Southern American English

Southern American English is a dialect of the English language spoken throughout the Southern region of the United States, from central Kentucky and northern Virginia to the Gulf Coast and from the Atlantic coast to eastern Texas. Southern American English can be divided into different sub-dialects (see American English), with speech differing between, for example, the Appalachian region and the coastal area around Charleston, South Carolina. The South Midlands dialect was influenced by the migration of Southern dialect speakers into the American West. The dialect spoken to various degrees by many African Americans, African American Vernacular English (AAVE), shares many similarities with Southern dialect, unsurprising given that group's strong historical ties to the region.

Related Topics:
Dialect - English language - Southern region - United States - Kentucky - Virginia - Gulf Coast - Atlantic - Texas - American English - Appalachian region - Charleston, South Carolina - American West - African American - African American Vernacular English (AAVE)

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The Southern American English dialect is often stigmatized (as are other American English dialects such as New York-New Jersey English). Therefore, many speakers of this dialect often attempt to eliminate many of its more distinctive features from their personal idiolect, settling for a more "neutral-sounding" English (General American), though more often this involves changes more in phonetics than vocabulary. Well-known speakers of Southern dialect include United States Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton along with playwright Tennessee Williams and singer Elvis Presley. Comedian Jeff Foxworthy, a speaker of this dialect himself, refers to it in one of his routines as "apparently not the world's most intelligent-sounding accent".

Related Topics:
New York-New Jersey English - Idiolect - General American - United States - Presidents - Jimmy Carter - Bill Clinton - Playwright - Tennessee Williams - Singer - Elvis Presley - Jeff Foxworthy

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