I'd be all over Kentuckey, except moost of my family lives there.

Lissa - I'm addicted to AKUS. Alison's voice ... mmmmmm.

Yep, and Texas isn't a foreign country either, tho' it could be I suppose. Early in highschool I dropped my accent, I had friends who weren't from my area, North TX, and had no idea I was a native. At the time there was a large influx of people from out of state who poked cruely at anyone with a Texas accent. I could never understand that.

Anyway there was a horrible side effect. When I'd visit family, one word from my mouth around them and my accent immediately returned, like a caged animal. I never said "cain't", but there were other atrocities that came out.
While in a "professional" atmosphere, I always donned my very clean clear speech. People just had no idea.

Yes any carbonated beverage is a Coke. Except for maybe Perrier! ;P

do u like alison krauss and union station?

I identify, just check my ident card.

Growing up in the hills of Eastern TN has not been easy...especially once you leave.

I was born in a trailer with wheels. Ran around barefoot till I had to go to school.

I moved to Atlanta, grew home sick cause I was smaller minded than most folks and felt I didn't belong. Then Firefly...brings you back to your roots, makes you wonder why when I grew up no one wanted to speak with an accent. Even now my niece makes fun of it. I am now in my mature years, wink, and I know one day she will arrive at what I found out. It's part of our heritage, of who we are and it will always be apart of our charm.

Even the old phrase. "Bless her heart." Said in a condecending tone.

I worked with a framer last year who spoke with such a heavy accent I couldn't understand him. I eventually got embarrassed and told him I didn't hear very well, in my right ear.

I wasn't meaning to make the tie-in to the accent, just the method of speech. I'm with you on that.

When I was about 10, a family from Chicago moved in across the street from us. I couldn't get past them calling Cokes "pop."

I tend to hear less of "Fair to middlin'" and more of "Tolerable" in response to "How're you doing?" - but I agree with the point you were making.

My connection to that method of speaking and the accent is that many non-southerners hear the accent before they hear what's being said, so those types of phrases don't always register with them.

You know Steve, I get that a lot. My mother never really spoke with an accent, and from what I understand, my father, after he joined the Air Force at 20, worked hard to rid himself of his. Mine just kinda went away, though it still pops up from time to time. I wasn't saying in the thread that because we have accents we can understand better. I meant that southern people have a way of speaking(with or without the accent) that makes it a little easier to pick up. Phrases like "I aim to" "Fair to middlin'" "I'm liable to" crop in me from time to time...There always there, just unaccented. I even went so far as to say to a coworker one time "Look what you done gone and done!" only to be looked at like a martian.

And what about sodas? The first time I heard someone call a soft drink a "pop", I thought I knew what going mad must be like. Then a "soda", then a "Soda Pop". Hey! Where I'm from, if its carbonated...Its a COKE! See that Mountain Dew can over there...that's a coke. See that RC over there...that's a coke...See that fresca over there...that's a coke...see that coke over there...Well, you get the idea...I love Kentucky...You'd be hard pressed to find a more beautiful state anywhere. The people are nice(mostly), the food is good and the weather is mild...Kentucky Rocks...

(Don't tell anyone I said Kentucky Rocks...they'll take my card away.)