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The only place where blacks sound different in NYC and the deep south. Outside of that, all blacks talk exactly the same. Blacks on the West Coast sound just like blacks in the midwest. From Oakland to Chicago, blacks sound pretty much exactly the same.
Having been to many family reunions on both sides of my family, I can honestly say that your statement is definitely not true.
Many black people from Ohio and Michigan that I have met sound very similar to blacks from the west coast in my opinion. I think it is the strong pronunciation of the r in words such as car, park, etc that sounds like the stereotypical LA "Boyz in the Hood", "Menace 2 Society" movie accent. The black people I have met from Chicago vary in speech from sounding like pure southerners, to a southern accent mixed with the more common midwest black accent that I hear from Detroit/Cleveland AA's.
I'm not that familiar with Blacks from Detroit and Cleveland like I am with the one's from Chicago/St.Louis/Milwaukee. But I do hear a slightly different sound compared how Blacks out here speak.
I recognize you as living in the Seattle area for a while. And I've been there and heard Blacks who sound very similar to how Whites speak with little to no southern influence.
In my generalized opinion. Blacks from the West Coast tend to sound flatter or more diluted than Blacks east of the Mississippi. There's a higher proportion of Blacks who don't have strong accents on the West Coast than in other regions.
I currently live in the Bay Area, and the black people here sound country to me. Definitely more country than they do back in my home town in the midwest. They definitely sound pretty country in Oakland if you ask me.
I unfortunately never ran across the 3 black people who actually live in Seattle to actually key in on how they talked.
Simply put, there are many variations of Black American dialects. To untrained ears--those just unfamiliar with being around blacks from different areas--we probably all sound the same, but the truthful reality is that there are just as many variants of black dialect as there are whites in this country....
I'm California-born (Sacramento), Virginia-raised (Nova burbs of DC AND Richmond areas), live in rural New York State (Elmira) and am moving to Charlotte, NC on Wednesday. I have been to half the states in this country, around blacks in most of those states, and have black family everywhere from Sacramento and LA to Buffalo and Elmira in NY, including some cities listed in this thread--DC, Dallas, Atlanta...so maybe I am just more familiar with multiple black accents than the average person is. My opinions:
Black Californians definitely have Southern influence, but it isn't a stereotypical Southern drawl--not for most, anyway. Mainly, it is in the pronunciation of certain words. But Californian accents are easily distinguishable from everywhere else. Anyone who states otherwise as a generalization is lying. Southern influence notwithstanding, Black Californians can't be confused for sounding like Texans, Alabamans, or Carolinians. All blacks do not sound the same...
I have to agree with the contingent that says Dallas and Houston accents aren't altogether that different. The differences are subtle and largely insignificant, and indistinguishable to people not from Texas. I also think the guy who asserted they were different is confusing 'slang' with accents...
Kansas Citians have a diverse range of dialects. Some have a very noticeable Southern undertone, some have that flat, monotone flyover accent. As for St. Louis, the blacks there largely have a Southern undertone. I have family in both cities. I've never been to Chicago, but judging from famous Chicagoans, they seem to sound pretty Southern. Even Common and Kanye speak Southern-lite...
I don't know where people get off claiming places like Miami are devoid of Southern-influence, and places like Atlanta are losing their Southern accents due to transplants....on point one, I've never been to Miami. But I've met people from there, and again, judging famous black Miamians, and the blacks you see on Miami's First 48 shows, black Miamians DEFINITELY sound Southern! Sure, some have Caribbean features because some ARE first or second generation Caribbeans! Blacks in Miami are Southern; I'm not as knowledgeable of how other Miamians sound....and on point two, I've been to Atlanta three times. I dont necessarily disagree that transplants are diluting the accent, but it isn't as dramatic as some of you make it sound. The main reason being, that there is a bunch of Atlanta transplants coming from other areas within the South! So while the accent may not overall be as thick as it was 50 years ago, it will be a loooong time before that accent sound anything besides a variation of Souothern, if ever...
I used to live in Fayetteville, NC, and have been to Raleigh-Durham many times. My summation there about the transplants is the same I have for Atlanta. The RDU accent is Southern....Virginia probably has some of the most diverse dialects of any state. Southern definitely, but Southern-lite, as someone else described. That thicker Southern drawl/Old Virginia accent is prevalent in the Western and Southside areas of the state. Central VA and the Tidewater, not as thick, and we all know Nova sound different from the rest of the state. Someone was spot-on in saying the Tidewater and DC accents are similar to each other; I made that same statement on this site not long ago...
And blacks in Buffalo and Central/Western NY are hybrid, kind of how I described Kansas City. there is no discernible Southern influence. But there is a mix to where some blacks speak like they come from New York City (probably because many Upstaters are related to City'ers), and others have that inland/Canadian-lite/Great Lakes accent....
My niece and I were out for drinks last night and hung out with an old guy in a suit...A very black man from the Congo..He was a teacher who had raised his family here ...Why is it I really enjoy the company of the few Africans I have met - but am ware and I will admit...afraid of so-called African Americans? There is a huge difference between Africans and blacks in America...they have nothing in common....Those from Africa who are educated or from good families are wonderful...American blacks have a thousand different mini-cultures and I really don't know if they are going to hug you or hit you...
