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I grew up mostly in the southeastern U.S. and have a very slight accent, to the extent that only someone else who grew up in Appalachia would likely notice. Thi

I grew up mostly in the southeastern U.S. and have a very slight accent, to the extent that only someone else who grew up in Appalachia would likely notice. This article made me pause for a second, because of all the dozens of different accents from around the world I heard while working at a FANG company, I cannot recall one other person having a southern accent (I'm sure there were others — I just never ran into them). My wife has a much more pronounced southern accent than I do, and I remember that on the occasions when she would visit the campus to have lunch with me, a lot of heads would turn to see who was speaking. I kind of doubt this was due to any negative connotation with southern accents though — I think it was just unusual to hear one there.

ghaff 3y ago
I work for a company that has HQ (though not engineering/product) in the Southeast. So lot of calls with fairly mild educated/urban southern accents. Not something anyone really notices. You get into rural southern accents, especially things like Cajun dialects, and it becomes more pronounced.
- uncletaco 3y ago
  Sounds like Shipt
dalke 3y ago
At college in Tallahassee my friends would have a stronger accent when talking on the phone to family than talking to friends, even at a Southern college. This is either part of, or related to, "code-switching". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code-switching https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code-switching . That could be the case at your FANG company, for one or multiple of the reasons given.
- SOLAR_FIELDS 3y ago
  I’m from Texas but you would never know it in normal conversation. But it will come out when speaking with relatives. It’s like a dial that you can turn up and down at will, but my normal state is to have it turned off entirely. Except for y’all. That one gets used at work
  - ok_dad 3y ago
    Y’all is just a great word though, I grew up in the southwest and my family was from the Midwest, but I use y’all. It’s just fun to say!
  - jachee 3y ago
    I grew up in rural Mississippi. A few years back, a few coworkers pointed out that sometimes my accent weirdly sneaks out when I’m particularly deep in talking about tech that I love and know well. But yeah, most of the time, people are like “Mississippi? You don’t have any accent!”
  - cloverich 3y ago
    y'all won't turn heads anywhere anymore, but fixin will.
    - ghaff 3y ago
      With "you guys" out of favor "y'all" is one of the common substitutes.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- Balgair 3y ago
  I do this with family too. Our natural accent is a mix of the many places our family has lived and a fair few words that have stayed with us that most people don't use. It's ours and we love it. But I don't expect other people to know that. When on the phone or a zoom with everyone, we'll drop into the natural accent. It's especially bad when we get drunk and do so. My SO has had a time learning 'us', and we've added some of their familys' ticks too. I guess it evolves with each person that comes in. I had a friend in college from Boston's South Side and when he was drunk and on the phone back home, he was unintelligible. I agree with calling this 'code switching', but to me (and maybe I'm alone here) that sounds a bit, I dunno, negative. Like I'm being forced to speak in a manner that I don't want to because of money. That's not it. I speak with my family in a way that is a bit more private. We have our own little thing that outsiders aren't a part of. It's not exclusive by any means, but we're not worried about being understood. I think my family understands that a more common form of communication is needed for the rest of the world. Actually, you know, we do call the form of English we use at work 'Cash English'. So, I'm full of BS here, maybe.
no_butterscotch 3y ago
As a midwesterner formerly in a FAANG in SF I'd hear jokes openly about "rednecks", "white trash", "hillbillies", "inbreds", etc. I can understand Southern people code-shifting or switching or whatever it's called.
- sgtnoodle 3y ago
  As another midwesterner also in the bay area, I have a lot of respect for rednecks. Talking to a colleague from Kentucky, I described an exceptionally high IQ friend of mine as a redneck. My colleague was initially offended, until I explained specifically what traits I meant. Then he agreed with me that my friend was a redneck, and that it was a compliment. Tangentially related, I once told a coworker that he was a hobo. He was also offended, but I suggested he do a bit of research on the etymology. He realized that he was indeed a hobo.
  - OJFord 3y ago
    > Tangentially related, I once told a coworker that he was a hobo. He was also offended, but I suggested he do a bit of research on the etymology. He realized that he was indeed a hobo. Wiktionary has: > Unknown. Possibly a contraction of ho, boy or the dialectal English term hawbuck (“lout, clumsy fellow, country bumpkin”). What did he agree to? Also, there must be something wontedly derogatory but technically accurate they could call you for providing this education?!
    - no_butterscotch 3y ago
      > Also, there must be something wontedly derogatory but technically accurate they could call you for providing this education?! Condescending? Call someone a term, then suggest they "research the etymology", then they realize I was right to call them that. Great for me providing them education!
      - sgtnoodle 3y ago
        You all don't lightheartedly joke around with your coworkers from time to time?
romeoblade 3y ago
I'm born and raised in Louisiana left in my late 20's for 10 years in Texas and now live on the East Coast. My accent is all over the place, only time my Louisiana or Texas accent for that matter, come back is if I spend a minimal of two weeks in either state. Company I worked for in Texas out of a few thousand people I only heard a Louisiana accent once and his was way more pronounced then mine being he was from closer to true Cajun country.

