Southern American English

Germanic

FamilyGermanic Speakers~100M ScriptLatin CountriesUS Official inNone Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3eng

Southern American English is the regional dialect of the U.S. South, characterized by the Southern drawl (vowel breaking and diphthongization), the pin-pen merger before nasals, monophthongization of /aɪ/ to [aː], extensive use of 'y'all' and 'fixin' to', and grammatical features such as the double modal ('might could'). It is the substrate of African American Vernacular English and a major influence on Country and Blues music traditions.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Southern American English

Water

water

ˈwɔːɾɚ

Fire

fire

faːɹ

Sun

sun

sʌn

Moon

moon

muːn

Star

star

stɑːɹ

Night

night

naːt

Rain

rain

ɹæɪn

Snow

snow

snoʊ

Wind

wind

wɪnd

Earth

earth

ɝθ

Stone

stone

stoʊn

Mountain

mountain

ˈmæʊntn̩

Sea

sea

siː

Mother

mother

ˈmʌðɚ

Father

father

ˈfɑːðɚ

Daughter

daughter

ˈdɔːɾɚ

I

I

aː

You

you

juː

We

we

wi

Name

name

næɪm

Person

person

ˈpɝsən

Head

head

hɛəd

Eye

eye

aː

Ear

ear

ɪɚ

Nose

nose

noʊz

Mouth

mouth

mæʊθ

Tooth

tooth

tuːθ

Tongue

tongue

tʌŋ

Hand

hand

hæːənd

Foot

foot

fʊt

Heart

heart

hɑːɹt

Bone

bone

boʊn

Blood

blood

blʌd

Poop

poop

puːp

Love

love

lʌv

Tree

tree

tɹiː

Dog

dog

dɔːɡ

Cat

cat

kæːt

Fish

fish

fɪʃ

Bird

bird

bɝd

Butterfly

butterfly

ˈbʌɾɚflaː

Egg

egg

ɛɡ

Bear

bear

bɛɹ

Horse

horse

hɔɹs

House

house

hæʊs

Milk

milk

mɪlk

Honey

honey

ˈhʌni

Salt

salt

sɔːlt

Wine

wine

waːn

Rice

rice

ɹaɪs

Chocolate

chocolate

ˈtʃɑːklət

Iron

iron

aːɹn

Wheel

wheel

wiːl

Silk

silk

sɪlk

Book

book

bʊk

Eat

eat

iːt

Drink

drink

dɹɪŋk

Sleep

sleep

sliːp

One

one

wʌn

Two

two

tuː

Three

three

θɹiː

Four

four

fɔːɹ

Five

five

faːv

Hundred

hundred

ˈhʌndɹəd

Hello

howdy

ˈhaʊdi

Thank you

thanks

θæːŋks

Good

good

ɡʊd

New

new

nuː

Red

red

ɹɛəd

White

white

waɪt

Black

black

blæːk

Green

green

ɡɹiːn

Blue

blue

bluː

Cuckoo

cuckoo

ˈkʊkuː

Woof

woof

wʊf

Cock-a-doodle-doo

cock-a-doodle-doo

ˌkɑːkəduːdlˈduː

Computer

computer

kəmˈpjuːɾɚ

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi

ˈwaːfaː

Sushi

sushi

ˈsuʃi

Tea

tea

tiː

Coffee

coffee

ˈkɔːfi

Sugar

sugar

ˈʃʊɡɚ

Orange

orange

ˈɔːɹɪndʒ

Ninety-nine

ninety-nine

ˈnaːnti ˈnaːn

Dopamine

dopamine

ˈdoʊpəmiːn

At sign

at

æːt

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Germanic

Meaning Southern American EnglishAppalachian EnglishAfrican American EnglishEnglishCanadian EnglishWest Country EnglishAmerican English
Water water /ˈwɔːɾɚ/ water /ˈwɔːɾɚ/ water /ˈwɑːɾɚ/ water /ˈwɔːtə/ water /ˈwɑɾɚ/ water /ˈwɔːtɚ/ water /ˈwɔɾɚ/
Fire fire /faːɹ/ fire /faːɚ/ fire /faːɚ/ fire /faɪə/ fire /ˈfaɪɚ/ fire /faɪɚ/ fire /ˈfaɪɚ/
Sun sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/
Moon moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /mun/
Star star /stɑːɹ/ star /stɑːɹ/ star /stɑː/ star /stɑːɹ/ star /stɑɹ/ star /stɑːɹ/ star /stɑɹ/
Night night /naːt/ night /naɪt/ night /naɪt/ night /naɪt/ night /nʌɪt/ night /naɪt/ night /naɪt/
Rain rain /ɹæɪn/ rain /ɹeɪn/ rain /ɹeɪn/ rain /ɹeɪn/ rain /ɹeɪn/ rain /ɹeɪn/ rain /ɹeɪn/
Snow snow /snoʊ/ snow /snoʊ/ snow /snoʊ/ snow /snoʊ/ snow /snoʊ/ snow /snəʊ/ snow /snoʊ/
Page 1/11

Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
Southern American English
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 で 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
我 想 试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 里 看到的 那套西装
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with languages in the same classification

I wanna try on a suit I seen ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ek wil 'n pak aanpas wat ek gesien het ‌in 'n winkel oorkant die hotel
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Jeg vil prøve et jakkesæt som jeg så i en butik overfor hotellet
Southern American English
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel

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