Southern Accents: Mostly Horrible

[Portia]

A common complaint among those of us who live in the actual South is that actors tend to over-do American Southern accents. This is nowhere more true than on The Walking Dead. To my ear, Andrew Lincoln and Lauren Cohan (both Brits, though I don't know whether that's relevant) are the worst offenders. When I want to get someone's attention in a really dramatic way, I like to whisper-yell "Hah-oy!" in an attempt to mimic Rick saying "Hey!"

For an example of an authentic accent, I refer you to Sonequa Martin-Green (Sasha). She has the advantage of being from the South (Alabama), but I still think she still gets credit for having thus far resisted her costars' tendency to spread the accent on like molasses on a hot tin roof, Yes, molasses on the roof--that's how we do it down here.

(Because I am a dork, I have to throw in that Sonequa is from my area and I have met her a couple of times because I'm friends with her sister. She's a lovely person. I've followed her career for several years and am super-excited that she's on TWD.)

[Omar G.]

Lauren Cohan's this week was the first time I've really noticed it being so bad.  It was like she was out of practice or something.

[JocelynCavanaugh]

Emily Kinney's approach seems to be arbitrarily dropping G's but otherwise not changing her accent in any way. It's so bizarre I almost think it's some kind of postmodern anti-acting performance art. (Or she is a terrible actress. One of those.)

[Kim]

Rick is my favorite. Especially when he yells. It's so, so bad.

[Omar G.]

CAAAAHHHHWWWRRUULLLLL!!

Edited March 7, 2014 by Omar G.

[Portia]

CAAAAHHHHWWWRRUULLLLLL!

Best laugh I've had all week.

[Solid Muldoon]

The thing is, there isn't a "southern accent." There are lots of them. Texas is very different from Mississippi Delta, which is different from Georgia which is different from South Carolina...

If you travel all the way across Tennessee you will hear three different accents in a day.

There are also differences between urban and rural, Black and White, rich and poor, etc.

[Portia]

True. I mean, I have yet to meet any young white women from Georgia and neighboring states whose accents sound like Maggie's, but that doesn't mean much.

I've taken to yelling "CAAAAHHHHWWWRRUULLLLL!!" when my husband is elsewhere in the house and I need to get his attention.

[lkhllywd]

The worst ever was Shane.

[kikismom]

"Coral" "Thangs an stuff".

  I also think the Brits were the worst, with David Morrisey having a mutant southern/scottish accent which sounded like a cross between Elvis Presley and Sean Connery.

[Samx]

I think the Brits have done an okay job considering. Worst offender is Emily Kinney, made even more apparent in her last episode. Maybe it's because she didn't get to do a whole lot of speakin' before but it's the way she drops her Gs and says "mahnd" (mind) that drives me nuts. Like maybe she stops a little too short when she's pronouncing certain words? Growing up in the Southeast, I've heard em all and once you get around those accents they start to rub off. She needs an immersion program.

[PunkyMouse]

Andrew Lincoln doesn't bother me much but Lauren Cohan and Emily Kinney drive me up a wall.

[Milaxx]

Andrew Lincoln is the worse offender to my (Northern) ears. When his character gets upset it approaches chalk on a black board levels of annoying. I can play along with the others, but ugh! Shut Up Rick!

[mandolin]

Being a native Georgian, I actually don't mind Rick's accent (but he can kind of do no wrong for me, and I proudly wear a stuff n thi(a)ngs shirt). The Governor's accent was awkward, and I never pegged it as southeastern US. Maggie is bad, but rewatching old episodes, I think she's improved a bit. Beth's is bad, too, but in a different way than Maggie's. It's like they aren't even from the same area.

[lkhllywd]

I'm a native Alabaman, and for me, the worst accent among the currently living characters is Rick's. Maggie's used to be better but has gone downhill of late. Darryl's is spot-on -- absolutely true to that area of the South. He sounds like he came straight out of my hometown, which is within a couple of hours of that area they keep wandering around in.

[Joystickenvy]

True Blood is a far worse offender for me, but yeah lots of bad accents. I lived in North Carolina for awhile and the accents just from one town to the next vary wildly, so there's definitely not one correct southern accent, but few actors who aren't from the south have very believable versions of any of them.

[lawless]

True Blood is a far worse offender for me

 

Suuuckie!  Anyway, I thought Maggie's accent was worst in the first season she appeared, but now it doesn't bother me as much.  However, that doesn't mean it's better, I might have just gotten desensitized to it with time.  Andrew Lincoln also used to speak excessively slowly, which I thought was because he was struggling with the accent at times.  So, yes, the Brits seem to have some trouble.

However, in fairness to the Brits, I thought the Governor spoke very naturally. 

