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 14 pronunciation questions. Where a feature varies within the region, more than one answer counts as a match.
“bath” takes the short vowel of “cat” — no trap–bath split
The Trap–Bath Split: Does “Bath” Rhyme With “Cat” or “Father”?
rhotic — the R at the end of “car” is pronounced
“put” and “putt” have different vowels — the foot–strut split
a quick D-like tap in “bottle” — T-flapping
“cot” and “caught” stay distinct
The Cot–Caught Merger: Do “Cot” and “Caught” Sound the Same?
“Mary”, “marry” and “merry” all sound the same
the vowel in “day” stays steady — a monophthongal face vowel, or the vowel in “day” glides
the vowel in “go” stays steady — a monophthongal goat vowel, or the vowel in “go” glides
a true TH at the start of “three”
the H in “house” is pronounced
yod-dropping — “tune” sounds like “toon”
“fur” and “fair” stay distinct
“beer” and “bear” stay distinct
“happy” ends on a long “-ee” — happy-tensing
Everyday words in Tennessee, Kentucky, western North Carolina and West Virginia
| 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 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 |
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.
Is my accent Southern Appalachian?
The only way to answer that against real data is to compare your own speech to the profile. The quiz takes about four minutes: answer 26 questions, pin the town where you grew up, and see your closest accent matches ranked by how well they fit — plus where people who answer like you actually live.