in Nuclear Physics](https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/people/presidents/carter.html). Worked for Admiral Rickover and assigned to Naval Reactors Branch, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. Assisted with the development of Nuclear Subs. Very sharp guy. I imagine Carter would have advanced quickly through the ranks. But he choose to return and take over the family farm. I never heard him speak, but George Washington Carver was a Southerner. He was a agricultural scientist and inventor. He was one of the most prominent black scientists of the early 20th century. [[(Wikipedia)](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Carver)] ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2024, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-truly-been-a-genius-who-had-a-thick-stereotypical-southern-accent/1001437/62 "2024-05-13T22:33:30Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > I cannot name one, but I know plenty of people who are very well educated, skilled, qualified professionals, etc who are able to speak in such a heavy accent and jargon - and do so at home with family or friends - but who are also able to “code switch” (change register? I’m not sure of the terminology for this) to a more neutral accent and vocabulary when necessary. I expect most “genius” professionals can do this. Another agreement with this. One brilliant guy I went to school with had grown up in a highly literate Southern family where they took turns at dinner doing things like reading and dissecting a poem, or taking a stand on a political issue and defending it. As a result of that practice and his native intelligence, he was quite nimble in conversation of any intellectual topic. Whenever the conversation turned to “folksy” defenses of a particular viewpoint - such as, say, a colorful anecdote about good 'ole great aunt Susie, who’d be alive today if the government hadn’t done blah blah blah to her - he could lay on the accent super thick, because it made his rhetoric even more compelling. I wish I could remember his last name so I could Google him. He was really something, and I’m sure he’s done quite well in life. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2024, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-truly-been-a-genius-who-had-a-thick-stereotypical-southern-accent/1001437/63 "2024-05-13T22:46:16Z")
> [@eburacum45](#): > > Taylor is someone who bends his **considerable intellect** towards belief in impossible things. Bolding mine. So someone with considerable intellect is not intelligent? I mean, the guy’s a rocket scientist, after all. /end hijack ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2024, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-truly-been-a-genius-who-had-a-thick-stereotypical-southern-accent/1001437/64 "2024-05-13T23:43:04Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > George Ohr the great Biloxi, MS ceramicist and art potter was considered a genius. Dang! Thanks for that. He was certainly worth googling. > [@TJEckleburg](#): > > Genius with a thick California accent: Californians have accents? (Yes, I know they do sort of have accents/use terms that other regions don’t use, but not very recognizably). I think the problem with the California accent is that Hollywood has smeared it thinly all over the world. At least as much of the world as they could reach. So it’s an accent that a lot of people are used to hearing. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-truly-been-a-genius-who-had-a-thick-stereotypical-southern-accent/1001437/65 "2024-05-14T00:15:04Z")
> [@TJEckleburg](#): > > Genius with a thick California accent: Californians have accents? (Yes, I know they do sort of have accents/use terms that other regions don’t use, but not very recognizably). **Everyone** has an accent. But, if someone’s accent is similar enough to your own, you won’t hear it as such – you’ll just hear it as “normal speaking.” ---
**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-truly-been-a-genius-who-had-a-thick-stereotypical-southern-accent/1001437/66 "2024-05-14T02:58:42Z")
I saw this nice book in the library which is survey results about how people say words or have usage in the USA. Tho I can’t remember the title, it’s unique because it has maps that show different speaking styles. The ways of the South were interesting in the book. It had my office director’s exclamation about a sunny day with thunder and lightning. She’s said to me in her Louisiana accent, “mr. shepard, the devil’s beating his wife out there.” Although I’m not sure of her complete genius, it’s simply enthralling to have listened to her every day for the last twenty-two years at work. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-truly-been-a-genius-who-had-a-thick-stereotypical-southern-accent/1001437/67 "2024-05-14T03:15:59Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > [Sen. Sam Ervin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Ervin) comes to mind. J. William Fulbright (Arkansas) was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, taught law at the University of Arkansas when he was 31, and was named university president when he was 34 - the youngest university president in the country at that time. That was _before_ he spent 29 years in the Senate. He also founded the Fulbright Program, which counts 62 Nobel Prize winners among its recipients. In fact, here were a bunch of Southern politicians who could classify as geniuses, even if their racial views put them in the category of evil geniuses. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-truly-been-a-genius-who-had-a-thick-stereotypical-southern-accent/1001437/68 "2024-05-14T12:18:46Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > I think the problem with the California accent is that Hollywood has smeared it thinly all over the world. At least as much of the world as they could reach. So it’s an accent that a lot of people are used to hearing. Yes. Notably for me, the [æ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near-open_front_unrounded_vowel) sound – as in “had” or “that” – started to shift in the 1970s in parts of California toward an [ʌ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-mid_back_unrounded_vowel) sound. Think of Jeff Spicoli (the Sean Penn character) in _Fast Times at Ridgemont High._ Just in the last decade, this shift has spread across much of the US - especially among young women, who tend to lead the way in such trends. As with a thick Southern accent, I have an unjust bias against this. To me (a fifty-something male), it sounds strange to have serious people talking like Valley Girls or surfer dudes. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2024, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-truly-been-a-genius-who-had-a-thick-stereotypical-southern-accent/1001437/69 "2024-05-15T02:39:04Z")
