How would Southern Speech Patterns, or Dialect compare to modern accents?

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Oct 23, 2021
How similar/dissimilar were speech patterns and dialects in the CW era from modern accents, especially in the state of Alabama?
Would a person whose ancestors were French talk differently from someone with, say, Scottish ancestry? If so, how?
What sort of idioms were in common usage at the time?
Is it possible to write accurately about the CW without using the N word?
I live in MN and most of my experience with southern dialect is from TV & movies, although I did go to TX for a few days several years ago, which resulted in an interesting interaction between me, the MN transplant I was visiting and her coworker. How likely is it that my perception of how people talked in Alabama during the CW is accurate?

I‘m writing a novel set in Alabama and New Orleans, and I want to be as accurate in my dialog as possible. One main character has French ancestry and the other might be Scottish. Any suggestions are welcome.
 
Speaking of accents,why does John Boy on the old Waltons TV Show sometimes sound like a Yankee? Earl Hamner narrates for John Boy at the beginning of each show as if it's John Boy talking about some incident or event that occurred on Waltons Mountain. I think I read Hamner was from Virginia, but he sure didn't sound like it.
 
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Speaking of accents,why does John Boy on the old Waltons TV Show sometimes sound like a Yankee? Earl Hamner narrates for John Boy at the beginning of each show as if it's John Boy talking about some incident or event that occurred on Waltons Mountain. I think I read Hamner was from Virginia, but he sure didn't sound like it.
Another example of different Southern accents.

Earl Hamner had a very distinct Virginia accent. The same as some people from the adjacent state of North Carolina.
A good example would be the famous evangelist Billy Graham from North Carolina. There are many dialects within Virginia.

Richard Thomas, the actor portraying the original " John Boy" was very good with a generic Southern accent during The Waltons early years, but he sounded more Deep South than Hamner's Virginia area.

Again.
Not all Southern accents are the same.

Even in late 2021, there are some sections of Virginia and the Carolinas where I can't understand anything some of the people are saying.

But I doubt they can understand my Mississippi accent either.


:D
 
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My experience as far as the use of the N-word - it was considered coarse and vulgar and only lower class people used it. Robert E. Lee's social class would not use the word, at least in polite society.

That may explain why out of the 2000+ newspaper articles I've collected on black Southern war involvement, maybe 30-40 articles use that term. I had wondered if it was considered vulgar even then.
 
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So does anyone here from the South say "hose pipe" when referring to a garden hose? I picked that up from my dad, who grew up in the Asheville/Candler area of NC, so I wonder if that's a term from that area. Most people where I live now in upstate SC probably just call it a "hose". My wife teases me about the "hose pipe" term. :D
 
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It's always been a called a "hose" where I grew up.

" Back in the childhood days " ... drinking water out of any garden hose was a treat on a hot Summer day.

An hour later ... the garden "hose" would be connected to a "sprinkler" to water the lawn.
By then, all of us kids had changed into our swim attire and turned someone's yard into a water park.

(I doubt any of those fond times would be permitted in today's world) .

:frown:

But come to think of it, I do remember some archaic Southern phrases our Grandmother's would use ... when they thought we had been playing in the water too long.

:D
 
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I don't notice the different Southern accents but do notice that folks in the Eastern part of the South say Pecan instead of Pacon.
In Eastern Tennessee the use of "youins" "weuns" and "usuns" is more prevalent than in North Mississippi!
Regards
David
 
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And while I appreciate authenticity in novels, trying to duplicate accents on paper never seems to work
(For me anyway).

I think I agree with this. In fiction, it's probably better not to worry too much about accent, which mostly has to do with vowel sounds and which is impossible to be certain about anyway, 100 years after most of those people are gone. Focus on things like word choice and word order. If there are specific regional usages like "y'all," go ahead and include those for authenticity. But let the reader fill in the accent. That kind of fits with the art of writing fiction anyway. In portraying a street scene in New Orleans, you're not going to describe every detail, just enough so the reader can conjure up the scene in his or her own mind.

Roy B.
 
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That may explain why out of the 2000+ newspaper articles I've collected on black Southern war involvement, maybe 30-40 articles use that term. I had wondered if it was considered vulgar even then.
Newspaper people were not generally considered a very respectable class at that time in history. I'm guessing if they thought it would sell their papers they would use it, but I believe it was a vulgar term even then among people who wished to consider themselves educated and cultivated.
 
