Is Missouri part of "The South"?

[HeatherH]

Ok, but the talk with a southern "drawl" it's the south--well, I suppose pretty much everything is "south' from here

I don't know who you talk to in Missouri that has a "Southern Drawl" but I grew up in Kansas City and the only "accent" you'd hear is Midwestern twang. St. Louis folks seem to have it a little more. Sort of "Chicago Light" in the accent. All definitely Midwestern. (Think "WARSH" for "wash".)

We had a kid in my elementary school from Minnesota. HIS was the strangest accent we ever heard. I actually really liked it and still love a Minnesota accent...I can imitate it well and think it's open and homey.

Seriously, though, you need a geography lesson if you're lumping any Midwestern state in with the "true" South.

 

[golfgal]

I don't know who you talk to in Missouri that has a "Southern Drawl" but I grew up in Kansas City and the only "accent" you'd hear is Midwestern twang. St. Louis folks seem to have it a little more. Sort of "Chicago Light" in the accent. All definitely Midwestern. (Think "WARSH" for "wash".)

We had a kid in my elementary school from Minnesota. HIS was the strangest accent we ever heard. I actually really liked it and still love a Minnesota accent...I can imitate it well and think it's open and homey.

Seriously, though, you need a geography lesson if you're lumping any Midwestern state in with the "true" South.

Sorry, but those in KC have a drawl too....

Missouri is south of the Mason/Dixon line--it's still in the "south" in my book. I have never considered it a "Midwestern" state.

 

[HeatherH]

Maybe RURAL parts of Missouri, but I can assure you I have never DRAWLED in my life!

You really can't base your entire thoughts of a state based on whomever you've met that was from that state. Sure, there may be people from Missouri who have a drawl, but that is NOT the state "accent".

Edited to add:

http://geography.about.com/library/misc/blmidwest.htm

Seriously, just google it, EVERY geographer includes Missouri in the Midwest.

 

[acourtwdw]

I live in Michigan and I think of Missouri as being in the South. But to me so it south Ohio. I know that when I hit the OH/KY border I only have to drive through 3 more states to reach FL.

 

[golfgal]

Maybe RURAL parts of Missouri, but I can assure you I have never DRAWLED in my life!

You really can't base your entire thoughts of a state based on whomever you've met that was from that state. Sure, there may be people from Missouri who have a drawl, but that is NOT the state "accent".

Edited to add:

http://geography.about.com/library/misc/blmidwest.htm

Seriously, just google it, EVERY geographer includes Missouri in the Midwest.

Sorry, but EVERYONE I have met from Missouri from my 20+ trips to Missouri has a southern drawl. Heck, even people in southern Iowa have a Drawl. Sure, it isn't as pronounced as you hear in say, Georgia, but it is there.

 

[Becky2005]

Interesting because I would have said it's part of "The South" but then again I'm in Illinois

We don't have a clue what we are since 1/2 of us are North and 1/2 of us are South and then to the rest of the world we are "Midwest" and I can't figure that out either because looking at the map we are more to the East than smack dab in the middle of the USA which is what I would probably consider Midwest.

 

[ebtbmom]

I've never heard of Missouri being part of the South. I don't really consider most of FL to be southern, at least not culturally. Are Kentucky and WV really part of the South? I don't think of them as being midwest or north, but not exactly south either.
Of course, here in NC, I don't really think that the Raleigh/Durham area is part of the South either!

 

[JVL1018]

This thread reminded me of something I saw recently that made me laugh:

 

[AshleyW]

Sorry, but EVERYONE I have met from Missouri from my 20+ trips to Missouri has a southern drawl. Heck, even people in southern Iowa have a Drawl. Sure, it isn't as pronounced as you hear in say, Georgia, but it is there.

I have never heard an Iowan with a drawl. Ever. I have family in southern Iowa and everyone down there talks just like the rest of the state.

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

This thread reminded me of something I saw recently that made me laugh:

That is hysterical!

As to the original question, I find it interesting that so many people have different ideas.

