People in Southern Nebraska and Northern Kansas sometimes do sound like they have Southern accents as many of them (or their ancestors) are transplants from Oklahoma or Southern Missouri. They moved farther north due to the lack of economic activities in their home states.
I live in NE Indiana and there are a number of people here with Southern and Southern-like accents (I lived down South for six years so I recognize it when I hear it) also because of them or their parents moving up here from Kentucky and Tennessee.
So while Larry the Cable Guy may affect a Southern accent it wouldn’t be uncommon for him to have one given that he hails from Southern Nebraska.
I agree with those who say it’s a very good fake of a generic Southern accent. Nothing in particular I’ve ever heard, but very suitable. Considering his popularity I don’t think Southerners are objecting much. At least he doesn’t sound like Foghorn Leghorn.
People who are originally from Atlanta have southern accents. It just sounds different than the more pronounced twang you hear from folks who are on a slightly different socio-economic plane. Like anywhere else in the world.
In general, people who come from Atlanta families sound a lot like people from Macon, Colombus, Augusta, etc.
Generally speaking, a Georgia Peach is going to sound different than someone who grew up in Bentonville, Arkansas. But there are other things that play into it too… education level, age, income, etc. And of course all this is much more muddled than 50 years ago before accents started mixing & vanishing.
Cities like Tallahassee, Atlanta or Charlotte that have big influxes of out-of-towners muddying up the works have softened those accents a lot. You have to get a good distance away from those cities before Duck Dynasty tones are the norm.
But to REALLY have an educated guess as to whether someone is Tennessee or Texas, you’d probably have to listen for certain expressions or word choices or brands. If they mention college basketball before college football there’s a chance they’re from North Carolina, if they talk about Publix subs then they’re not from outside a couple of states in the Southeast, etc…
Exactly, EvilCaptor, and I love your example of the differences between a “Georgia” accent based on location. I’ll add that the Savannah accent is different to both the north GA and middle GA accents, and that the “wiregrass” Georgia accent is still different (it’s twangier, for one). (Wiregrass = below Macon.)
North FL’s southern accents range from wiregrass to Savannah to influences from Alabama and Mississippi and sometimes even Louisiana. That I-10 route is interesting.
Which is all a long-winded way to say that “Larry the Cable Guy” sounds generically country-southern to me, but nothing jumps out as being from an identifiable location.
Exactly; a college professor from Savannah will not sound the same as a car mechanic from Macon, even though geographically they are not far apart at all.
I miss Publix subs. Yes, I can get more authentic ones at the deli/Italian bakery down the street, but Publix. Ah, Publix. I miss your fried chicken, baked beans, cole slaw, and subs. In fact, I drive my mother crackers, because when I go home, I insist on stopping at Publix on the ride back from the airport to get some of these yummies.
When I last ordered oil and vinegar on my sub, the retirement-aged man working behind the counter said in a New York accent, “You’re far from home!” Seems that hasn’t caught on among the locals. (Note: this was before I moved to Massachusetts, so I hadn’t ditched my own accent yet.)
[/mini-hijack] (Sorry; I think I’m hungry. I missed lunch.)
I once interviewed “Cousin” Minnie Pearl and found her a delightful and classy person with no trace of a Southern accent. She said she used it much like the trademark hat she put on for her character. Quite probably “Larry” does much the same. It must be admitted it has been good for him professionally.
I’ll add Kelly Macdonald as Carla Jean Moss in No Country For Old Men. She wouldn’t have sounded out of place anywhere from Dallas to Odessa, and is from friggin’ Scotland.
Well, yes, that’s why I said some Atlantans have stereotypically Southern accents. Some don’t. But it’s possible to find people who grew up in the metro area with pronounced Southern accents: Jeff Foxworthy, for example. So Jan Hooks’ Designing Women accent *could *have been close to her real one, given that she grew up in the 60’s, before Atlanta saw the huge influx of transplants that made the city “in the South but not of it”.
Larry sounds legit to me although I know his accent’s not real. Contrarily, Julia Roberts’ Louisiana accent in Steel Magnolias sounds horrible, which is odd considering she grew up about 20 minutes away from me in rural Georgia. Holly Hunter on the other hand, manages to keep her Conyers GA accent (also rural GA) in every movie she makes.
But then, it’s very true that accents differ widely and it doesn’t have to be different regions of the South or even different parts of a state. My mother is a twin and has a different accent than her own sister; both grew up together in the same house.
Jan Hooks is Southern through and through. She was born in Decatur, Georgia, but her family roots are in the small town of Cedartown (where she is buried). All of her Southern accents are genuine, including the exaggerated ones she used for some characters.
Larry the Cable Guy’s accent would be right at home in north Georgia. So even though I don’t like his act, I have to admit he has a good ear and is a good mimic.
Also, I would argue that Southern accents may vary by location, but the more obvious variance is by socio-economic status. A poor south Georgia cracker’s accent is not much different from a poor north Georgia cracker’s accent. Larry the Cable Guy’s accent comes from these lower rungs.
Well, they’re bith very pronounced, but the accents are different and not terribly difficult to tell apart. I find the N GA accent to be a lot more nasal and twangy.
The second guy is definitely from South Georgia, but the first guy doesn’t have what I think of when I hear rural people from, say, Dahlonega speak. His accent is much, much less pronounced, in my opinion. I hear accents in North Georgia that will make your hair curl.