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Post by monarchistknight on Sept 4, 2004 8:51:00 GMT -5
I asked that question during Social Studies and our teacher didn't know. It's very odd to me that the top half of the US has a different accent than the bottom half. We studied the other differences like economy and what not, but accent is still eluding me. Where does it come from? Why is it that some places that are so close together have different accents? I really don't know.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2004 9:13:23 GMT -5
I asked that question during Social Studies and our teacher didn't know. It's very odd to me that the top half of the US has a different accent than the bottom half. We studied the other differences like economy and what not, but accent is still eluding me. Where does it come from? Why is it that some places that are so close together have different accents? I really don't know. I think I know. In the past, the North was much more industrialized than the South. The Northerners lived a fast-paced live, so they didn't have time to talk slowly. In the South, life was more relaxed. People didn't always have to rush from one thing to another. So, they could afford to talk slowly. And it stuck. |
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Post by william on Sept 4, 2004 9:15:22 GMT -5
That may be true, Comedian, but what about the UK? We are MUCH smaller than America, but we have DOZENS of accents. People from the neighbouring county have slightly different accents to us.
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Post by monarchistknight on Sept 4, 2004 9:23:55 GMT -5
I think I know. In the past, the North was much more industrialized than the South. The Northerners lived a fast-paced live, so they didn't have time to talk slowly. In the South, life was more relaxed. People didn't always have to rush from one thing to another. So, they could afford to talk slowly. And it stuck. That's exactly what my social studies teacher said, but he wasn't sure about it. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2004 9:45:22 GMT -5
That may be true, Comedian, but what about the UK? We are MUCH smaller than America, but we have DOZENS of accents. People from the neighbouring county have slightly different accents to us. Hm...maybe it's because in the Medieval times and before, Great Britain was occupied by many forces. Romans, Vikings, and so forth. They each had their little kingdoms set up. People generally only married and talked to people of their own kingdom (and, when kingdoms were gone, religion). So when a common language was spread through the land, the other languages just evolved into their own dialects of it. Just a theory. |
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Post by william on Sept 4, 2004 9:46:56 GMT -5
I don't quite think so, Comedian... In some places it's nowhere near a different dialect, just a slightly different way of saying the odd word.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2004 10:08:55 GMT -5
I don't quite think so, Comedian... In some places it's nowhere near a different dialect, just a slightly different way of saying the odd word. Well, we do too. Like pop/soda/coke. I suppose that would have to do with slang. |
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Post by Jessica Coconut on Sept 4, 2004 11:41:25 GMT -5
Original language.
The people who settled in the northern half of the US must have been of a different language or dialect than those that settled in the southern US.
But, remember, I said SETTLED, not discovered or founded. Plus, I'm Canadian, so I don't know all too much about the US history.
Still. If the language you used to speak commands that every consonant must be followed by a vowel (Japanese, I believe) your accent will be different.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2004 22:05:18 GMT -5
In the south its hotter. People speak slower. I dunno.
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Post by The Wanderer on Sept 4, 2004 23:11:11 GMT -5
That may be true, Comedian, but what about the UK? We are MUCH smaller than America, but we have DOZENS of accents. People from the neighbouring county have slightly different accents to us. The UK has been around since shortly after the Roman Empire collapsed. Multiple dialects emerged over the millenia, or so, and that is about the most logical explanation I can offer. On a side note: Just imagine if spoken word can evolve, then imagine how english will be spoken in a couple hundred years from now... |
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Post by william on Sept 5, 2004 1:57:50 GMT -5
I think that it might be because a long time ago there was very little transport and it took days to get from one place to another, that if a way of saying a particular word became popular, then it wouldn't really spread outside that area.
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Post by Shadyy on Sept 5, 2004 11:06:36 GMT -5
I only know that whatever was ever in the roman empire was definetly influenced by latin or the different roman languages.
(That's why there's lots of french-ish words in english).
Also the spreading of accents and variations of words also has to do with what class people looked up at. Say that artists are considered as the supreme I-don't-know-whats ;a large part of the population will take over their specific accent and vocabulary (this is just an example, don't know if artists have a special way of saying stuff)
probably more to say, just can't think of it right now
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Post by althechia on Sept 6, 2004 1:39:49 GMT -5
It isn't just temperature, it's culture, immigration, race, and class as well. It also affects not just the mode of speech, but the moods and personalities of the people regionally.
Ebonics, for example. African slaves were brought to America. They were from another country, so they were already different accent-wise. They were given very little education on speaking proper language, reading, or writing, and they had a very large concentration in the south, which had quite an accent behind it already, so this unique way of speaking formed, with a strong southern tint and heavy use of slang. Slavery was abolished, but for a very long time black people got the short end of the stick, and were largely segregated, so the accent remained and developed. Now, in our 'integrated' society ebonics are still widely used all over the country, but still, mostly, only by African Americans.
I believe the variation in British accents is more an issue of class than anything else. Of course, the most I know about variants in English accents is a look at the musical 'My Fair Lady,' in which the proper Englishman teaches the poor, dirty flower girl how to speak properly. And watching British comedies at midnight.
About the Northern and Southern accents in the USA...there's many variants within that, even. You forgot some Eastern (ex: New York), Western (ex: California), and Midwestern (ex: Minnesota) accents. Having 'no accent' is an accent too.
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