# What is give away that some one has southern US accent ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 10, 2012, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-give-away-that-some-one-has-southern-us-accent/640542 "2012-11-10T01:55:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-give-away-that-some-one-has-southern-us-accent/640542/21 "2012-11-11T16:17:09Z")
> [@denquixote](#): > > Pronouncing “insurance” as INsurance instead of inSURance. At least I saw that in a movie. Was the actor speaking George W. Bush (“Shrub”)? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-give-away-that-some-one-has-southern-us-accent/640542/22 "2012-11-11T18:02:20Z")
Bless your heart. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-give-away-that-some-one-has-southern-us-accent/640542/23 "2012-11-11T18:22:07Z")
Along with the THANKSgiving, there’s weekEND around here. Also, people don’t pronounce the L in bulb, but do pronounce it in walk, talk, and salmon. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-give-away-that-some-one-has-southern-us-accent/640542/24 "2012-11-11T20:01:10Z")
Git-tar for Guitar. Warsh for Wash. Even people that try hard not to sound hickish mess those up when they hurry their words. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-give-away-that-some-one-has-southern-us-accent/640542/25 "2012-11-11T22:20:33Z")
Besides the accent, there are certain phrases that are rarely heard in the North. I used to work with a PhD. who grew up in Mobile, AL. He had gone to school in the midwest, and been teased for his accent, so he worked very hard at losing it and was pretty successful. I never heard a hint of southern accent ‘till one day we were at lunch, and the waitress asked were we doing OK? "jes’ fine!" That was when I knew he wasn’t “shining me on” about where he was raised. ---
**Author:** ![Rucksinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/898d66/32.png) [@Rucksinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rucksinator)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-give-away-that-some-one-has-southern-us-accent/640542/26 "2012-11-11T22:32:23Z")
I grew up in Georgia. I have a brother named Ben, which is pronounced the same way as something that you put trash or recycling in. My cousin from Delaware had a funny accent where she would pronounce the middle sound of his name like “eh”. Like she was trying to get you to smell her breath when she said it. I made fun of her silly northern accent. **Lightnin,** there’s no reason to stop using “y’all”, as it avoids confusing the singular and plurl 2nd person pronouns. It’s very useful. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-give-away-that-some-one-has-southern-us-accent/640542/27 "2012-11-11T22:45:51Z")
Elvis Presley was Southern, (From Mississippi!) I don’t think they made him speak differently? 😕 ---
**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:** [November 11, 2012, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-give-away-that-some-one-has-southern-us-accent/640542/28 "2012-11-11T22:55:44Z")
> [@sweat209](#): > > . . .and most people say supper than dinner in the south. Actually, dinner vs. supper is a rural/urban distinction, not a South vs. the rest of the world distinction. Dinner is the main meal of the day. Supper is the evening meal. In many rural areas, farmers and their families would stop work during the midday heat for a long, large\* dinner\*, then work into the evening as long as the light lasted, come home for a light\* supper\*, and go to bed. > [@Rucksinator](#): > > **Lightnin,** there’s no reason to stop using “y’all”, as it avoids confusing the singular and plurl 2nd person pronouns. It’s very useful. Absolutely. The plural of y’all is **All y’all.** ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-give-away-that-some-one-has-southern-us-accent/640542/29 "2012-11-11T23:18:31Z")
> [@Learjeff](#): > > The Texas accent is probably the most distinct, being partly a western and partly a southern accent. I’ve never been to Nebraska, but I bet you’d find people who sound a bit like Texans living next door to people who sound like the folks in the movie Fargo. Beg pardon, but which Texas accent? People came to the state from the South, from Africa, from Appalachia, from Germany and Czechoslovakia, from Mexico and Spain and from Southeast Asia (There may have been other major migrations, but I think that covers it.) Outside the cities they have tended more or less to keep to the same ethnic groups and tended to keep distinct accents. People in North Texas sound a little like they’re from Oklahoma (no offense to either), but they have a completely different accent from people in, say, Schulenberg, and they both might be surprised by how someone from Orange sounds. For what it’s worth, when I moved from Houston and Galveston to Central Texas, people insisted that I was from Wisconsin because of my accent. ---
**Author:** ![Tammi\_Terrell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Tammi\_Terrell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tammi_Terrell)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-give-away-that-some-one-has-southern-us-accent/640542/30 "2012-11-11T23:20:23Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > The plural of y’all is **All y’all.** Really? I don’t know a single Southerner who uses “y’all” as anything _but_ the plural form of “you” (singular). In other words, no Southerner I know (including me) uses “y’all” to refer to a singular “you.” If we’re talking to you (singular), we’re gonna say, “What you want for dinner?” If you brought along a friend, we’re gonna say, “What y’all want for dinner?” “All y’all” is just an emphatic form of “y’all.” (And “all y’all’s” is the possessive of “all y’all.”) ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-give-away-that-some-one-has-southern-us-accent/640542/31 "2012-11-11T23:41:33Z")
I guess you haven’t been to South Georgia, Tammi Terrell. I’ve been called y’all more times than I can remember. ---
