Southern American English facts for kids

Southern American English is a way of speaking English found in the Southern United States. It's also called Southern U.S. English or sometimes the Southern drawl. This isn't just one way of speaking, but a group of different American English dialects. A dialect is a special form of a language that people in a certain area or group use.

What is Southern American English?

Southern American English is a collection of unique ways people speak in the Southern parts of the United States. It's part of the larger American English language. Each dialect has its own special sounds, words, and ways of putting sentences together.

Where is it Spoken?

You'll mostly hear Southern English in states like Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, and Georgia. Parts of Florida also use these dialects.

Over time, these ways of speaking have spread to other states too. You might hear them in parts of Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, and southern Iowa. They are also found in south central Indiana, southern Ohio, and Kansas. Some parts of the Mid-Atlantic States also use these dialects.

How People Talk

People who speak Southern English often use certain words and phrases. For example, you might hear them say ain't instead of "am not" or "is not." They might also say you was instead of "you were."

Another common phrase is that there to point out something specific. Instead of saying "I have been," some might just say been. These are just a few examples of how Southern English can sound different.

Images for kids

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  The approximate extent of Southern American English, based upon The Atlas of North American English

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  Frequency of either "Y'all" or "You all" to address multiple people, according to an Internet survey of American dialect variation

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  Frequency of just "Y'all" to address multiple people, according to an Internet survey of American dialect variation