How do you recognise a Southern Appalachian accent?

Monophthongal “price”: “ride” as “rahd”, “time” as “tahm”. The pin–pen merger — “pin” and “pen” sound the same. “Y’all” for a group, and “all y’all” for emphasis. Double modals: “might could”, “used to could”.

Which famous people have a Southern Appalachian accent?

Dolly Parton is a speaker whose recorded speech anchors the Southern Appalachian English profile used by DialectGuessr.

How do I test whether I have a Southern Appalachian accent?

DialectGuessr's free accent test asks 29 questions about the words you use and how you pronounce them, then scores your answers against the Southern Appalachian English profile and every other profile in the survey. It takes about two minutes and needs no account.

Tennessee, Kentucky, western North Carolina and West Virginia

The Southern Appalachian accent

Southern Appalachian English is the accent of the mountain South, and it carries the features people picture when they think of a Southern drawl. Its single most identifiable trait is the glide-less “price” vowel: “ride” and “time” lose the second half of their vowel. It also preserves grammar — “a-going”, “might could” — that standard American English lost.

Take the quiz and see how close your accent is →

How to recognise a Southern Appalachian accent

Monophthongal “price”: “ride” as “rahd”, “time” as “tahm”.
The pin–pen merger — “pin” and “pen” sound the same.
“Y’all” for a group, and “all y’all” for emphasis.
Double modals: “might could”, “used to could”.

Also known as Southern accent, Appalachian accent, Tennessee accent, hillbilly accent, Southern drawl. Spoken in Tennessee, Kentucky, western North Carolina and West Virginia, United States.

The Southern Appalachian pronunciation fingerprint

These are the answers the quiz expects from a Southern Appalachian speaker on its 30 pronunciation questions. Where a feature varies within the region, more than one answer counts as a match.

“bath” takes the short vowel of “cat”
The Trap–Bath Split: Does “Bath” Rhyme With “Cat” or “Father”?
the R at the end of “car” is pronounced
Rhotic vs Non-Rhotic: Do You Pronounce the R in “Car”?
a quick D-like tap in “bottle”
Bottle, Bo'le or Boddle? The T in the Middle of a Word
“cot” and “caught” stay distinct
The Cot–Caught Merger: Do “Cot” and “Caught” Sound the Same?
“Mary”, “marry” and “merry” all sound the same
Mary, Marry, Merry: One Sound, Two or Three?
“day” is one flat sound — deh, or “day” ends on a slight “ee” — day-ee
The Vowel in “Day”: Gliding or Steady?
“go” is one flat sound — gaw, or “go” ends on a slight “oo” — go-oo
The Vowel in “Go”: Gliding or Steady?
“tune” sounds like “toon”, without a Y sound
Tune, Toon or Choon? The Y After a Consonant
no — they sound different
Do “Singer” and “Finger” Rhyme? The Velar Nasal Plus
one — “film”
“Film” or “Fillum”? The Helping Vowel in Highland and Irish English
no — they end in a vowel
The Bristol L: Why “Area” Can Sound Like “Areal”
a th sound
“Dat” for “That”: TH-Stopping in the Function Words
“ship” and “sheep” have different vowel sounds
Ship or Sheep? The Vowel That Divides Native and Learned English
“put” and “putt” have different vowels
The Foot–Strut Split: Do “Put” and “Putt” Rhyme?
“three” starts with a TH sound, with the tongue against the teeth
Three, Free or Tree? What Happens to Your TH
the H in “house” is pronounced
H-Dropping: Do You Say “House” or “'Ouse”?
“fur” and “fair” stay distinct
Fur and Fair: The Merger That Marks Liverpool
“beer” and “bear” stay distinct
Beer and Bear: The Merger That Marks New Zealand
“happy” ends on a long “-ee”
Happy: Does It End in “-ee” or “-ih”?
“wine” and “vine” start with different sounds
Wine or Vine? Where V and W Fall Together
“school” starts straight on the S
“Eschool” for “School”: The Vowel Some Accents Add
“bed” ends with D and “bet” ends with T
Bed or Bet? Final-Obstruent Devoicing
a smooth R, without tapping or rolling the tongue
Rolled, Uvular or Neither? How the R Is Made
“pin” and “pen” sound the same
Pin or Pen? The Southern US Vowel Merger
the vowel in “ride” stays as one sound, or the vowel in “ride” glides from one sound to another
Does “Ride” Stay on One Sound? Southern PRICE
“celery” and “salary” stay distinct
Celery or Salary? Melbourne's Quiet Giveaway