[Joystickenvy]

I wanted them to address him as 'ello Guv'nuh! But with a southern accent.

[kikismom]

But the Gov. rolled his Rs, which isn't right; at least not in my locale.

[CletusMusashi]

Is there any chance of Rick having an evil twin brother who grew up in England? Because watching him have to do the dueling accents would be awesome.

[kikismom]

CletusMusashi: Plus it would make a good riddle:

What do Lindsey Lohan, Hayley Mills, and The Governor of Woodbury have in common?

[HighMaintenance]

I introduced my SO to The Walking Dead at the beginning of season 4.  We're watching one Sunday evening and he asks me, "Who names their son CORAL?  Is that a southern thing?"

[Cattitude]

Thank the good Lawd for this thread. I'm a native of Arkansas and by far for me Emily Kinney to just gawdawful. Lauren Cohen used to bug but not as bad now. She sounds like a mouth full of marbles. Andrew Lincoln doesn't bother me at all so I kind of think maybe he has a fake Arkansas accent b/c Caahwarl isn't that far off what I've heard before and I have family who make shine. Norman Redus is definately the best.

I finally figured out why Emily Kinney bothers me the most when Beth was alone with Daryl. BTW I love how Rick says Darrryl. Beth was raise more high class southern with the big farm and the veterinarian father, plus Hershel was very well read(though his accent wasn't great) Maggie has a more high brow accent. Daryl is just poor white trash so it was nails on a chalk board grating to here Beth saying ain't this and ain't that while Daryl "appeared" the more literate of the two...come again?  Emily Kinney is just terrible.

[Tim Thomason]

What's wrong with Scott Wilson's accent? He, Chandler Riggs (Carl), and IronE Singleton (T-Dog) are all native Atlantans.

[lawless]

But the Gov. rolled his Rs, which isn't right; at least not in my locale.

 

Interesting.  On the Talking Dead, they said that Morrissey based the Governor's accent on Bill Clinton, formerly of Arkansas. So, perhaps not quite the correct region, but he sounded at least consistent, southern, and like he spoke naturally.  I think Maggie and Rick, especially in the beginning, sounded like they were speaking in a very ex-ag-ge-ra-ted fashion at times, which drew more attention to their odd inflections and accent.  Again, I don't notice this as much now, but I can't tell if that's because they are more comfortable and thus more natural, or if I've just gotten used to it with exposure.

[Cattitude]

What's wrong with Scott Wilson's accent? He, Chandler Riggs (Carl), and IronE Singleton (T-Dog) are all native Atlantans.

Nothing was wrong with it I just didn't think he had much of one, but as an educated man it wasn't unexpected, but I did think he and Lauren Cohen's accents at least seemed similar. It makes Emily Kinney's accent more glaring b/c they seem much more genteel.

ETA: Got a big chuckle out of your "egg" avatar.

And on further reflection maybe I don't think he has one b/c it is so good it seems normal to me and not an accent.

Edited April 3, 2014 by Cattitude

[lulee]

Lauren Cohan's this week was the first time I've really noticed it being so bad.  It was like she was out of practice or something.

That must have been in "Inmates" by the date, but she had a line in "Alone" about knowing that Glenn would go to Terminus to look for her, and her line reading and accent just totally took me out of the moment.

[momlyd]

I think Herschel and Daryl's accents were spot on. 

 

I also think Rick has such a difficult time with his son's name because folks who speak the Queen's English don't really have "r"s in their speech. They tend to do the Bahston thing and make "r"s "ah"s. I think Andrew Lincoln was just overemphasizing the "r" in Carl's name to make up for it.

[MilkMachine]

Admittedly I don't have an ear for accents. I've lived in the south my whole life, but I can't pick out a Mobile, AL accent vs a Kentucky accent vs a South Georgia accent, for example, even though have lived in or I am close to people who live in all of those areas. I expect people who live in or hail from rural places to have thicker drawls than I do, so I readily accepted Lincoln's accent figuring that Rick was from a really small town in the middle of nowhere and that's how they talk in small towns. I've never had much of an issue with Maggie, either. In season 2 Hershel sounded a lot like any number of elderly men I've known over the years. I feel like he actually softened it later and made it a little more "Southern Santa Claus" if that makes sense. I didn't really take note of Beth's accent because I was too focused on the fact that Emily Kinney was a really bad actress overall--although I think she improved a little bit towards the end of season 4, thankfully just in time for her to get a little more material. I felt like the Gov's accent was really inconsistent and I agree that he seemed to slip in and out of a drawl and something else--maybe a more generic "American" accent. I didn't hear the British. He did bust out the drawl when he was trying to pull one over on people, I noticed.

