Southern American English

Southern American English or Southern U.S. English is a regional dialect^[1][2] or collection of dialects of American English spoken throughout the Southern United States, primarily by White Southerners and increasingly concentrated in more rural areas.^[3] As of 2000s research, its most innovative accents include southern Appalachian and certain Texan accents.^[4] Such research has described Southern American English as the largest American regional accent group by number of speakers.^[5] More formal terms then developed to characterize this dialect within American linguistics include "Southern White Vernacular English" and "Rural White Southern English".^[6][7] However, more commonly in the United States, the variety is known as the Southern accent or simply Southern.^[8][9][10]

Speech example

An example of a Texas-raised male with a rhotic accent (George W. Bush).

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Speech example

An example of an Arkansan male with a rhotic accent (Bill Clinton).

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Speech example

An example of a Georgian male with a non-rhotic accent (Jimmy Carter).

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