I never said that

You sure as hell implied it when you said that most people with a southern accent are toothless rednecks.

There is a difference between saying something and implying something which i never did, if so not on purpose.

This is a highly typical move and tactic here on the boards. Never say something directly and shirk all responsibility when you're rightfully held tot he fire.

As NSW said, you may not have said those exact words, but you might as well have, and we're not really arguing words are we? The spirit of the comment is identical and as such, I refer back to my original post on the matter.

but the fact remains that i never said that i said:
its a common stereotype that most people see

So you'd agree you know nothing about southern culture?

And that you're perpetuating a stereotype that by definition of being a stereotype is largely invalid?

I mean I just can't see where you're going to try to make your claim valid but admitting fault?

Im just curious but can you read?

and now i'm signin t for texas, t for tennessee,....thanks

you are exactly right,.......and, might i add, we still have the option to suceed from the union should we see fit,......its in the contract

Ignoring this whole Texas/Southern accent argument completely (sorry guys, you're all flyover states to me! :p:)...

Last time I was in NY someone did place my California accent, and a few years ago when I was in the UK a ****ing homeless guy was even making fun of it! It's funny, I've never really thought of us Californians as having our own accents. I mean, I do say "dude", "like", and "totally" more than I probably should (well, not that much), but other than those words I don't really think of myself as speaking in a certain way. Maybe we just speak American English like normal people and it's the rest of the country that's weird?

Everybody speaks in a certain dialect/accent/register of a language which should be recognizable to the informed outsider. The homeless person getting the point that you were Californian is a good example of this - in the United Kingdom there is quite a lot of television exposure to various Californian accental varieties through a number of sitcoms and other shows, so for the one with a good ear it's quite recognizable.

What I find interesting though is the point that you've never really thought of yourself as speaking in a certain way. I mean, personally I found that just hearing people speak differently all the time made me automatically conscious from early on that I must talk in a certain way and that it is only one way among many. It's interesting to try to put on other regional accents and then to carefully observe and consider the huge amounts of differences in pronunciation, intonation and so forth; tests like this make one realize just how much they themselves are speaking differently.

Yeah, it's fun trying to pick out different accents. Regional variation is more prevalent in some places - for instance, I've heard that if you travel in a 20 km circle around Manchester, you'll encounter some fairly distinct accents.

Even in NZ, there is a degree of variation... if you've ever seen Eagle vs Shark (NZ's Napoleon Dynamite featuring Jemaine from Flight of the Conchords), then you'll know what Lily's accent sounds like... here's an example. There are many NZers who would find her thick accent cringe-worthy - that's an example right there of regional variation.

I always thought Californian was rather neutral.

Some of the nicest people I've ever met are from the southern US, lol, being from way up north I guess we talk a lot faster than our deep southern neighbors and they always know instantly that you are a foreigner. I really enjoy the languid laid back dialect from Texas, Florida etc...it's just so different from how we talk that it makes the simplest conversations more entertaining. When I travel down east to Toronto for instance, my relatives have almost a Tennessee accent compared to out west, some words in particular stand out instantly. I do speak a little French on occasion and I enjoy many European accents as well, the diversity of people from different cultures is what makes the world such a great place.(And even within our own countries as many of you have already mentioned.)

It has everything to do with your accent.

I'm amazed you know that!
I think British Pharaoh lives in the Ashton area of Manchester which is only about 3 to 4 miles east of where I live and the accents are noticeably different.
I've heard Molecules or was it Guitar Bizarre??? talk on a youtube vid and I'd guess his accent is south to southwest of the city centre somewhere.
Probably only a few miles from where I am, but again a different accent.
Pheurton who lives over the hills further east probably speaks with a hair lip due to centuries of inbreeding.

Yheesh, so close together. It's a wonder you're not all inbred.

I hated this first time I heard it but it is pretty good I have to say:

Yeah, I was under the impression that western/midwestern accents were as neutral as standard American English got? Which is why I've never really thought of myself as having a regional accent.

That was awesome...

Yeah, I think I have a similar situation in Croatia, I live in a town which I've always considered speaks pretty much standard Croatian, but everyone else says that you can easily tell that someone is from there. I figure it's because when everyone else speaks with some regional peculiarity the standard starts to stick out. Apart from "dude" I haven't really noticed anything that would scream California...:|

first post here.

I am from New Orleans, and we have many different accents here. I speak with a pretty standard, rhotic (for those of you who know what that means) American accent, but in New Orleans, you can usually tell what neighborhood of the city people grew up in strictly based on their accent. And none of us sound like that tool from the movie "The Big Easy."

Also, I say y'all. And a tip from anybody who ever wants to come down here and fit in- it's not a median, it's a "neutral ground." But that one is excusable. However, don't ever call it New Orleens or, even worse, N'Awlins. This makes us want to slap you.

My favorite accent, ever, was two girls from Memphis I met at spring break in Florida one year. Good god- just to hear them talk, I could taste their sweetness. Sexiest things i have ever seen.

mmmm new orleans,.......someone pass me the crawfish and boudan

MMmmm....boudin...so good.

I am so fucking glad I take after my (English) Mother.

That means I don't have to suffer having a Guernsey accent like my Dad does.

isnt it though,......when i was a little girl we had a beach house in destin florida that my dad's side of the family would vaca at,.....dad, my step mom, her mother, and i would drive out there and the first thing we would do when we hit la was stop and get boudin and crawfish,.....i remember my step mother would bitch because she hated the smell of it,.....but to me, its just not summer without it you know?

Welcome.

He sounds like Spike Milligan acting daft?

In the last year or so, I've become a fan of England in general. :p:

I like to think I've had a part to play in that :soapbox:

I'm from Georgia. I sounded like foghorn leghorn until I moved to St. Louis - where all the kiddies made fun of me, I dropped my Georgian accent like a bad habit in public. When I talk to my family... it returns.

That would have been me, and you're right, I live just out of manchester in a town called Stockport. A little to the Southeast.

I'm from the south so I have a really ****ty hick accent. I love British accents though. I enjoy trying to distinguish the dialogue in Guy Ritchie films.

i love it when daphne from frasier does her american accent... so great.

Its kinda like a zombie huh? My "r"'s up and vanish if I'm back home in the slums.

Daphne from Frasier is the least accurate Mancunian accent you're likely to hear. I love that part of the UK.
Personally I am cursed with the 'received pronunciation'/Hugh Grant stutter that had all the cafe waitresses cooing when I went on holiday to Virginia as a kid; but it's a massive liability where I live.
I love the Texas accent though, ever since Bill Hicks!

You should speak in an East Anglian accent. I'm appalled that you would talk in RP round that end of the island. Sort it out, blad!

:laughing: I'm working on it

:love:

I never noticed you were from Baah-stin! You're aware of the ridicule then :P

I quite like American accents, apart from the whiney nasal variety.