 

It's definitely true that there's no one Southern accent. I have always been told that I don't have much of one, but I can think of people who went to school with me who lived in the same town our entire lives and speak as if their voices have been drenched in molasses.

[kj4ever]

Admittedly I don't have an ear for accents. I've lived in the south my whole life, but I can't pick out a Mobile, AL accent vs a Kentucky accent vs a South Georgia accent, for example, even though have lived in or I am close to people who live in all of those areas. I expect people who live in or hail from rural places to have thicker drawls than I do, so I readily accepted Lincoln's accent figuring that Rick was from a really small town in the middle of nowhere and that's how they talk in small towns. I've never had much of an issue with Maggie, either. In season 2 Hershel sounded a lot like any number of elderly men I've known over the years. I feel like he actually softened it later and made it a little more "Southern Santa Claus" if that makes sense. I didn't really take note of Beth's accent because I was too focused on the fact that Emily Kinney was a really bad actress overall--although I think she improved a little bit towards the end of season 4, thankfully just in time for her to get a little more material. I felt like the Gov's accent was really inconsistent and I agree that he seemed to slip in and out of a drawl and something else--maybe a more generic "American" accent. I didn't hear the British. He did bust out the drawl when he was trying to pull one over on people, I noticed.

 

It's definitely true that there's no one Southern accent. I have always been told that I don't have much of one, but I can think of people who went to school with me who lived in the same town our entire lives and speak as if their voices have been drenched in molasses.

I grew up in the north with one parent who was raised in Mississippi and one from New Orleans.  By the time I came around (later in life kid) most of their accents were gone, but certain times, especially when they were upset, those accents came out in full force and they were almost unrecognizable. If either of my parents yelled "Kelleh Jeeeen" I knew I was in BIG ASS TROUBLE.  The boyfriend has made a few comments about Rick when he's upset - "leave hum beh!" from A comes to mind - but I found it totally in step with how my 'rents would talk when they were really upset.  

 

I don't think any two of the southern people in my extended family sound the same, even the ones that grew up in the same small town.  As an actor I think that would be one of the hardest accents to do.  You'd have to pick a tone and make sure you stick to it.  

 

Back early in the season I thought Shane must have grown up in Louisiana because he sounded more like the family I know that lives there, but we all pick up things growing up from our families.  I grew up in Chicago and constantly have people ask me where I'm from because I picked up a few nuances from the 'rents.  I've lived here my whole life but have people that automatically assume I'm from the south.  When Rick and Shane were talking about his old girlfriends I was surprised that they had grown up together, assuming they were from different areas of the south.  

Edited September 6, 2014 by kj4ever

[Kev]

 

 

Norman Reedus does a really good accent, especially for a Philly boy. 

[kikismom]

Norman Reedus does a really good accent, especially for a Philly boy. 

??? He was born in Hollywood Fl, partway through his childhood his family moved to southern California.

[Portia]

Florida is not considered the South, at least not by anyone I know in Alabama or Georgia. 

[kikismom]

Florida is not considered the South, at least not by anyone I know in Alabama or Georgia. 

Didn't say it was :-D

I'm questioning the Philly reference...have never seen any link of Reedus to Philly.

BTW, he also spent some time with his family living in Japan and some other places overseas, don't know if his father was military or what.

[Portia]

@kikismom, I didn't mean to imply that you had, but I understand why you got that idea...sorry!

[kikismom]

Oh, it's okay. I think Reedus had the best accent when he was in Season 1 "Rick Grrrriiiimmmes?!"

 

Jeff Foxworthy has a great bit on how people in Florida and Texas think they're Southern but they aren't, and most people don't think Missouri and Arkansas are Southern but they are, Virginia is except D.C., and nobody knows what to think about West Virginia and Maryland.

[mandolin]

Oh, ha. That line is so great. "Rick Griiimes?" I think it's funny that Rick always says his last name. Like people will be all, "oh, THAT Rick!" 

 

I think Rick's accent has mostly improved. His "scienTIST" and "acciDENT" from seasons 1 and 2 have mostly gone. I think he also had a more gravelly voice that he affected in early seasons, and he's improved that as well. It's really kind of awful in some of the farm scenes.

 

I read that Men's Fitness article and it said that Andrew Lincoln keeps the Rick accent while he's filming, even when not on set. Ordering in a restaurant, he said he uses the drawl as that is what people expect to hear. He said his wife and kids are like, "This for seven months?"

[Kev]

Didn't say it was :-D

I'm questioning the Philly reference...have never seen any link of Reedus to Philly.

BTW, he also spent some time with his family living in Japan and some other places overseas, don't know if his father was military or what.

