With the midterms fast approaching, communicating just the right message has been top of mind on all sides of the political aisle. Whether that message drives home a lack of affordability as gas, food and home prices surge or stokes fears about the rise of communism in the American heartland, Democrats and Republicans are spending a lot of time thinking about what to say. But as a linguist who studies the impact of accents on the way people are perceived, I believe how politicians and voters say what they say might be just as important as the words they use in understanding the social consequences and linguistic changes resulting from the political divides that are growing between us. If there is one regional American accent that has long endured on the lips of its speakers – as well as in the minds of listeners beyond the region – it’s the Southern accent. From North Carolina through Texas and pretty much all states in between, the so-called Southern drawl has long been emblematic of a distinct culture found in the South. Yet, in the urban South, recent linguistic research finds that the drawl’s most salient features are starting to fade on the lips of young speakers. Fewer “pins” are merged with “pens,” and pronunciations such as “far” for “fire” or “say-ud” for “said” are becoming rarer. While linguists have been busy trying to understand this trend, political scientists have been measuring how different accents perform on the campaign trail. The verdict? Southern…
*This content (including text, artwork, graphics, photography, and video) was provided by the third party(ies) as referenced above. Any rights or other content questions or inquiries should be directed to such third-party provider(s).
