Skip navigation

Examples of Southern American English

Listen carefully and read the comments.

Yeah, we’re in downtown Raleigh.
Yes, we are in the centre of Raleigh.


//jɛ/wir ɪn ˈdɑʊntɑʊn ˈrɔːli/

The rhotic nature of this person's variety of SAE can be herd in the we're sequence. Thus it is no different from General American English Pronunciation.

Listen carefully and read the comments.

I was driving through the center of Atlanta.


//ɑ wəz ˈdrɑːvɪn θruː ðə ˈsenɚ əv ætˈlænə//

Notice the pronunciation of centre and Atlanta. The consonant cluster /nt/ is reduced to /n/.

Listen carefully and read the comments.

I haven’t seen my folks in a while.
I haven’t seen my family for a while.

//ɑ ˈhævən siːn mɑː foʊks ɪn a wɑːl//

Just like many accents of English, I is pronounced as a monophthong, in this case, /ɑ/ and not a diphthong as in RP /aɪ/.

Listen carefully and read the comments.

My folks live way over yonder.
My parents live right over there.


//mɑː foʊks lɪv weɪ ˈoʊvɚ ˈjɔndɚ//

Notice the pronunciation of my as a long vowel instead of a diphthong /ɑː/. This is typical of this accent.

Listen carefully and read the comments.

My leg hurt.


//mɑː leɪg hɜːts//

The diphthongal pronunciation of leg is typical of this accent.

Listen carefully and read the comments.

He sure is poor.
He is definitely poor.


//hi ʃuːr ɪz pɔɚ//

Compare the pronunciation of poor with RP /pʊə/ or the common American pronunciation /ɔː/ as in the word sure.

Listen carefully and read the comments.

That’s just not my thing.
That’s something I am not interested in.


//ðæts dʒʌst nɑt mɑː θæŋ//

The pronunciation of thing is typical of this kind of accent.

Listen carefully and read the comments.

Y’all are putting me on the spot.
You are all putting me on the spot.


//jɔːlɚ ʹpʊtən mi ɑn ðə spɑt//

Y'all is a kind of second personal plural address that is one of the most characteristic features of Southern American English.

Listen carefully and read the comments.

He’s something else.
He is incredible.


//hiz ˈsʌmpən ɜls//

There are often alternative pronunciations for pronouns and grammatical words in almost every variety of English. This is the case with something. 

Listen carefully and read the comments.

I made you some sweet tea. Come get you some.
Come and get some.

//ɑ meɪd ju sʌm swiːt tiː//kʌm gɪt ju sʌm//

Notice the /gɪt/ pronunciation of get. 

Listen carefully and read the comments.

The South will rise again.

//ðə sɑʊθ wɪl rɑːz əˈgen//

Notice the monophthongal pronunciation of rise.