Language involves the combination of pronunciation and it is only understood by a given community. As discussed in class, language is more than what people can hear or even say which include symbols and signs such as colors, clothing style, dialect, inflection among others. All these explains or even talks more about a given language. Language has to do with culture and it differs from one community to another. For example, a given word may differ from one community to another. Language affects how members of the society perceive a certain community and how they interact with it. This perception can be positive or even negative and it largely affects how an individual interacts with that group in future because of the formed opinions and perception without meeting the actual facts about the said group. In this essay, it will explain about the Southerners, the perceptions that people have towards them and the signs and symbols that have led to this perceptions.
Southerners are Americans who live at the southern part of United State of American and they are easily recognized by other people from the Northern part of United State of America due to their uniqueness of the perceived accent. There a lot of perceptions and claims that have been attached to southerners more so by the Northerners from the northern part of United States.
There a lot of negative and even general perceptions about the southerners in the United States based on the accent of their language. These perceptions include southerners are characterized by generational poverty whereby their level of poverty can only be addressed by the external intervention since they themselves cannot address it. Also, linguistic discrimination, institutional racism, social marginalization, ignorance and are inferiority forms other bases for the negative perception of the southerners by the non-southerners.
This negative perception towards the southerners by other social groups more so from the Northern region of the United States let to rise of conflict as the southerners tried to fight back and refuse those negative perceptions. They made other social groups from other parts of the globe grow negative attitude and perception towards southerners and thus leading to their state of ignorance and poverty as perceived since individuals from other region feared to travel to southern part of United State due to the negative perception of racism, poverty, intellectual inferiority among other negative perceptions.
On the other hand, despite the above mentioned negative perception about southerners, there are several positive perceptions credited to southerners such as giving of good hospitality and food to the visitors and foreigners. Southerners are acknowledged by the value that they attach to food. In fact, food is a big thing to them and people of the south love eating. It is out of this that most of the dishes in the United State are traced back from the Southern region of the United State due to this perception was given to the southerners by other social groups.
This accent is believed to have originated from the mixing of different language in the southern part of America. During the colonial and slave period between 1607-1775 more so the British colonial master and the dialects, people shared using different languages and this led to a mixture of language as the British English mixed with the non-English more so the slaves and the colonized dialects. The non-English languages tried to speak the British English but it ended up mixing the two languages which resulted in the southern accent which most of the American criticize and negatively perceive it.
This accent has evolved over time with current accent acquiring other language accents like the ones on the Northern part of United States. This accent also differs from one race to another more so in the United States. The African or blank Americans in southern region language are different from the British English accent in those regions. Their pronunciation of words makes them get a negative perception that they are ignorant and illiterate which is not the case. Also, this accent differs with the location because the accent in the southern part of United States is different from the Northern region. This brings the misunderstanding as the Northerners try to negatively stereotype the southerners. This perception has charged as the southerners have stood firm to fight for that negative perception branded to them by the northerners. Also, other parts of America already recognizes that southerners are still human it is only background and history which is different and this should not form the basis for a negative stereotype.
Southerners are negatively perceived as racist and that made them react differently to other people. The word nigger, for example, is used differently depending on the kind of region either north or south part of United States. Southerners greatly embraced love for themselves and they do not like mixing with other countrymen because of the negative perception they people towards them. This forms the basis of their perception that southerners are all ethnic group with other social groups like the northerners been allowed to be exceptional when trying to use a racist language to other people. This exceptional treatment has resulted in high defensive more so from the white southerners who prove that they are not racist instead they embrace unity as southerners.
Southerner’s flag was perceived as one of the rebel symbols that they used to promote their interests and culture and what they believed was right for them.
It was a perception more so by the other people not from the West that southerners are good at hospitality and welcoming people in their homes. Southern hospitality here refers to the way and style in which the southerners welcomes people in their region. Non-southerners credited the southerners for their hospitality aspect because though they perceived them poor. Ignorant and racist, they acknowledged this positive thing of good hospitality. Moreover, southerners differ from groups and people from other regions of the United States with how they communicate. Southerners had a slow pronunciation of words with their accent unique from the other social group from the United States. As a result of this slow is word pronunciation, southerners have been perceived as ignorant and intellectually inferior which is not the case since most of them are educated.
The perception that southerners love food was brought by the aspect of southerners to love food. In fact, most scholars credit that most of the American dishes have their history from white Southerners. The essence of food is closely tied to their good habit of cooking.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, therefore, the perception other people have towards southerners should be formed from a good basis and foundation. Perception of racism, poor, ignorant among others should be well founded from the good basis and not aimed at tarnishing the name of others. From the above-discussed perception, it has changed on how people perceive southerners more so the Northerners and other foreigners.
ALVAREZ, EUGENE. “Southern Hospitality As Seen By Travelers: 1820-1860.” Studies in Popular Culture 2.1 (1979): 23-35.
Andrews, Kenneth T., Kraig Beyerlein, and Tuneka Tucker Farnum. “The legitimacy of protest: explaining White Southerners’ attitudes toward the civil rights movement.” Social forces 94.3 (2015): 1021-1044.
Goldfield, David. Black, white, and southern: Race relations and southern culture, 1940 to the present. LSU Press, 1991.
Gregory, James N. The southern diaspora: How the great migrations of black and white southerners transformed America. Univ of North Carolina Press, 2006.
Griffin, Larry J., Ranae J. Evenson, and Ashley B. Thompson. “Southerners all?.” Southern Cultures 11.1 (2005): 6-25.
Kierner, Cynthia A. “Hospitality, sociability, and gender in the southern colonies.” The Journal of Southern History 62.3 (1996): 449-480.
Milewski, Melissa. Litigating Across the Color Line: Civil Cases Between Black and White Southerners from the End of Slavery to Civil Rights. Oxford University Press, 2017.
Thornton, Kevin. “The Confederate flag and the meaning of Southern history.” Southern Cultures 2.2 (1996): 233-245.
Thornton, Kevin. “The Confederate flag and the meaning of Southern history.” Southern Cultures 2.2 (1996): 233-245.
Webster, Gerald R., and Jonathan I. Leib. “Political culture, religion, and the Confederate Battle Flag debate in Alabama.” Journal of Cultural Geography 20.1 (2002): 1-26.
Essay Writing Service Features
Our Experience
No matter how complex your assignment is, we can find the right professional for your specific task. Contact Essay is an essay writing company that hires only the smartest minds to help you with your projects. Our expertise allows us to provide students with high-quality academic writing, editing & proofreading services.
Free Features
Free revision policy
$10Free bibliography & reference
$8Free title page
$8Free formatting
$8How Our Essay Writing Service Works
First, you will need to complete an order form. It's not difficult but, in case there is anything you find not to be clear, you may always call us so that we can guide you through it. On the order form, you will need to include some basic information concerning your order: subject, topic, number of pages, etc. We also encourage our clients to upload any relevant information or sources that will help.
Complete the order form
Once we have all the information and instructions that we need, we select the most suitable writer for your assignment. While everything seems to be clear, the writer, who has complete knowledge of the subject, may need clarification from you. It is at that point that you would receive a call or email from us.
Writer’s assignment
As soon as the writer has finished, it will be delivered both to the website and to your email address so that you will not miss it. If your deadline is close at hand, we will place a call to you to make sure that you receive the paper on time.
Completing the order and download