South Midland Dialect
About
Located along the Ohio River in a southwest direction. Its highest point is southern Indiana, then runs south through Kentucky and Tennessee, and moves westward through southern Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The south midland dialect region is very close in location to other dialects, and that causes it to resemble other dialects. It has been described as having similar vocabulary to the more southern dialects and has characteristics of the Appalachian region, but nevertheless it is its own dialect.
Some Famous People of South Midland Dialect Region
There are many famous people that speak with the south midland dialect. On this page famous boxer Muhammad Ali and former president Bill Clinton are used as examples. There are many more stars including Billy Ray Cyrus, Nappy Roots, and Billy Bob Thornton.
Former heavy-weight boxing champ Muhammad Ali was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. He speaks with a southern drawl and raises initial vowels changing the contraction "can't" to "cain't". He also has characteristics of dialects further south by not pronouncing his "r's". He pronounces the word "throw" as "tho" in one of his many lines of trash talk.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xva9DlIVoV8&feature=fvwrel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xva9DlIVoV8&feature=fvwrel
The famous man and former president Bill Clinton is from the South Midland Dialect region. He was born in Hope, Arkansas and has a "country accent".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOFdTQAaSBs&NR=1&feature=endscreen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOFdTQAaSBs&NR=1&feature=endscreen
Ali also demonstrates the raising of initial vowels in this video also. He pronounces "can't" as "cain't" and changes "aren't" to "ain't". As in the video adjacent, Ali does not pronounce some of his r's. He pronounces the word "never" as "neva".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lxq-1SLA1WY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lxq-1SLA1WY