A Very Richmond Phone Call

[dreotingle]

Doesn't sound to different from my family's accent, and were from the Eastern Shore or "Murralyn"

[naizret]

I'm not sure this accent is 'gone with the wind.' I think the local sound plus the exigencies of age tend to produce this effect, and I can certainly see contemporary Southern-accented speakers evolving into this kind of voice in due course. It used to be thought that radio and television would destroy regional accents, but that has not happened and, indeed, some accents have deepened -- including, and perhaps especially, black patois.

[skinnypinky]

I don't talk like that and I was born and raised in Richmond.

[monumentfloyd]

@skinnypinky Then you obviously are very young and dont sound like a real Richmonder.

[va804richmond]

@skinnypinky totally agree with mounument floyd. my grandma is about 80 and is from henrico and sounds just like that. i grew up in new kent and have a hybrid tidewater/richmond accent. not too many transplants in the rural areas to dilute the accent. also where are your parents from? it makes a big difference what accent you hear at home.

[skinnypinky]

@va804richmond my dad is from virginia and my mom is from orlando, florida

[skinnypinky]

@va804richmond my dad is from Virginia and my mom is from Orlando, Florida.

[TheConservativesrock]

This is definitely authentic. I know his accent.

[takomaguy]

This sounds like older relatives from my mother's family from Virginia. Yep. It's authentic, all right!

[ForeverAnalog]

IMO, Northern Virginia hasnt been Southern in 20 years, and it needs to separate from the rest of the state. Because when you get south of Fredericksburg its a different state- and yes Caroline County too. But Northern Virginia is just , I dunno, kind of a mess. I dont think its really anything anymore. Its just vanilla. And Southern Virginia and Richmond area is probably more Southern or more in tune with North Carolina. But then there are a few spots in Southern Maryland that are southern.

[TheConservativesrock]

@ForeverAnalog I'm not sure about  in Richmond. In the city it is diverse, buut whe you get into Mechanicsville or Hanover, you hear plenty of draw.

[Joesesus]

its dieing through the south cause those yankees keep moving down there cause its cheaper to live..

[ame9903]

@Joesesus Things may be cheaper, but the jobs pay less.

[Joesesus]

the southern accent in va has died in northern and eastern va but not if yall go south or southwest..still got thier culture there!va is for lovers!it depends on where your from originally and things of that nature..your heritage..there are many different southern accents..virginias and tennessees sound more alike than va and north carolinas..just depends

[AdventOctober]

@Joesesus I'm from Isle of Wight and we all got heavy southern accents and thats the SE part of the state. We are close to Carolina though.

[fmrndiguy2005]

monumentfloyd, If you want to hear a thick southern dialect then visit my birthplace of Chattanooga, TN. Also, the southern dialect is far from gone in GA my friend. In fact, the dialect is STILL very prevalent in the suburbs of ATL believe it or not. Its funny, I live in CO now and alot of CO natives think I'm a Texan because so many of them have transplanted here in CO. LOL!

[monumentfloyd]

Having been all over the South, Im afraid I have to disagree. Very few young people have a true Southern accent in any of the areas you mentioned. Ive been to Atlanta and Athens in GA, I realize those are college areas, but they all sound like Californians there . Chattanooga didnt strike me as very Southern at all. I guess not compared to Richmond. The Southern accent is dying everywhere. Not saying you cant hear it from time to time. Its very weak now.

[bluestarkad17]

@monumentfloyd i disagree...i live 2 hours south of atlanta and the southern accent has gone nowhere...i been here all my life born and raised...21 years

[monumentfloyd]

@bluestarkad17 Afraid we'll have to agree to disagree. Among older people, yes. But not among the young people. There's a couple at my church who are natives of Alabama who have not one trace of a Southern accent. Not even a hint.

[bluestarkad17]

@monumentfloyd welp....im from georgia and i tell u what...mine aint gone nowhere

[monumentfloyd]

@bluestarkad17 yes Im sure you do. But my point is, there is southern accents left, but you have to look for them more. And young people may speak southern, but its nowhere near as distinct as it was with our grandparents generation and before that. In major Southern cities: Charlotte, Nashville, Atlanta, its barely there. But yeah- there is southern left, just harder to find.

[BraveMuslimSoldier49]

@monumentfloyd The phrase "ya'all" was never there in the South until the 1980s.

[monumentfloyd]

@BraveMuslimSoldier49 Spelled correctly its "Y'all". And actually, it goes back at least the 18th century as far as they know according to the book "Whistlin' Dixie"- a corruption of the form you and all but it may have its origins traced back to Elizabethan England times.

[AdventOctober]

@BraveMuslimSoldier49 Hahahaha! People have been saying yall for over a hundred years.

[ohso41]

I agree if you're referring to transplants. Check out my favorited videos, these are all local yellow page ads from all over the country. Accents are still prevelant everywhere. I grew up in NY on Long island, the only real accent that seems to have completely dissappeared is the stereotypical NY Italian accent that Hollywood wants everyone in the rest of the country to believe is alive and well.

[monumentfloyd]

They are still around. Its just that most people under 50 have a more watered down sound than previous generations. This is more true here in Richmond and in Virginia. However, I notice a lot of young people from NY/NJ area have strong accents still.

[UrameshiY]

This accent hasn't died out just yet. I'm a native Virginian and you will hear this accent all throughout central VA. That sound is native to me.

A key to knowing where they speak that way is the wealth of the area during slavery. The rich whites that had plantations(Richmond being the mecca of tobacco) had the house slaves watch over the kids. Those kids ended up having a similar accent as the slaves and so on. In the poorer Appalachians the accent has more traditional Scotch-Irish influence.