And this has what to do with the conversation other to throw a sidehanded back slap to Blacks Americans?
Blacks in Milwaukee sound just as country as in Chicago. I visited relatives out in Milwaukee and I was surprised how strongly Southern they sounded. Even the younger Blacks sounded very Southern. Like in this video
Compare to how younger Blacks in So Cal sound. They sound alot less southern than Blacks in most of the Midwest. Oakland has a bit more of a Southern sound. But Blacks in Seattle sound the most neutral American.
EDIT: Thier language is terrible. But it's the best I can find to highlight the differences.
Now since you bought that up, you all are discounting the accents/dialects of EDUCATED BLACKS who graduated from college and who are not as prone to use as much street slang as many of the examples that some of you have included into the conversation. I'm pretty sure that a college educated black person from St Louis would not sound like a street thug from the same area.
Now since you bought that up, you all are discounting the accents/dialects of EDUCATED BLACKS who graduated from college and who are not as prone to use as much street slang as many of the examples that some of you have included into the conversation. I'm pretty sure that a college educated black person from St Louis would not sound like a street thug from the same area.
I tend to use the lowest class denominator because educated Blacks don't really have strong accents for the most part.
Simply put, there are many variations of Black American dialects. To untrained ears--those just unfamiliar with being around blacks from different areas--we probably all sound the same, but the truthful reality is that there are just as many variants of black dialect as there are whites in this country....
I'm California-born (Sacramento), Virginia-raised (Nova burbs of DC AND Richmond areas), live in rural New York State (Elmira) and am moving to Charlotte, NC on Wednesday. I have been to half the states in this country, around blacks in most of those states, and have black family everywhere from Sacramento and LA to Buffalo and Elmira in NY, including some cities listed in this thread--DC, Dallas, Atlanta...so maybe I am just more familiar with multiple black accents than the average person is. My opinions:
Black Californians definitely have Southern influence, but it isn't a stereotypical Southern drawl--not for most, anyway. Mainly, it is in the pronunciation of certain words. But Californian accents are easily distinguishable from everywhere else. Anyone who states otherwise as a generalization is lying. Southern influence notwithstanding, Black Californians can't be confused for sounding like Texans, Alabamans, or Carolinians. All blacks do not sound the same...
I have to agree with the contingent that says Dallas and Houston accents aren't altogether that different. The differences are subtle and largely insignificant, and indistinguishable to people not from Texas. I also think the guy who asserted they were different is confusing 'slang' with accents...
Kansas Citians have a diverse range of dialects. Some have a very noticeable Southern undertone, some have that flat, monotone flyover accent. As for St. Louis, the blacks there largely have a Southern undertone. I have family in both cities. I've never been to Chicago, but judging from famous Chicagoans, they seem to sound pretty Southern. Even Common and Kanye speak Southern-lite...
I don't know where people get off claiming places like Miami are devoid of Southern-influence, and places like Atlanta are losing their Southern accents due to transplants....on point one, I've never been to Miami. But I've met people from there, and again, judging famous black Miamians, and the blacks you see on Miami's First 48 shows, black Miamians DEFINITELY sound Southern! Sure, some have Caribbean features because some ARE first or second generation Caribbeans! Blacks in Miami are Southern; I'm not as knowledgeable of how other Miamians sound....and on point two, I've been to Atlanta three times. I dont necessarily disagree that transplants are diluting the accent, but it isn't as dramatic as some of you make it sound. The main reason being, that there is a bunch of Atlanta transplants coming from other areas within the South! So while the accent may not overall be as thick as it was 50 years ago, it will be a loooong time before that accent sound anything besides a variation of Souothern, if ever...
I used to live in Fayetteville, NC, and have been to Raleigh-Durham many times. My summation there about the transplants is the same I have for Atlanta. The RDU accent is Southern....Virginia probably has some of the most diverse dialects of any state. Southern definitely, but Southern-lite, as someone else described. That thicker Southern drawl/Old Virginia accent is prevalent in the Western and Southside areas of the state. Central VA and the Tidewater, not as thick, and we all know Nova sound different from the rest of the state. Someone was spot-on in saying the Tidewater and DC accents are similar to each other; I made that same statement on this site not long ago...
And blacks in Buffalo and Central/Western NY are hybrid, kind of how I described Kansas City. there is no discernible Southern influence. But there is a mix to where some blacks speak like they come from New York City (probably because many Upstaters are related to City'ers), and others have that inland/Canadian-lite/Great Lakes accent....
I have to agree with the contingent that says Dallas and Houston accents aren't altogether that different. The differences are subtle and largely insignificant, and indistinguishable to people not from Texas. I also think the guy who asserted they were different is confusing 'slang' with accents...
No you got them mixed up.Black Houstonians pronouncing dine for down and Black Dallasites pronouncing hur or hir for here is not slang. It's dialect and accent. Blacks in Dallas stress the R but say it quickly. Houston is the exact opposite and you barely here the r at all. That's just one example. To say that's slang is saying Baltimore saying dug for dog as slang when that is not true either. To Texans I guess we hear the difference and it isn't subtle. Everyone else, I don't know.
Last edited by Spade; 09-30-2013 at 08:42 PM..
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I recognize you as living in the Seattle area for a while. And I've been there and heard Blacks who sound very similar to how Whites speak with little to no southern influence. 
