"Northerners still make fun of Southern speech," says Dennis Preston, a linguist at Michigan State University in East Lansing. "To them, it stirs up images of sitting out in a cabin, polishing a gun, and scratching a hound dog."
What, I ask, is wrong with that image?
In all seriousness, it's an interesting article.
I also have found that when a southerner is nervous, they seem to have a deeper southern accent. More so in someone that is from elsewhere and has lived here long enough to pick up a dab of a southern draw.
Interesting article, scw. Thank you.
Huny
I have found that most anyone's accent is deeper when they are nervous, whether or not they are southern. I live in the South, and work with a lady from Brooklyn, NY and we've noticed it with her accent.
And, the only thing wrong with the statement about "sitting in a cabin..." is that one does not polish a gun--they clean it, oil it, etc., but one does not typically polish it.
Interesting article.
And one possible response to Dennis Preston about what images accents bring up is not a one way street. Many folks in the South, upon hearing a, say, strong New York or Boston accent, brings up images of someone sitting in a crowded city tenement (above polluted streets filled with very rude people) polishing off a beer and scratching a cat...