**Author:** ![Tammi\_Terrell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Tammi\_Terrell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tammi_Terrell)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-give-away-that-some-one-has-southern-us-accent/640542/32 "2012-11-11T23:50:08Z")
Interesting! What’s the likelihood of encountering “y’all” for a singular you, though? In other words, is using “y’all” for a sole “you” just an outlier or is it pretty commonplace? In your experience, is “y’all” normally used to refer to plural “you”? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-give-away-that-some-one-has-southern-us-accent/640542/33 "2012-11-12T00:00:41Z")
They add syllables to one syllable words. Bear and wear become “Bay-er” “Way-er” ---
**Author:** ![sweat209](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@sweat209](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweat209)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-give-away-that-some-one-has-southern-us-accent/640542/34 "2012-11-12T02:39:24Z")
Those two girls just moved to Georgia so probably don’t have Georgia accent . Not sure what accent they have but broadcasters don’t sound like them. You saying they are not speaking proper english that broadcasters want? Than what are they speaking ? Why is talking very fast and high pich way of talking so called proper english that broadcasters want.I watch many hollywood movies and they don’t talk fast like that. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-give-away-that-some-one-has-southern-us-accent/640542/35 "2012-11-12T03:20:00Z")
Which movies have the most consistent and copy-able accents from different areas of the South. No Country for Old Men for (some subsection of) Texas? Also, there is a huge audio database of American speech, which I can’t think of at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-give-away-that-some-one-has-southern-us-accent/640542/36 "2012-11-12T04:01:04Z")
> [@Tammi\_Terrell](#): > > Interesting! What’s the likelihood of encountering “y’all” for a singular you, though? In other words, is using “y’all” for a sole “you” just an outlier or is it pretty commonplace? In your experience, is “y’all” normally used to refer to plural “you”? We’ve had this discussion before. Allegedly some Texans use y’all as a singular noun, but I’ve never encountered this in reality. Y’all is a contraction of “You all” so using it for the singular doesn’t make any sense. We already have You or Ya for that. Standard Southern usage is: Y’all: When addressing two or more people. All y’all: NOT just an emphatic “y’all”, it has a separate function. If I tell Luke and Leia “Y’all are invited to my party”, that means only Luke and Leia are invited. If I say “All y’all are invited to my party” that includes persons who are not present at this very moment: Han, Chewie, Lando, and the rest of the Rebel Alliance. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-give-away-that-some-one-has-southern-us-accent/640542/37 "2012-11-12T07:31:49Z")
True. And “yuh’uns” (you ones? al_most_ sounds like onions) is plural, although the singular is a clear “you.” Some other give aways: “divan” instead of sofa or couch. “I 'ppreciate it” instead of or along with Thank You. (If you _don’t_ add that, you’re not really grateful.) Parents are called Mommy and Daddy even if you’re in your fifties. ---
**Author:** ![Rucksinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/898d66/32.png) [@Rucksinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rucksinator)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-give-away-that-some-one-has-southern-us-accent/640542/38 "2012-11-12T07:41:56Z")
> [@Tammi\_Terrell](#): > > Interesting! What’s the likelihood of encountering “y’all” for a singular you, though? In other words, is using “y’all” for a sole “you” just an outlier or is it pretty commonplace? In your experience, is “y’all” normally used to refer to plural “you”? Pretty much zero, IME. If a teacher is standing in front of a class, and is referring to one person, then s/he would use “you”. If they were referring to a few students s/he would say “y’all”. If the teacher were referring to the entire class then s/he would use “y’all” or “all y’all”. “Y’all”, being a contraction for “you all”, is plural, full stop. ---
**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:** [November 12, 2012, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-give-away-that-some-one-has-southern-us-accent/640542/39 "2012-11-12T16:18:04Z")
> [@Mississippienne](#): > > Allegedly some Texans use y’all as a singular noun, but I’ve never encountered this in reality. I have, so I’m going to stubbornly stick to my post, y’all. ---
**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:** [November 12, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-give-away-that-some-one-has-southern-us-accent/640542/40 "2012-11-12T16:25:04Z")
BTW. [Cite 1](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/all_y'all) and [Cite 2](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MplVbe5ys0I) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-give-away-that-some-one-has-southern-us-accent/640542.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-give-away-that-some-one-has-southern-us-accent/640542.md?page=3)