I often interact with people from Savannah River and Oak Ridge (those are two national DOE science labs, located in South Carolina and Tennessee, respectively).
It is to your peril and embarrassment if you think a Southern accent means that someone is uneducated.
the Entertainment INDUSTRY....is at the root of this.
Tv and Movies....used a recognizable style of speech....as a “gag” several decades ago.....and it stuck in the “minds” of many.
“It is to your peril and embarrassment if you think a Southern accent means that someone is uneducated.”
Born in New Jersey/Metro NYC, raised in Southern Indiana.
That “Southern Accent” was my best sales tool, especially with arrogant West Coasters.
When a West Coaster or a Northeasterner hears a Southern Accent, they IMMEDIATELY think “Ignorant Rube”, just like the TV has programmed them to do. They think they are going to get one over on you, until the negotiations begin, and the Southern accent goes away, replaced with mouthfuls of techy jargon in a straight, dictive way.
I watched jaws drop as they suddenly realize you played THEM, not the other way around as they thought, but they have already told the boss they are going to steal a “good Deal” from the “Rube”.
It was always fun...