Everyday words in Tennessee, Kentucky, western North Carolina and West Virginia

Expected everyday vocabulary for a Southern Appalachian speaker.
Question	Usual answer
What do you usually call a sweet carbonated drink?	Coke (as a general term)
What do you call shoes worn for sport or exercise?	Tennis shoes
What do you usually call the main evening meal?	Supper
What do you call a small, round piece of bread for one person?	Roll
What do you call thin strips of potato served hot and fried?	Fries
What is your general word for small sugary treats?	Candy
What do you call the wheeled basket used in a supermarket?	Buggy
What do you call restaurant food collected to eat elsewhere?	Takeout
What do you call a public fixture you drink water from?	Water fountain
What do you call a small neighbourhood shop selling everyday items?	Convenience store
How do you usually address a group of people informally?	Y’all
What do you call the household container for unwanted rubbish?	Trash can
What do you call the narrow passageway between or behind houses?	Alley / alleyway
What do you call the insulated box you carry cold drinks in?	Cooler
You are waiting your turn behind other people. What are you doing?	Waiting in line
“Man’s getting emotional.” Who is “man”?	It does not make sense to me
What do you call rubber sandals held on by a strap between the toes?	Flip-flops
What do you call the red-amber-green signal at a junction?	Stoplight
What do you call a circular junction you drive around?	Traffic circle
How do you say “the” in a phrase like “I’m going down the shop”?	A full “the”
“We’ll not be home while seven.” What does that sentence mean to you?	It does not make sense to me
“I’m after having my dinner.” What does that sentence mean to you?	It does not make sense to me
What do you call a shared minibus used as public transport?	I do not have a word for that
Does “she be working on Fridays” sound like a normal way to say she works Fridays regularly?	No — it does not sound like my English
Does “the car needs washed” sound normal — without “to be”?	Yes — “needs washed” is fine
Can “da kine” stand in for a thing you have not named?	No — that is not a word I use

How Tennessee answered the Harvard Dialect Survey

The Harvard Dialect Survey, collected by Bert Vaux and Scott Golder in 2002–2003, recorded how respondents in every US state answered the same questions. These are Tennessee’s answers, most common first.

Tennessee, Harvard Dialect Survey.
Question	Answers in Tennessee
Soda, Pop or Coke? The Map of How America Orders a Fizzy Drink	coke 62% · soda 12% · pop 3%
Traffic Circle, Roundabout or Rotary?	roundabout 34% · traffic circle 27% · rotary 3%
Water Fountain, Drinking Fountain or Bubbler?	water fountain 91% · drinking fountain 8% · bubbler 0%
Lightning Bug or Firefly?	lightning bug 63% · firefly 3%
Crawfish, Crawdad or Crayfish?	crawfish 49% · crawdad 41% · crayfish 6%
Roly Poly or Potato Bug?	roly poly 75% · potato bug 2%
You Guys, Y'all or You All?	y'all 62% · you all 18% · you guys 15%
Kitty-Corner or Catty-Corner?	catty-corner 54% · kitty-corner 26%
Garage Sale or Yard Sale?	yard sale 59% · garage sale 36%
Tennis Shoes or Sneakers?	tennis shoes 75% · sneakers 15%
Trash Can or Garbage Can?	trash can 52% · garbage can 24%
Frosting or Icing?	icing 39% · frosting 15%
Frontage Road, Service Road or Access Road?	access road 30% · service road 21% · frontage road 19%
Does “Route” Rhyme With “Out” or “Hoot”?	rhymes with "out" 33% · rhymes with "hoot" 21%
Caramel: Two Syllables or Three?	with 3 syllables ("carra-mel") 60% · with 2 syllables ("car-ml") 22%
Mischievous or Mischievious?	mischievious (4 syllables) 37% · mischievous (3 syllables) 35%
Rubber Band, Hair Tie or Elastic?	rubber band 36% · hair tie 13% · (hair) elastic 7%

Data from the Harvard Dialect Survey (Bert Vaux and Scott Golder, 2002–2003), used under the CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 licence. A self-selected sample from two decades ago: how people spoke then, not a census.

Speakers with a Southern Appalachian accent

Dolly Parton
Sevier County, Tennessee, United States
A southern Appalachian reference profile; Parton was born and raised in Sevier County.

Accent profiles are anchored to primary-source regional recordings from the International Dialects of English Archive, not to any individual performance.