The Dirty South

Tyler Gunnin
Dr. Hughes
English 1101
10/16/09

The citizens of the Southern region of the United States take pride in their language and accent. Although this may be true, it does not mean the various other regions of the country believe the Southern accent is proper. Many people think of it as a monolith because of the single unified region that is so well organized with the people all together as one, and as a result of this, many other regions have certain respects and disrespects for the South.
Multiple websites and books have been created to display some sort of attention toward the Southern dialect. In this sense, it seems as if many people have respect for the largest accent group in the country, however, this is not so true. Two sites that seek to pay their honor to the South, Vaiden.net and Alphadictionary.com, seem to bring about a poor view of the region. The websites may be all in fun, and they are enjoyable to visit, but they present their own version of the dictionary, in a Southern manner similar to Jeff Foxworthy's "redneck language." Both viewpoints, that it makes fun of the Southern dialect, and/or it is respectable toward the region, can be supported by these sites. In a writing "Hillbilliies, Rednecks, and Bells," author Rosina Lippi-Green suggests that, "The fact that a Southern accent lies at the heart of anyone's construction of the south can be documented in a variety of ways." Based off of this statement, the dictionary established by both websites seems less as an insult and more like a praise of the south "documented in a variety of ways."
When such posts are made in any entertainment industry or even the Internet, other regions get the idea that the South is quite less intelligent than the rest of the country. Many comedians make a living off of making fun of the Southern dialect, but it is not out of the question that many parodies of the South are made because of the respect other regions have for this strong monolith. The South has always been a large group of similar people that take pride in their accent, and no television show or website displaying "redneck" words could ever snatch the pride the men and women of the confederacy hold on to so desperately after all of these years. The South may not seem as intelligent, respectable, or lively as other regions, because of the false advertisements made by other people across the country, but this strong dialect will never be torn down in the sense that it is such a strong area, characterized by people who take pride in their confederate flags and representatives at the national level that partake and have had success in activities just as well as other highly elected officals around the nation.