English (Southern)

English (Southern US)

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

20 core words in English (Southern US)

Water

water

/wɔːɾɚ/

Fire

fire

/faːɹ/

Sun

sun

/sʌn/

Moon

moon

/muːn/

Mother

mother

/mʌðɚ/

Father

father

/fɑːðɚ/

Eat

eat

/iːt/

Drink

drink

/dɹɪŋk/

Love

love

/lʌv/

Heart

heart

/hɑːɹt/

Tree

tree

/tɹiː/

House

house

/haːʊs/

Dog

dog

/dɑːɡ/

Cat

cat

/kæːt/

Hand

hand

/hæːənd/

Eye

eye

/aː/

Hello

howdy

/haʊdi/

Thank you

thanks

/θæːŋks/

One

one

/wʌn/

Good

good

/ɡʊd/

Words compared

Compared with related Germanic languages

Meaning English (Southern US)English (Appalachian)English (AAVE)EnglishEnglish (Australian)English (Scottish)Hawaiian Creole
Water water /wɔːɾɚ/ water /wɔːɾɚ/ water /wɑːɾɚ/ water /ˈwɔːtə/ water /woːɾə/ water /wɔːtəɹ/ wata /wɑtə/
Fire fire /faːɹ/ fire /faːɚ/ fire /faːɚ/ fire /faɪə/ fire /fɑːə/ fire /faɪɹ/ faia /fɑɪə/
Sun sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sɐn/ sun /sʌn/ san /sɑn/
Moon moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ mun /muːn/
Mother mother /mʌðɚ/ mother /mʌðɚ/ mama /mɑːmə/ mother /ˈmʌðə/ mother /mɐðə/ mother /mʌðəɹ/ madda /mɑdə/
Father father /fɑːðɚ/ father /fɑːðɚ/ daddy /dæɾi/ father /ˈfɑːðə/ father /fɐːðə/ father /fɑːðəɹ/ fadda /fɑdə/
Eat eat /iːt/ eat /iːt/ eat /iːt/ eat /iːt/ eat /iːt/ eat /iːt/ eat /iːt/
Drink drink /dɹɪŋk/ drink /dɹɪŋk/ drink /dɹɪŋk/ drink /dɹɪŋk/ drink /dɹɪŋk/ drink /dɹɪŋk/ drink /dɹɪŋk/
Page 1/3

Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
English (Southern US)
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
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 看到的 那套西装
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 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with closely-related languages

Ek wil 'n pak aanpas wat ek gesien het ‌in 'n winkel oorkant die hotel
Jeg vil prøve et jakkesæt som jeg i en butik overfor hotellet
Ik wil een pak passen dat ik zag ‌in een winkel tegenover het hotel
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
English (Southern US)
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel

Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.