A website about the California accent: > **[The California Accent or California English: A Guide for ESL Learners](https://magoosh.com/english-speaking/the-california-accent-or-california-english-a-guide-for-esl-learners/)** > > Have you ever wanted to learn about the California accent or California English? Read on and learn with our analysis for ESL learners. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2024, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-truly-been-a-genius-who-had-a-thick-stereotypical-southern-accent/1001437/70 "2024-05-15T19:43:23Z")
It occurs to me that Albert Einstein grew up in southern Germany (Wurtemmburg and near Munich) and so if retained the accent of his youth then he would have been a genius with a southern accent. A southern German accent. of course. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2024, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-truly-been-a-genius-who-had-a-thick-stereotypical-southern-accent/1001437/71 "2024-05-15T20:04:52Z")
The YouTuber who runs Smarter Every Day is a clear Southerner and former DoD missiles and explosives engineer. I don’t know that he’s in the territory of Albert Einstein but he is, nevertheless, clearly a smart guy. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2024, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-truly-been-a-genius-who-had-a-thick-stereotypical-southern-accent/1001437/72 "2024-05-15T20:07:06Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I never heard him speak, but George Washington Carver was a Southerner. He was a agricultural scientist and inventor. He was one of the most prominent black scientists of the early 20th century. [[(Wikipedia)](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Carver)] His voice and a “maybe”: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/yi1Z3aRmx1k/maxresdefault.jpg "George Washington Carver: Bigger than peanuts") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi1Z3aRmx1k) ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2024, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-truly-been-a-genius-who-had-a-thick-stereotypical-southern-accent/1001437/73 "2024-05-15T20:54:05Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > It’s said that Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist Richard Feynman had such a strong New York accent that acquaintances thought he sounded like a “bum”. I once went to a talk by Feynman and he had, not a NY accent, but a full Brooklyn accent (what I call the “tree toids in d’ terlet” accent). Then he took questions from the audience and answered them in a standard American radio accent! So I have to assume that the talk was rehearsed and, while he talked that way originally, he had long since stopped. As for the link to the guy supposedly from Philly, that was a joke. The accent was not any Philly accent I was familiar with growing up, although I suppose it was a highly exaggerated South Philly accent. And Wawa hoagies? Don’t be silly. Our local deli did better than that. Although, the best hoagie I ever had was from Hoagie Haven in Princeton. Imagine! ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2024, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-truly-been-a-genius-who-had-a-thick-stereotypical-southern-accent/1001437/74 "2024-05-15T22:50:23Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > It occurs to me that Albert Einstein grew up in southern Germany (Wurtemmburg and near Munich) and so if retained the accent of his youth then he would have been a genius with a southern accent. A southern German accent. of course. I only heard short excerpts of when he was speaking German, but from those bits a discernible Southern German accent was obvious, but it didn’t really sound like a thick “hick” accent, just a coloration. He did have a thick German accent when speaking English though, but that’s excusable because AFAIK, he learned English later in life, and immersion through media in a foreign language was almost non-existent at the time. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2024, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-truly-been-a-genius-who-had-a-thick-stereotypical-southern-accent/1001437/75 "2024-05-16T02:13:47Z")
No mentions of Mark Twain? I would assume that he’d have had a southern accent. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2024, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-truly-been-a-genius-who-had-a-thick-stereotypical-southern-accent/1001437/76 "2024-05-16T02:17:28Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > No mentions of Mark Twain? I would assume that he’d have had a southern accent He was born in Florida, Missouri, in the northern part of the state. Not exactly the heart of Dixie. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2024, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-truly-been-a-genius-who-had-a-thick-stereotypical-southern-accent/1001437/77 "2024-05-16T02:20:33Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > He was born in Florida, Missouri, in the northern part of the state. Not exactly the heart of Dixie. Okay. I always associated him with the south ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2024, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-truly-been-a-genius-who-had-a-thick-stereotypical-southern-accent/1001437/78 "2024-05-16T02:21:12Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > No mentions of Mark Twain? I would assume that he’d have had a southern accent. Recording of an actor friend of his from the same town, doing an impression of Twain: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/mqHPN4lW6tI/hqdefault.jpg "Mark Twain's Voice") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqHPN4lW6tI) ---
**Author:** ![TJEckleburg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ebca7d/32.png) [@TJEckleburg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJEckleburg)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2024, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-truly-been-a-genius-who-had-a-thick-stereotypical-southern-accent/1001437/79 "2024-05-16T03:09:18Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > He was born in Florida, Missouri, in the northern part of the state. Not exactly the heart of Dixie. His father owned slaves, as did his neighbors. When he was 25, he “fought” for the Confederacy for two weeks of no action: > **[Why Mark Twain had an incredibly brief stint as a Confederate soldier](https://www.militarytimes.com/off-duty/military-culture/2023/04/18/why-mark-twain-had-an-incredibly-brief-stint-as-a-confederate-soldier/)** > > In the summer of 1861, the former riverboat pilot went to war. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2024, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-truly-been-a-genius-who-had-a-thick-stereotypical-southern-accent/1001437/80 "2024-05-16T03:55:50Z")
The question is whether you would consider LBJ a genius? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-truly-been-a-genius-who-had-a-thick-stereotypical-southern-accent/1001437.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-truly-been-a-genius-who-had-a-thick-stereotypical-southern-accent/1001437.md?page=5)