[monumentfloyd]

It hasnt died completely, but no one under 70 really has the full brogue that was once unique to it. They may have the accent, but not the intonation . It was not just some garden variety southern accent. Thats why it was so cool. But it did have a Gone With The Wind feel to it just the same. Like in Northern Virginia they had a southern accent there too. You wont hear anything remotely southern there. It was very Tidewater sounding actually not much different. Maybe not as elegant though.

[judyetc]

My Aunt Nancy, 80, is the only one of that generation left. I panic because that accent is like a lullaby to me, and it is fading, as more and more regional accents seem to fade into obscurity. My cousin's accents aren't so pronounced. I got a tape recorder to send to my aunt a while back, hoping she will talk on it, and send it back to me here in IN. I am a word lover; especially love words said with that elegant accent. I talk to my aunt often. Thank you for your video. I appreciate it!

[monumentfloyd]

YW. Im so glad you liked it. Maybe now that its preserved on youtube, people will be able to hear what old time Richmonders sounded like, because it truly is a rarity these days.

[monumentfloyd]

BTW, feel free to check out Part II of the recording. Its on the vid responses.

[judyetc]

My mother and her ten brothers and sisters grew up in the tidewater area. The accent was inherited from English settlers. It is a non-rhotic dialect; the word "air" becomes "ay-ah".

There is a vowel shift. Richmond is a little north of where this dialect originated, I think. I can hear it there, but the older people in the Chesapeake bay area even have more of what I think of when I think of a tidewater accent. A film, "Muscrat Lovely" a documentary; I've heard that it takes place in the region

[monumentfloyd]

Wonderful observation. Actually Richmond is an epicenter for the Tidewater accent- and its more west than North of Tidewater. But the Tidewater accent actually extends as far north as the Pine Barrens of NJ. Culturally , though, its more associated with Virginia, and Eastern, NC and parts of Maryland. Northern Virginia had a mild version of the Tidewater accent as well.

[LauraSommer]

Sounds to me like it has black influence ;)

[burntrubber11]

god i grew up in richmond my grandmother and my mother have this accent.

[marsh5963]

My grandparents had this accent as well. We lived in Goochland just west of Richmond. There is no other southern accent that can match this. When I was a child I had the accent, but sadly it is gone and I sound so plain. LOL

[ForeverAnalog]

I agree with you on that ! I have been all over the South from Georgia to The Carolinas and elsewhere. Nothing can rival the Virginia Tidewater accent-especially of this variety. Its not just garden variety Southern. Its so unique!

[melville80]

I grew up in Richmond, and this phone call could be my grandma and one of her sisters talking. The accents are identical. This accent will likely die with their generation. It's very sad, but you just don't hear it anymore. As you said, most Richmonders have the standard American accent now. All the new businesses have brought people from all over, and blended their accents together. Thanks for posting this.

[averagejoe0073]

You know others who talk like this? I'm sorry ..

[ohso41]

I've listened to a few local yellowpages video ads on youtube from the richmond area, and it seems that many of the local folks still have a similar accent although not quite as thick

[averagejoe0073]

Grandma (G):My cane gone, it near ya-Where my foot go Janey (J):It so good to see ya G:It so good to see you & your man in da ghetto J:Well is gettin better-my eyes frozen to da television G:Oh yeah, well ya know I gota iPhone J:I think it much better G:Well ya know I gota iPhone & ain't no betta than it was last year J:I think someone stalkin us-that is F'd up G:I think everyone need to understand they is livin inside a samwich J:Well I ain't no G:Tina Fey J:I been datin my inlaws

[Preluding99]

I'm sorry, but I mean...what? I don't speak jive.

[ellisdrummond]

It is well established that various cultures influenced the South, (African, English and Native American in some places Scots and Welsh, German, Spanish and French.) Virginia culture (predominantly British, African and Native American) influenced much of the rest of the South. Someone commented on plantations but that would be a misunderstanding. Virginia had a large free black population from early on. In any case Whites, Blacks and Native Americans had to live and work together cheek by jowl.

[PaserOnePsy]

I reckon that yall aint know much bout Virginia, cuz uhh, yall dont even understand that the Tidewater accent is one that is predominantly used by white folk, not black.

[VASINGER]

The Tidewater accent is spoken by both whites and negroes.

[540BOY]

"Negroes"? Really?

[jillkristin]

@540BOY These are elderly ladies, please don't judge them by today's standards. And keep in mind that "negro" was the preferred term of black people in the mid-20th Century.

[Preluding99]

Seriously Meade? I mean, seriously?

[monumentfloyd]

Oh yes. They were very good friends. She worked for her for years.

[NoelFigart]

Yes, the Tidewater accent does sound black to the uneducated ear.

[kauferal]

then yall need ta get educat'd

[bspanthers]

I thought it was two old black women until I read the description

[monumentfloyd]

interesting observation. My grandmother and mother had black nannies growing up (Mammies) The speech in Richmond - and probably the South was influenced a lot by African.

[ohso41]

Actually it's the other way around- The speach of African American's specifically those with origins from the South were actually influenced well...by southern white folks

[monumentfloyd]

I think it was both.

[Brettwbeyer14]

i find that hard to believe considering that whites opressed and slaved them. i don't think they would socialize with them very much.

[Novasterling]

Africans sold their own into slavery, but I was reading in history books that on plantations, white children of the owners and the servants black children were designated playmates for each other. Whether thats true or not, I'm not sure. But one thing is for certain, a lot of Southern culture and cutoms were influenced by Africans.

[Brettwbeyer14]

would be interesting to know. i know musically they did. i still don't know about language though. i mean if you were to believe the post that the virginian accent is influenced by africans, then wouldn't other southern dialects sound like that?

[VASINGER]

they all do to a degree. At least the areas that had a lot of Africans. Thats why the Mountain Southern accents sound quite different from the lowland and coastal regions and the Deeper South.