I was born and raised in the DEEP South. As I see it - Missouri is NOT part of the South. We don't claim it and never have. Florida is also not part of the South. It's in a category of its own. Some people consider Texas part of the South but I think it is like Florida and more of in its own category as well.

GA is Southern (except for Atlanta which is really a Northern town smack dab in the middle of the South).

VA, KY, TN, NC, SC, GA, MS, AL are definitely part of the South. Louisiana is questionable since it is more Cajun than Southern.

Arkansas and Missouri are more Midwest than Southern.

We just moved to GA from MD where we lived about 10 miles from the real Mason-Dixon line. After living in MD, I can definitely say it is NOT part of the South. The Mason-Dixon line should be permanently relocated south of DC.

 

[AprilRenee]

I live in St. Louis and we are NOT the south. Now, southern MO can have a drawl and could be considered southern I guess. However, we don't consider ourselves southern. We're the Midwest. My DH claims that MO is a southern state (as we were a partial slave state in the Civil War) but he's from KS and I say he's full of it!

 

[HeatherH]

Sorry, but EVERYONE I have met from Missouri from my 20+ trips to Missouri has a southern drawl. Heck, even people in southern Iowa have a Drawl. Sure, it isn't as pronounced as you hear in say, Georgia, but it is there.

Are you meeting people from urban areas of St. Louis and Kansas City? Maybe to MinneSOHTans it sounds like a drawl, but really, truly, where I grew up...it's you MinneSOHTans that had the accent. I could play you tapes of everyone I know who still lives in Missouri, and except for one cousin...there isn't even a HINT of a drawl. Lots of twang, though.

I'm not going to argue with you, you think what you think, but geographically Missouri is NOT a Southern state, nor do those who live there think of themselves as "Southern". Your "experience" doesn't constitute changing a geographic determination of a Midwestern state.

 

[qtwns]

I always puzzle when reading my "Southern Living" magazine, which includes Maryland and Washington, D.C. as part of the South. I don't consider them to be part of the South.

Me too!! Never have understood that.

 

[aprilgail2]

I always puzzle when reading my "Southern Living" magazine, which includes Maryland and Washington, D.C. as part of the South. I don't consider them to be part of the South.

Thats funny because to me that is exactly where the south starts!

 

[pooh4evr]

St Louis and Kansas City are definately NOT southern but the half of the state below I-70 is, I grew up in STL suburb no accent or drawl, but my DH family is from a tiny town in southern Mo (farm rice, soybeans) and they are most definately southern, from the tea to bless my heart. -- OH and for the PP who lumped us in with Kansas dont EVER do that!! A true Missourian thinks Kansas should be erased! (and vise versa)

 

[miralys]

I thought Missouri was considered Midwest?

I don't know, all of these classifications confuse. When I learned geography overseas, we just had to know the states and pick them out on a map. We never covered cultural regions.

 

[ebtbmom]

Something else related that drives me insane is when people say "the Carolinas". What is that, some new state as yet to be invented? I bet that anyone that is actually from NC or SC NEVER says this I know I don't. The two states are very different and actually have little in common.

 

[punkin]

Interesting because I would have said it's part of "The South" but then again I'm in Illinois

We don't have a clue what we are since 1/2 of us are North and 1/2 of us are South and then to the rest of the world we are "Midwest" and I can't figure that out either because looking at the map we are more to the East than smack dab in the middle of the USA which is what I would probably consider Midwest.

DH spent his early childhood in Carbondale, IL and his native accent is pure Western Kentucky...very Southern. Nevertheless, IL is definitely Midwestern overall.

 

[Jennasis]

Something else related that drives me insane is when people say "the Carolinas". What is that, some new state as yet to be invented? I bet that anyone that is actually from NC or SC NEVER says this I know I don't. The two states are very different and actually have little in common.

Oh my goodness YES!. When my parents come to visit us from NY they tell their friends that "we're going to Carolina."

I've yet to discover where that us. Probably not far from Raw-lee, as my mom likes to call it.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I voted Yes because I am bad at geography.

So, yeah, Missouri is in the Mid-West.