Tyler, Texas (KETK) — Talking like a “True Texan”, you know, that ubiquitous twang, that Southern slur that reaches from borderline to borderline in the great state of Texas. Well, according to a professor of English at the University of Texas at Austin. That famous twang is slowing dying.
Lars Hinrichs, English language and linguistics professor at UT-Austin is the one backing this research, but we at KETK went to speak to a linguistics professor from the University of Texas at Tyler, Dr. Chantal Rousslezauzu, she explains professor Hinrich’s research. Rousslezauzu says people are becoming more “Bi-dialectical” meaning they are speaking more than one accent in their daily lives. For instance, at home, they may speak with a southern drawl, but in the work place Rousslezauzu says people, “Will have a tendency to try very hard to drop their accent, and imatate the sounds that they hear in their new environment."
According to reports Hinrichs said that urbanization, pop culture and an influx of newcomers to the state have diluted the state's distinctive twang.
But here in East Texas, people don’t necessarily thing that research is true. They say the Texas twang is here to stay, at least in East Texas!