USA : Genealogical Value of the Southern Twang

Everyone’s heard it, y’awl, awl-rite, but did you know the Southern twang can help you discover your ancestral origins? The Southern accent, which some people love and some people hate, derived from dialects spoken in different regions of the British Isles. Early colonists transported it with them across the Atlantic and even though it has largely disappeared in the Mother Country, the accent survived in its rebellious child. Social historians utilize clues like this to learn more about peoples for whom few written records survive and knowledge of linguistic origins narrows the British regions for genealogists to search for immigrant origins.

Tracing the British roots of Southern colonial ancestors has always posed research obstacles for genealogists. Wars, fires, harsh living conditions, illiteracy, and natural disasters have ruined much of the South’s written legacy. In Albion’s Seed, David Hackett Fischer explains that alternative techniques can be implemented to learn more about the origins of Southern colonists. He explores similar architecture, eating habits, vocabulary, accents, and marital rituals between American colonists and regionally separated groups in the British Isles. Synthesizing studies by many authors, he demonstrates that many of these distinguishing customs come from specific areas in the British Isles. Fischer categorizes two of the major groups who settled in the South as the “Borderers” and those who came from the South of England.

 READ MORE :  Genealogical Value of the Southern Twang

About Price Genealogy

Located one block from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Price & Associates is able to trace
most family histories back four or five generations without difficulty. With additional assistance from our research professionals across the globe, we have successfully traced genealogies back as many as thirty generations—to William the Conqueror, 1066 A.D. and beyond.

Price & Associates professional genealogy researchers have been helping people discover their heritage for more than thirty years. As one of the United States’ largest genealogical firms, we have assisted thousands of families to organize, chart, and verify their ancestral lines.Price & Associates uses the best software andgenealogy resources available, and even provides access to free databases and researching aids to everyone interested in their family history.

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