Where does "The South"(tm) begin in the U.S.?

[Valmy]

The Southern accent is usually over-exaggerated in movies and TV.  In addition, the type of Southern accent varies, unsurprisingly, over even the states always considered part of the South.  The most common movie/TV accent is more of a South Mississippi thing.

Well also back in the day the accents were alot more pronounced then they are now.  Recordings from Southerners from the 30s to the 60s are pretty hilarious.  It could be they are trying to be authentic.

[ulmont]

Well also back in the day the accents were alot more pronounced then they are now.  Recordings from Southerners from the 30s to the 60s are pretty hilarious.  It could be they are trying to be authentic.

I think they don't know any better, but I'll concede the point.

Here's Huey Long from the 30s:
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/mp3clips/politicalspeeches/hueyplongsharethewealth.mp3

And Dolly Parton with Porter Wagoner in 1973 (there's a little intro conversation):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gwv3QmlHx8&feature=PlayList&p=DA00FF0C0CBA9A2B&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=18

[Strix]

I mean, I heard of the drawl, but thought it is not as pronounced.

The Southern accent is usually over-exaggerated in movies and TV.  In addition, the type of Southern accent varies, unsurprisingly, over even the states always considered part of the South.  The most common movie/TV accent is more of a South Mississippi thing.

The accent from the Tidewater region in VA is quite amusing and very hard to understand if you haven't experienced southern accents previously.

[Lettow77]

Southern accents do indeed vary, although they have unifying factors and an overall sense of cohesion.

They are, like Southern culture, in decline however- in certain cities especially. You really need to take refuge in the countryside to hear proper accents.

I have lived here all my life, never having left, and do not believe I posess much of an accent at all despite an impeccable Southern pedigree. 

I think Grallon said I sounded british?

[dps]

Talk amongst yourselves about the meaning of the lyrics "I wish I was in Dixie"

"Way down south in the land of cotton."

More evidence that WV isn't in the south--we don't grow cotton there.  I think that leaves out Kentucky, too, but I'm not sure about that.

[Lettow77]

West Virginia isnt Southern, but Southern identity isnt tied to Cotton. They dont grow much of it in North Carolina, for example, which is still a solidly Southern state. (even in the face of its late unpleasantness..)

West Virginia is Appalachian, as is sections of Kentucky, TN, & (oddly enough, given the name), Arkansas.

[Caliga]

More evidence that WV isn't in the south--we don't grow cotton there.  I think that leaves out Kentucky, too, but I'm not sure about that.

Incorrect, cotton was cultivated in Kentucky, especially in western Kentucky, though I don't think it is anymore.  The biggest cash crops in Kentucky were however tobacco and hemp. The county I live in used to basically be one giant hemp farm.

[grumbler]

I'll throw a weird concept into the mix....it's called the Mason-Dixon line and begins around the southern border of PA.

That might have been useful once upon a time, but I know that when I lived in Fairfax County Virginia I was not in the South, and now that I am in Fauquier County I am.

So the line is somewhere south of the Mason-Dixon line these days.

[jimmy olsen]

I find the Southern accent on a woman super hot.

[Caliga]

I find the Southern accent on a woman super hot.

[Queequeg]

I find the Southern accent on a woman super hot.

Depends on the south and the woman.  Go to a Walmart south of Mason-Dixon and spend the rest of your life trying to remember what it is like to have an erection.

[Caliga]

Depends on the south and the woman.  Go to a Walmart south of Mason-Dixon anywhere and spend the rest of your life trying to remember what it is like to have an erection.

[Valmy]

I find the Southern accent on a woman super hot.

You are welcome to them. 

West Texas is very HOTT...East Texas, which is supposedly Southern, sounds horrid.  But supposedly out on the East coast the women have hott accents...but I wouldn't know.

[MadImmortalMan]

You are welcome to them. 

West Texas is very HOTT...East Texas, which is supposedly Southern, sounds horrid. 

In my experience, East Texas is a neverending series of roadside "antique shops" selling vintage hubcaps and plumbing looted from construction sites. Take a cruise down 59 if you don't believe me. Nothing "HOTT" can possibly come out of there.

[Queequeg]

Depends on the south and the woman.  Go to a Walmart south of Mason-Dixon anywhere and spend the rest of your life trying to remember what it is like to have an erection.

Is this a subtly mocking emoticon or an agreeing one?  Not totally sure....