A variety of factors have influenced the way the English language is spoken by many Southerners. In some regions, the accent is so thick you can almost cut it with a knife. Just because the speech is slow, that in no way should be interpreted as a sign of ignorance or of being uneducated, which is the stereotype often pinned.
I know Southerners who have to talk in a slow southern drawl because their words grow longer with all the added syllables. People in other areas of the country have been known to mock the Southern accent while others are mesmerized and say, “Talk some more,” just because they are so entranced with the tranquilizing drawl.
I will admit there is something comforting to hear an older proper Southern lady linger over every elongated vowel and drop her r’s in her slow-as-molasses words. They can get by with saying anything, especially when they add, “Well, bless her heart.” Don’t dismiss the younger gals either. I would guess that many a northern lad has found himself melted and entrapped by the accent of a Southern belle with a slow, sweet, drawn-out drawl.
When my son started kindergarten, he was enrolled in a private facility. The teacher was a sweet Southern lady that dripped honey when she talked. One day when my little boy came home from school, I asked him, “Did you have a good day? Did you make new friends?” Yes, he made a new friend. I asked, “What’s his name?” He responded, “His name is Jeremi.” I said, “Oh, you mean Jeremiah.” “No, his name is Jeremi.” “I think it’s really Jeremiah.” He gave an emphatic NO. “No, my teacher said it was Jeremi.” I asked if he knew how to spell it. I spelled the boy’s name and said, “That is Jeremiah.” He argued, “But my teacher said it was Jeremi.” I then explained that his teacher was a sweet little Southern lady with a Southern drawl and that was just the way she talked. At that time, I wondered how I would get my little boy to learn the English language.
Now, some of you might laugh at that, but some of you folks pahk your cah. Some of you can’t say egg, but rather you say ag. Some can’t say agriculture but say eggraculture. Some of you fine folks go to the crik instead of a creek, and get a creek in your neck instead of a crick. Some eat peecan pie. Some live in Ne-Vah-duh instead of Ne-VAD-uh, or in Colo-rad-oh instead of Colo-rod-oh.
Just sayin’….