ghaff 3y ago

I work for a company that has HQ (though not engineering/product) in the Southeast. So lot of calls with fairly mild educated/urban southern accents. Not something anyone really notices. You get into rural southern accents, especially things like Cajun dialects, and it becomes more pronounced.

uncletaco 3y ago
Sounds like Shipt

dalke 3y ago

At college in Tallahassee my friends would have a stronger accent when talking on the phone to family than talking to friends, even at a Southern college. This is either part of, or related to, "code-switching". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code-switching https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code-switching . That could be the case at your FANG company, for one or multiple of the reasons given.

SOLAR_FIELDS 3y ago
I’m from Texas but you would never know it in normal conversation. But it will come out when speaking with relatives. It’s like a dial that you can turn up and down at will, but my normal state is to have it turned off entirely. Except for y’all. That one gets used at work
- ok_dad 3y ago
  Y’all is just a great word though, I grew up in the southwest and my family was from the Midwest, but I use y’all. It’s just fun to say!
- jachee 3y ago
  I grew up in rural Mississippi. A few years back, a few coworkers pointed out that sometimes my accent weirdly sneaks out when I’m particularly deep in talking about tech that I love and know well. But yeah, most of the time, people are like “Mississippi? You don’t have any accent!”
- cloverich 3y ago
  y'all won't turn heads anywhere anymore, but fixin will.
  - ghaff 3y ago
    With "you guys" out of favor "y'all" is one of the common substitutes.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
Balgair 3y ago
I do this with family too. Our natural accent is a mix of the many places our family has lived and a fair few words that have stayed with us that most people don't use. It's ours and we love it. But I don't expect other people to know that. When on the phone or a zoom with everyone, we'll drop into the natural accent. It's especially bad when we get drunk and do so. My SO has had a time learning 'us', and we've added some of their familys' ticks too. I guess it evolves with each person that comes in. I had a friend in college from Boston's South Side and when he was drunk and on the phone back home, he was unintelligible. I agree with calling this 'code switching', but to me (and maybe I'm alone here) that sounds a bit, I dunno, negative. Like I'm being forced to speak in a manner that I don't want to because of money. That's not it. I speak with my family in a way that is a bit more private. We have our own little thing that outsiders aren't a part of. It's not exclusive by any means, but we're not worried about being understood. I think my family understands that a more common form of communication is needed for the rest of the world. Actually, you know, we do call the form of English we use at work 'Cash English'. So, I'm full of BS here, maybe.

no_butterscotch 3y ago

As a midwesterner formerly in a FAANG in SF I'd hear jokes openly about "rednecks", "white trash", "hillbillies", "inbreds", etc. I can understand Southern people code-shifting or switching or whatever it's called.

sgtnoodle 3y ago
As another midwesterner also in the bay area, I have a lot of respect for rednecks. Talking to a colleague from Kentucky, I described an exceptionally high IQ friend of mine as a redneck. My colleague was initially offended, until I explained specifically what traits I meant. Then he agreed with me that my friend was a redneck, and that it was a compliment. Tangentially related, I once told a coworker that he was a hobo. He was also offended, but I suggested he do a bit of research on the etymology. He realized that he was indeed a hobo.
- OJFord 3y ago
  > Tangentially related, I once told a coworker that he was a hobo. He was also offended, but I suggested he do a bit of research on the etymology. He realized that he was indeed a hobo. Wiktionary has: > Unknown. Possibly a contraction of ho, boy or the dialectal English term hawbuck (“lout, clumsy fellow, country bumpkin”). What did he agree to? Also, there must be something wontedly derogatory but technically accurate they could call you for providing this education?!
  - no_butterscotch 3y ago
    > Also, there must be something wontedly derogatory but technically accurate they could call you for providing this education?! Condescending? Call someone a term, then suggest they "research the etymology", then they realize I was right to call them that. Great for me providing them education!
    - sgtnoodle 3y ago
      You all don't lightheartedly joke around with your coworkers from time to time?

romeoblade 3y ago

I'm born and raised in Louisiana left in my late 20's for 10 years in Texas and now live on the East Coast. My accent is all over the place, only time my Louisiana or Texas accent for that matter, come back is if I spend a minimal of two weeks in either state. Company I worked for in Texas out of a few thousand people I only heard a Louisiana accent once and his was way more pronounced then mine being he was from closer to true Cajun country.