I dislike the Texan accent (Houston, Dallas: neighborhood, tax, vs)

[houstoner]

Originally Posted by TexasReb

Interesting observation! In my own experience/outlook, Midwesterners (that is, those north of Oklahoma, west of the Rocky Moutain states and north of the Ohio River) get a "pass", so to speak (pun intended! LOL

That is, the "Midwestern accent" is considered no accent at all. Bland "American".

Hmmm... I don't know. The Upper Midwest definitely has an accent. In Wisconsin they say "beg" instead of "bag."

[Upper_D_Robb]

well, accents, twangs, whatever. I personally enjoy the sound of America. I do understand in the corporate world I have since retired from a few years back that a Southern drawl/accent has held a few of my co-workers back. Definitely wrong though. When I encounter someone from a different part of the US than I am from, I tend to listen more attentively. I hope to live long enough to know that people are not judged by creed, color of skin, sex, race or sound of their voice. We have to admit for presidential material the voice / drawl / accent has not been a problem at least in the past 50 years. We've had New England represented (JFK) down to the deep south and Texas too (Jimmy, George and Bill).

Personally I don't mind being asked where I am from when I drive down below the Mason Dixon Line as long as it isn't followed by "oh, another damn yankee, huh? " Although in all honesty I probably deserved being called just such by Cowboy Al, a long time resident of Amarillo, and former friend, who I urged to get closer to the range fires he was so fearfully complaining about (very Un-Texan like) one particularly dry summer so he could roast weeners. I can listen to a Texas twang or drawl the whole day long as there's no "whine" to with go with the drawl. Geez ... ain't nothing worse than a Texas cowboy who whines. Al did have a great dog though just not a very good sense of humor. I do worry about that dog sometimes. I really do. But lest I digress.

Some accents do belie warmth however and some just don't. Some say southern hospitality is charming or is it the sound of a southerners' voice ? It might be more than just the sound of one's voice, but that is a good place to start.

[my3caddo]

Well hon, that's because your a yank. Most Texans don't take to New Yorkers accent either. Its all good, and the cool thing is if you don't like us...GO HOME! See, haven't you heard the song "God blessed Texas with His own hands" well He did. We're a good looking bunch, still believe in God, proud to be American and even more proud to be Texan.

[doctorjef]

I can't be bothered to read all 17 pages of this thread, but has anyone pointed out that there isn't a single, unitary Texas accent? Citing a "Texas accent" is about as accurate as talking of a "British accent" or even of an "English accent". The accent of the majority of natives around Lubbock sounds nothing like the accent around Austin, sounds nothing like the accent in the Beaumont-Port Arthur-Orange triangle, which doesn't even sound like what's spoken up in Palestine or Tyler. I for one dislike the Panhandle/South Plains accent exemplified by what you hear in Lubbock -- where I finished high school. It's a very flat drawl. By contrast, the accent around San Antonio and Austin is a lot twangier (more like Tennessee). The DFW Metroplex seems to have something midway between West Texas and South-Central Texas.

[TexasReb]

Originally Posted by bostoner

Hmmm... I don't know. The Upper Midwest definitely has an accent. In Wisconsin they say "beg" instead of "bag."

Yeah, I probably didn't explain that one very well (and been out of town since the start of Spring Break so just now have a chance to clarify).

As it is of course, we ALL have some kind of accent, and a particular idiom we use. What I meant to say in the earlier post was that the accent generally associated with telvision and radio broadcasters are more akin to parts of the Midwest than any other area of the country. And the one that many "voice and diction" classes in mass-communications classes (especially in Texas/South) attempt to impart.

You are very correct about the Upper Midwest dialect. I certainly don't claim to be a "linguistics expert", but that is usually one I can pick out fairly easily as in regard to guessing where the speaker is from.

[TexasReb]

Originally Posted by numbskull

Great hospitality! You sure you guys weren't playing marbles outside during recess.

No, we were playing cowboys and Indians. Point?

[PanTerra]

Originally Posted by doctorjef

I can't be bothered to read all 17 pages of this thread, but has anyone pointed out that there isn't a single, unitary Texas accent?

Yes.

[BillyH]

Originally Posted by doctorjef

I can't be bothered to read all 17 pages of this thread, but has anyone pointed out that there isn't a single, unitary Texas accent? Citing a "Texas accent" is about as accurate as talking of a "British accent" or even of an "English accent". The accent of the majority of natives around Lubbock sounds nothing like the accent around Austin, sounds nothing like the accent in the Beaumont-Port Arthur-Orange triangle, which doesn't even sound like what's spoken up in Palestine or Tyler. I for one dislike the Panhandle/South Plains accent exemplified by what you hear in Lubbock -- where I finished high school. It's a very flat drawl. By contrast, the accent around San Antonio and Austin is a lot twangier (more like Tennessee). The DFW Metroplex seems to have something midway between West Texas and South-Central Texas.

San Antonio/Austin has more of a twang like Tennessee. I don't hear it, my wife has relatives in Paris, TN and when we would visit I'd say lets go up north so we can vacation in the south. Granted Paris is in a rural area but the twang there is much more pronounced then anything of heard in SA/Austin. I had a friend from the Boston area who said the twang in SA was nothing compared to other southern states. She did notice a few words pronounced differently, thea-ter was the-ate-ter and ath-lete was ath-a-lete. We were adding syllables that didn't belong. SA has had a huge military presence for more than 70 years from people all over the US and SA/Austin has seen the population explode in the last 20 years. I think any twang here is about gone as I guess it is in most of the large metro areas across the south.

[e. irizarry: la vuelta 2]

A lot of you Texan employers are lividly scared of the native NY'er accent. A lot of you guys know that New Yorkers are about money and would bring prosperity and a higher capital gain, but nooooooooooooo - a lot of Texan employers feel threatened.

Even when I have tried to apply to some IT companies based out of DFW and Houston metro area that are predominantly South Asian (i.e. Indians) and when they hear the accent, they blatantly ignore not returning my calls.

If Texans weren't go gung-ho about keeping it "Southern", then maybe Texas would expand EVEN more instead of relying on its native Texans to keep Texasgoing - even though it's one of the most prosperous states in the Union.

I thought Americans were capitalist; I guess Texans aren't American then.

See, up in NY, they don't care if you are a k*ke, a sp*c or a n**ger, as long as you can bust your ass and do the job and deliver results even if you embellished your own resume - as long as you interviewed outstandingly and deliver results on the job, then you will make a lot of money.

How does TX have the best economy statewise in the nation yet they are scared of go-for-the-gusto New Yorkers will an excellent job track record??

Oh wait, who's quarterbacking the economy of TX? Bush and Dick "Head" Cheney de Haliburton. If it weren't for them, TX would probably just be as sucky as most other states in this recession right now.

[love roses]

No, I don't think it's because they hate NY'er's. The quality of life and speed of life are completely different in the south than it is up North. It's a more relaxed pace...not GO GO GO all the time. I think Southerners probably work as hard as Northerners, but they don't have to do it for 16 hrs a day to keep competitive with their coworkers or competition.

Down South they don't care what color you are either for the same reasons. Do you work hard? Are you trustworthy?

You sound like my sister regarding the South Asians. She lives and works in Dallas and she also seems to think that they are very "cliquish" when it comes to hiring people or how they interact with coworkers, among other things. I would say that maybe you guys are being a little paranoid, but I've actually heard lots of people say this, so it may have some grain of truth to it. If it does, it seems like maybe they could learn a thing or two if they keep relocating their companies to the US.

Texas has a better economy because we DO have lots of go getters here. It's not a huge welfare state with lots and lots of government programs, etc...