Introduction

There are many varieties of Southern American English Pronunciation. There are speakers who are indistiguishable from those who have a General American English Pronunciation and Southern speakers with very broad accents.

Many inhabitants of the South are fiercely proud of their history, culture and their accent. However, for many in the North, their pronunciation is felt to be the accent of ignorant rural folk, which, of course, is not true. Paradoxically the Southern accent is often associated with the rich members of the Southern aristocracy and Southern belles.

Our speaker is a young white college student from North Carolina. His accent is more middle-of-the-road than broad.