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An hour later ... the garden "hose" would be connected to a "sprinkler" to water the lawn.
By then, all of us kids had changed into our swim attire and turned someone's yard into a water park.

(I doubt any of those fond times would be permitted in today's world) .

:frown:

But come to think of it, I do remember some archaic Southern phrases our Grandmother's would use ... when they thought we had been playing in the water too long.

:D
Forgot to add, there were many injuries.

Bare feet stepping on rusty nails, ect.

:bounce:

Some of our Moms would start screaming about tetanus shots, while the Grandmothers would often "grunt" and bring up ancient
Southern remedies their daughter's couldn't even understand.

A perfect example of how words & phrases evolve over a few generations.
 
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This Is the sort of discussion that one could only find here in this community.

I spent a bit of time in my formative years with my Grandma ( Nanny) who had a deep Irish brogue. As a result, when I went to grammar school, I had a tendency to, well let’s say spell out loud funny. Example t hach E for the
 
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This Is the sort of discussion that one could only find here in this community.

I spent a bit of time in my formative years with my Grandma ( Nanny) who had a deep Irish brogue. As a result, when I went to grammar school, I had a tendency to, well let’s say spell out loud funny. Example t hach E for the
Yes, indeed! I’ve been enjoying this thread a lot, plus I’m gleaning insight into how my characters are going to be talking to each other. Thank you all and I look forward to reading more!
 
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I never noticed my own Texan accent until about age 9 when I discovered a love of poetry. Realized some of my words weren't rhyming, this was quite an eye-opener.

Taking up music and choral singing from jr high through college, I learned how to pronounce words through singing without a Southern accent. This pronunciation showed up in everyday speech, I didn't notice this until one day a woman asked me which part of California I was from.

At times of excitement or stress, or speaking with close friends and family, the Texan accent returns with a gusto!

Shelby Foote had the most wonderful Southern accent. He was from the Mississippi Delta. Could listen to him all day!

--BBF
 
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I never noticed my own Texan accent until about age 9 when I discovered a love of poetry. Realized some of my words weren't rhyming, this was quite an eye-opener.

Taking up music and choral singing from jr high through college, I learned how to pronounce words through singing without a Southern accent. This pronunciation showed up in everyday speech, I didn't notice this until one day a woman asked me which part of California I was from.

At times of excitement or stress, or speaking with close friends and family, the Texan accent returns with a gusto!

Shelby Foote had the most wonderful Southern accent. He was from the Mississippi Delta. Could listen to him all day!

--BBF
I totally relate to this. I first heard my accent at age 10 when we moved off the farm and I went to the back yard and yelled as loud as I could, "I'm leaving here!" My words echoed off the hills and came back to me as, " I'm a leavin cheer. " 😲 The more relaxed I am around people the more I "talk Kentucky" as my children like to call it. 😉
 
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Of course, "rounds" is fairly universal, no? Since musket balls (and early rifled balls too) were spherical, and these lead spheres or balls were tied into a tubular paper cartridge, the term "rounds" stuck with cartridges long into the present day.. Certainly there is much influence of Scots-Irish, and portions of Appalachia were settled in a very different pattern than, say, the Piedmont or low-country, hence the "different accents" (different languages or dialects, even?) of the "up country" and "mountain folk."
Right. I grew up in Arkansas, and you get very different expressions, like "it ain't done it" for something not believed to be true.
 
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T
I never noticed my own Texan accent until about age 9 when I discovered a love of poetry. Realized some of my words weren't rhyming, this was quite an eye-opener.

Taking up music and choral singing from jr high through college, I learned how to pronounce words through singing without a Southern accent. This pronunciation showed up in everyday speech, I didn't notice this until one day a woman asked me which part of California I was from.

At times of excitement or stress, or speaking with close friends and family, the Texan accent returns with a gusto!

Shelby Foote had the most wonderful Southern accent. He was from the Mississippi Delta. Could listen to him all day!

--BBF
There is an old Dallas accent that you don’t hear so much anymore but it’s a treat to me. A Southern drawl but with a slight nasal twang, very distinctive.

East Texas is different. Yesterday at the grocery store the checkout lady sounded exactly like Sheldon’s mother on The Big Bang Theory. Loved it.
 
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