All accents have stories, and University of Georgia researchers are telling them.<\/p>\n
Linguists\u00a0Margaret Renwick<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Jon Forrest<\/a>\u00a0from the\u00a0Franklin College of Arts and Sciences<\/a>\u00a0turned heads in 2023 after\u00a0publishing a study<\/a>\u00a0about Georgia\u2019s fading Southern accent.<\/p>\n The Southern drawl\u2014extending and stretching out vowel sounds in words like taste (tuh-eest<\/em>) or back (bahyuck<\/em>)\u2014is disappearing, and younger generations in Georgia are less likely to possess that distinctive twang.<\/p>\n These findings led to an outpouring of media coverage and social media reactions, ranging from, \u201cThat makes a lot of sense,\u201d to \u201cNot in my hometown!\u201d According to Renwick and Forrest, both reactions are valid.<\/p>\n \u201cWe talk about generalizations like this change, but there are always sub-regional differences and other group differences that matter,\u201d says Forrest, an assistant professor in the\u00a0Department of Linguistics<\/a>. \u201cWe\u2019re painting a picture of what\u2019s happening in the bigger aggregate of Georgia, but we\u2019re also providing something concrete for people to grab onto.\u201d<\/p>\n All the engagement is exciting because it highlights how linguistics impacts individuals on a personal level. For some people, this study explains a phenomenon they hear but can\u2019t quite describe. For others, it highlights a direct connection to language and accents.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a very human side of linguistics,\u201d says Renwick, an associate professor of linguistics and lead author of the study. \u201cWe\u2019re helping to make sense of the world around us.\u201d<\/p>\n This is a portion of a story published first by the UGA Office of Marketing and Communications. <\/em>Read the full story here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" All accents have stories, and University of Georgia researchers are telling them. Linguists\u00a0Margaret Renwick\u00a0and\u00a0Jon Forrest\u00a0from the\u00a0Franklin College of Arts and Sciences\u00a0turned heads in 2023 after\u00a0publishing a study\u00a0about Georgia\u2019s fading Southern accent. The Southern drawl\u2014extending and stretching out vowel sounds in words like taste (tuh-eest) or back (bahyuck)\u2014is disappearing, and younger generations in Georgia are less … <\/p>\n