Will ya’ll come back? How and why the Southern accent may be starting to disappear

Growing up successful Atlanta successful nan 1940s and 1950s, Susan Levine’s visits to New York City relatives included being nan prima of an impromptu novelty show: Her relative invited complete friends and charged 25 cents a popular for them to perceive to Levine’s Southern accent.

Even though they excessively grew up successful Atlanta, Levine’s 2 sons, calved much than a 4th period aft her, ne'er said pinch nan accent that is possibly nan astir celebrated location dialect successful nan United States, pinch its elongated vowels and soft “r” sounds.

“My accent is nonexistent,” said Ira Levine, her oldest son. “People I activity with, and moreover successful school, group didn’t judge I was from Atlanta.”

“Young group today, particularly nan knowledgeable young people, they don’t want to sound excessively overmuch for illustration they are from a circumstantial hometown,” Lelia Glass, a Georgia Tech linguist who co-wrote nan Atlanta study, said. AP

The Southern accent, which has galore variations, is fading successful immoderate areas of nan South arsenic group migrate to nan region from different parts of nan U.S. and astir nan world.

A bid of investigation papers published successful December documented nan diminishment of nan location accent among Black residents of nan Atlanta area, achromatic working-class group successful nan New Orleans area and group who grew up successful Raleigh, North Carolina.

More than 5.8 cardinal group have moved into nan U.S. South so acold successful nan 2020s, much than 4 times nan mixed full of nan nation’s 3 different regions.

Linguists don’t judge mass media has played a important domiciled successful nan connection change, which tends to commencement successful municipality areas and radiate retired to much agrarian places.

Late 20th period migration surge affects accents

The classical achromatic Southern accent in nan Atlanta area and different parts of nan municipality South peaked pinch babe boomers calved betwixt 1946 and 1964 and past dropped disconnected with Gen Xers born betwixt 1965 and 1980 and consequent generations, successful ample portion because of nan tremendous in-migration of group successful nan 2nd half of nan 20th century.

It has been replaced among nan youngest speakers successful nan 21st period pinch a dialect that was first noticed successful California successful nan precocious 1980s, according to caller investigation from linguists astatine nan University of Georgia, Georgia Tech and Brigham Young University.

That dialect, which besides was detected successful Canada, has go a pan-regional accent arsenic it has dispersed to different parts of nan U.S., including Boston, New York and Michigan, contributing to nan diminishment of their location accents.

In Raleigh, North Carolina, nan trigger constituent successful nan diminution of nan Southern accent was nan opening successful 1959 of nan Research Triangle Park, a sprawling analyzable of investigation and exertion firms that attracted tens of thousands of highly knowledgeable workers from extracurricular nan South.

White residents calved aft 1979, a procreation aft nan Research Triangle’s establishment, typically don’t talk pinch a Southern accent, linguist Sean Lundergan wrote successful a insubstantial published successful December.

Often, outsiders wrongly subordinate a Southern accent pinch a deficiency of education, and immoderate younger group whitethorn beryllium trying to region themselves from that stereotype.

“Young group today, particularly nan knowledgeable young people, they don’t want to sound excessively overmuch for illustration they are from a circumstantial hometown,” said Georgia Tech linguist Lelia Glass, who co-wrote nan Atlanta study. “They want to sound much benignant of, nonlocal and geographically mobile.”

Accents alteration for younger people

The Southern dialect among Black group successful Atlanta has dropped disconnected successful caller decades chiefly because of an influx of African Americans from bluish U.S. cities successful what has been described as the “Reverse Great Migration.”

During nan Great Migration, from astir 1910 to 1970, African Americans from nan South moved to cities successful nan North for illustration New York, Detroit and Chicago.

Their grandchildren and great-grandchildren person moved backmost South successful ample numbers to places for illustration Atlanta during nan precocious 20th and early 21st hundreds of years and are much apt to beryllium college-educated.

Researchers recovered Southern accents among African Americans dropped disconnected with Gen Z, aliases those calved betwixt 1997 and 2012, according to a study published successful December.

Michelle and Richard Beck, Gen Xers surviving successful nan Atlanta area, person Southern accents, dissimilar their sons, calved successful 1998 and 2001. AP

The aforesaid researchers antecedently studied Southern accents among achromatic group successful Atlanta.

Michelle and Richard Beck, Gen Xers surviving successful nan Atlanta area, person Southern accents, but it’s missing successful their 2 sons calved successful 1998 and 2001.

“I deliberation they speak clearer than I do,” Richard Beck, a rule enforcement officer, said of his sons. “They don’t sound arsenic state arsenic I do erstwhile it comes to nan Southern drawl.”

New Orleans ‘yat’ accent diminished

Unlike different accents that person changed because of an influx of caller residents, nan distinctive, achromatic working-class “yat” accent of New Orleans has declined arsenic galore locals near pursuing nan devastating Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The accent is chopped from different location accents successful nan South and often described arsenic sounding arsenic overmuch for illustration Brooklynese arsenic Southern.

The hurricane was a “catastrophic” connection alteration arena for New Orleans since it displaced astir a 4th cardinal residents successful nan first twelvemonth aft nan large wind and brought successful tens of thousands of outsiders successful nan pursuing decade.

The diminishment of nan “yat” accent is astir noticeable successful millennials, who were adolescents erstwhile Katrina hit, since they were exposed to different ways of speaking during a cardinal clip for linguistic development, Virginia Tech sociolinguist Katie Carmichael said successful a insubstantial published successful December.

Cheryl Wilson Lanier, a 64-year-old who grew up successful Chalmette, Louisiana, 1 of nan New Orleans suburbs wherever nan accent was astir prevalent, worries that portion of nan region’s characteristic will beryllium mislaid if nan accent disappears.

“It’s benignant of for illustration we’re losing our chopped personality,” she said.

Southern personality changing

While it is diminishing successful galore municipality areas, nan Southern accent is improbable to vanish wholly because “accents are an incredibly straightforward measurement of showing different group thing astir ourselves,” said University of Georgia linguist Margaret Renwick, 1 of nan authors of nan Atlanta studies.

It whitethorn alternatively bespeak a alteration successful really younger speakers position Southern identity, pinch a location accent not arsenic intimately associated pinch what is considered Southern arsenic successful erstwhile generations, and linguistic boundaries little important than different factors, she said.

“So young group successful nan Atlanta area aliases Raleigh area person a different imagination of what life is successful nan South,” Renwick said. “And it’s not nan aforesaid arsenic nan 1 that their parents aliases grandparents grew up with.”