{"669523":{"#nid":"669523","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia\u2019s Accent is Fading, New Research Shows","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EGeorgia, something is happening to your accent, and Georgia Tech linguist Lelia Glass has some ideas about what\u2019s going on.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EIn \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/journals\/language-variation-and-change\/article\/boomer-peak-or-gen-x-cliff-from-svs-to-lbms-in-georgia-english\/6AEA44E9263DFAE376F3BB20E087E5F9\u0022\u003Enewly published research\u003C\/a\u003E in the journal \u003Cem\u003ELanguage Variation and Change,\u003C\/em\u003E Glass and her University of Georgia colleagues report finding that the Georgia accent familiar to generations of Peach State residents rapidly declined with the Gen X generation and never recovered. Gen X\u2019s Millennial and Gen Z kids and grandkids never picked up the twang, according to the data \u2014 and Glass\u2019 own experience teaching Georgia-born students. And while the accent still holds sway in rural reaches of the state, its days are numbered there, as well, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/people\/person\/8af23dda-e19a-5930-82e7-c057ef649a38\u0022\u003EGlass\u003C\/a\u003E says. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201c\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EOur study includes speakers from across the state, and while we do see more Southern pronunciations in some rural speakers, even they sound far less Southern than even the urban speakers from the Boomer generation\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E,\u201d says Glass, who conducted the research with UGA\u2019s Margaret E. L. Renwick and Jon Forrest, and Joey Stanley of Brigham Young University.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EIt is important to note that the study, which tracks accents back to speakers born in the late 1890s, focuses on white Georgia residents. Another study looking at accent changes among Black Georgians is in progress, according to Glass.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EWhy Gen X Georgians suddenly started dropping the drawl of their Boomer parents is a bit of a mystery, says Glass, an assistant professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/modlangs.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESchool of Modern Languages\u003C\/a\u003E who runs a project examining the traditional Southern accent.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u0022It\u0027s challenging to pinpoint the exact reasons,\u201d she says. \u201cWhile we don\u0027t have definitive answers, there were significant social shifts during that period. Factors such as increased migration, with many people moving into the South from other regions, and urbanization could have played roles.\u0022\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow You Say \u2018Face\u2019 Matters\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ESo, what\u2019s different about today\u2019s Georgia accent? Looking at the intricacies of vowel pronunciation is the best way to understand, says Renwick, the study\u2019s lead author.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cYou could measure consonants or intonation, but vowels are the richest goldmine for capturing those differences,\u201d she says.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EFor the Southern accent, the vowels in words like \u201cface\u201d and \u201cdress\u201d are particularly telling. Since at least the early 1900s, the researchers say, \u201cface\u201d has been pronounced by traditional Georgia speakers with a low back tongue placement, which sounds like \u003Cem\u003E\u201cfuh-eece,\u201d\u003C\/em\u003E whereas \u201cdress\u201d has a high front placement, which sounds like \u003Cem\u003E\u201cdray-uss\u003C\/em\u003E.\u201d (In case you\u2019re wondering, linguists figure out where your tongue is during speech using recorded audio and computer software that estimates where the tongue is during speech).\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EIn recent decades, there\u2019s been a shift in these pronunciations: \u0022face\u0022 is now more often pronounced with a higher tongue placement \u2014 \u003Cem\u003E\u201cfayce\u201d\u003C\/em\u003E \u2014 while \u0022dress\u0022 features a lower placement that sounds like \u003Cem\u003E\u201cdruss,\u201d\u003C\/em\u003E Glass says. Those are patterns much more typical of non-Southern accents, she says.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EOne theory for the change in the Georgia accent involves something called the \u201cLow Back Merger,\u201d in which the vowel sound in words such as \u201ccot\u201d and \u201ccaught\u201d are pronounced identically, leading to a chain reaction of other vowel changes known as the \u201clow back merger shift.\u201d\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u0022This shift involves the vowel sound in words like \u0027cat\u0027 and \u0027hat\u0027. In the Southern accent, it\u0027s pronounced with a higher tongue placement, but in the \u0027Low Back Merger Shift\u0027, it\u0027s lower,\u0022 Glass says.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ELinguists first described this system of pronunciation in California, but it\u2019s not known if that\u2019s where it started, Glass said. Regardless, it\u2019s spread across the country, showing up in places such as Georgia and North Carolina.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhen it Comes to Accents, the Future is Here\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThis shift is particularly noted among Millennials and Gen Z speakers and has been found changing regional accents in other places as well. That widespread geographical and generational influence suggests Southern accents as a whole will eventually disappear, Glass said.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ESo, what will the Georgia of the future sound like? Glass says a good place to start would be Georgia Tech classrooms, where she says her students from across the state already exhibit fewer traditionally Southern speech patterns. Many Georgia cities and suburbs also offer plentiful examples, she says.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cTo paraphrase William Gibson, the future is already here, it\u2019s just unevenly distributed,\u201d says Glass.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EVocal samples from earlier generations used in the study came from UGA. Samples of contemporary speakers came from Glass and her work at Georgia Tech, where she leads the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.vip.gatech.edu\/teams\/vxa\u0022\u003ELanguage and Politics in the New South Vertically Integrated Project\u003C\/a\u003E, an interdisciplinary effort that combines technological and humanities-centered research techniques in the best tradition of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, which includes the School of Modern Languages. Marcus Ma, a Georgia Tech computing student work with Glass, created software to streamline the process of transcribing the audio samples for analysis.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThe paper, \u201cBoomer Peak or Gen X Cliff? From SVS to LBMS in Georgia English,\u201d was written by Margaret E.L. Renwick, her UGA colleagues Joseph A. Stanley and Jon Forrest, and Lelia Glass of Georgia Tech. It was published July 24, 2023, in the journal\u003Cem\u003E Language Variation and Change \u003C\/em\u003Eand is available at \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/S095439452300011X\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/S095439452300011X\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThe research was supported by a grant to UGA researchers from the National Science Foundation\u2019s Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/awardsearch\/showAward?AWD_ID=1625680\u0026amp;HistoricalAwards=false\u0022\u003ENo. 1625680\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ERead more on this research from the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/news.uga.edu\/classic-georgia-accent-fading-fast\/\u0022\u003EUniversity of Georgia\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech linguist Lelia Glass is part of a team out with new research showing a rapid decline in the Georgia accent.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech linguist Lelia Glass is part of a team out with new research showing a rapid decline in the Georgia accent."}],"uid":"34600","created_gmt":"2023-09-07 19:14:50","changed_gmt":"2023-09-08 18:27:24","author":"mpearson34","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2023-09-07T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2023-09-07T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"671640":{"id":"671640","type":"image","title":"Linguist Lelia Glass","body":"\u003Cp\u003ELinguist Lelia Glass of Georgia Tech\u0027s School of Modern Languages.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","created":"1694114097","gmt_created":"2023-09-07 19:14:57","changed":"1694114097","gmt_changed":"2023-09-07 19:14:57","alt":"\u0022\u0022","file":{"fid":"254741","name":"glass 169.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/09\/07\/glass%20169.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/09\/07\/glass%20169.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":323185,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2023\/09\/07\/glass%20169.jpg?itok=o61BUSiE"}}},"media_ids":["671640"],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"},{"id":"1284","name":"School of Modern Languages"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:michael.pearson@iac.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EMichael Pearson\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nIvan Allen College of Liberal Arts\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["michael.pearson@iac.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}