I could swear that I read somewhere that he was born in Philly. 

[kikismom]

I could swear that I read somewhere that he was born in Philly. 

Okay here's the deal: Born in Hollywood Fl, doesn't remember it, they moved when he was a baby, father split, mother moved them constantly she worked as Playboy Bunny, coffin saleswoman, taught kindergarten in Harlem etc  he was a junior tennis player (I know--wha???) traveled internationally from 12-13 year old for tennis eventually quit blah blah.

Maybe we can find a Philly connection because it seems they were quite the gypsies (His mom is actually teaching school is Kurdistan right now I think)

[Tippi Blevins]

I'm rewatching the show from the start and the terrible accents stick out to me even more the second time around. I had to come here and see if there was a thread for discussion of this kind of stuff 'n' thangs. Rick calling his son CORAL! makes me laugh almost every time.

 

I wish Lauren Cohan and Emily Kinney had been coached to sound more like Scott Wilson. Having similar accents within a family would have made sense. 

[RedheadZombie]

On TTD, Lauren Cohan said she studied the accents of the Teamsters on set when she first started. Her accent was way too thick, so she had to work on a different accent.

[Nashville]

I always figured they thought they could pick up a decent Southern accent by watching Rue McClanahan's character on reruns of Golden Girls.

Unfortunately they forgot to take into consideration Rue was originally an Okie girl....

[RedheadZombie]

I always thought they based the character of Blanche on Blanche DuBois from A Streetcar Named Desire.  Also a pinch of Maggie the Cat with all the "Big Daddy" references.  Could you imagine a TWD character simpering - "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers"?

[Nashville]

I always thought they based the character of Blanche on Blanche DuBois from A Streetcar Named Desire.  Also a pinch of Maggie the Cat with all the "Big Daddy" references.  Could you imagine a TWD character simpering - "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers"?

 

Maybe a cross between her and Scarlett O'Hara.  That accent was pure Atlanta Junior League.

[BrokenRemote]

I agree Norman Reedus does a really good job...except...

He seems to suffer from the 'hey' problem like some of the others. It always sticks out to me when he, or Andrew Lincoln, say 'haaiiyeh'. Maybe they could switch it up so Daryl could use 'yo' once in a while to give it a break.

[JustLilOlMe]

Eh, some folks in families don't sound alike, mine was so bad they sent me to a speech pathologist to stop having such a mush mouth, because of my drawl.  If you get to college they really try and get you to sound like a generic newscaster by sending you to pubic speaking classes and such.  I really don't get all that hung up on any of the accents unless they start doing dem or dose, then I might. 

[diebartdie]

Sorry but I've got to say this because this conversation is bugging me (not that I disagree with anyone, mainly I agree!)....except for Andrew Lincoln, Lauren Cohen and David Morrisey, everyone else yall mentioned are speaking a southern dialect (particular form of a language that is peculiar to a specific region or social group), not an accent (a distinctive mode of pronunciation of a language, especially one associated with a particular nation) and I realize most everyone in the entire world uses accent to mean both so this is really splitting hairs (and the full definition of accent can very easily accomidate what all yall are saying here, I know that) but language is important and precision is important and damitalltohell dialect is the proper term (school marm in full effect now!). OK, thanks for hearing me out. Happy New year yall! (I was born in Virginia, lived all over the south east with over 30 years in North Carolina, regional dialect variations just within North Carolina are incredible)

[Nashville]

Sorry but I've got to say this because this conversation is bugging me (not that I disagree with anyone, mainly I agree!)....except for Andrew Lincoln, Lauren Cohen and David Morrisey, everyone else yall mentioned are speaking a southern dialect (particular form of a language that is peculiar to a specific region or social group), not an accent (a distinctive mode of pronunciation of a language, especially one associated with a particular nation) and I realize most everyone in the entire world uses accent to mean both so this is really splitting hairs (and the full definition of accent can very easily accomidate what all yall are saying here, I know that) but language is important and precision is important and damitalltohell dialect is the proper term (school marm in full effect now!). OK, thanks for hearing me out. Happy New year yall! (I was born in Virginia, lived all over the south east with over 30 years in North Carolina, regional dialect variations just within North Carolina are incredible)

 

Southern dialect with regional (East/Middle/West Tennessee, NC/SC, Georgia, Mississippi, Bama, etc.) accent variations - good enough?

[Hava]

Just marathoned the show. I like Rick and want to love him, but his accent and cadence are so terrible that I can't! Listening to him just makes me annoyed--it's so unnatural. I wish he would just shut up, kick ass, and hold Judith. 

Edited January 11, 2015 by Hava

[Tippi Blevins]

You're gonna make Coral sad talking about his dad like that!