Some friends were discussing accents the other day. A buddy who was born and raised in Raleigh was told his accent sounded Midwestern. As a Raleigh resident who was raised all over the South, I have to say I don’t hear much of a Southern accent around Raleigh.
Maybe it’s because of the way Raleigh draws residents from all around the country and world. Companies like IBM set up shop here in the early 1960s, bringing new residents in from all over (and particularly the North). As these groups assimilated the accents all blended, too. Raleigh is a melting pot of people and accents. So I suppose one could say that Raleigh does have its own accent but it’s indistinct. Maybe boring. And boring might not be a bad thing.
On a related note, last night I met with a group of very friendly transplants from the North. For all the grief my daughter gives me about suddenly sounding Southern when I’m around my Southern friends, last night I caught myself actually slipping into a New England accent. 🙂