“...and few things more harshly grating on the ear than a fake, put-on, phoney Southern accent.”
Agree! I can spot them first thing. It’s especially bad on TV. Actors take voice training to master it and they never do.
Back when we traveled some and we went North, the first thing people asked me as soon as I started talking was “where are you from?” All of the Southern dialects are different. Tennessee and Texas sound alike to me. Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi all sound different but just a little bit.
Also harshly grating: emulating a Bronx accent in an attempt to be funny. Or tough.