Dialect and Dollars

I've blogged before about regional dialects. Over at the Freakonomics blog, Steven Levitt summarizes some University of Chicago research on how speech patterns affect salary. Research by his colleague Jeff Grogger has found that "sounding black" costs you about 10% in salary per year. So does "sounding southern." Not sure how the researchers defined their terms, though...

Anyway, Levitt summarizes:

His main finding: blacks who “sound black” earn salaries that are 10
percent lower than blacks who do not “sound black,” even after controlling for
measures of intelligence, experience in the work force, and other factors that
influence how much people earn. (For what it is worth, whites who “sound black”
earn 6 percent lower than other whites.)...It turns out you don’t want to sound
southern, either. Although pretty imprecisely estimated, it is almost as bad for
your wages to sound southern as it is to sound black, even controlling for
whether you live in the south.

Humans. Strange creatures. This is why I find economics interesting. Of course, regression analysis has its problems proving causation, but there are a lot of arrows pointing in the same direction in this research.

After being in academia for 14 years counting my time as a student, I have learned to dial back my rural Kentucky accent at least to a "mild" level if I feel the need. But, honestly, I kind of like "leaving it on" sometimes. And, I have to say in defense of accents, one of my most brilliant history professors had a heavy, gravelly, Mississippi drawl and another great prof had a classic Southern accent.

And, of course, there is a difference between speaking English well with an accent and speaking English poorly with an accent.

"Pop" Culture

Where is "the South" in America? If we all drew a border about what is meant by "the South," there would likely be some considerable variation as to what states, cities, and counties were included. But, somehow, nearly everyone knows that when "the South" is referenced, it includes Birmingham but not Phoenix. Somehow, we know that Nashville is in it, but Miami is not. How?

"The South" is a cultural place not bound strictly by geography. Every semester, I have my students fill in a blank map of the Fifty States (sadly, I'd say maybe 5% of college freshmen can do this accurately), then draw a border around "the South." We then have a discussion about the edges of their borders. Some include Texas, some do not. West Virginia is often debated. At what point do you leave "the South" when traveling further south into Florida (let that sink in for minute)? Many students split Kentucky in half, as do I. The cultural South begins to fade out as one drives up I-65 through Elizabethtown, Fort Knox, Shepherdsville, and pushing toward Louisville. There are pockets here and there, but northern Hardin County certainly feels a lot different than Edmonson County.

There also exists a "Coke/Pop" line in this state. When generally referencing carbonated beverages, what is your term of choice? In western Kentucky, people generally say, "Coke." When I make a grocery list, I write "Cokes" on it. That means Dr. Pepper for me and Coca-Cola for my wife. Mountain Dew, Shasta, 7Up, Ski, Ale-8, Sprite--it does not matter. They are all "Cokes!" Now, somewhere just a few miles east of Elizabethtown (a strong "Coke" city), the general term is "Pop." The term "pop" starts to pop up (terrible pun absolutely intended) in Lincoln, Boyle, Mercer, and Washington Counties. While "Coke" is the term of choice in Lexington, one is steeped in "popness" when venturing into mountain counties like Menifee, Magoffin, and Rowan (pronounced "ROWN"). In Prestonsburg or Pikeville, "Coke" towns like Bowling Green or Glasgow seem a million miles away.

Add to that the convergence of dialects in the central Kentucky area, and what we have is a cultural hurricane with the eye somewhere near Elizabethtown.

So, Southerners, travelers, and students of cultural studies, where is the edge of "the South?" Can any good Southerner really say "pop?" If you did not click the in-text links above, please do visit PopvsSoda.com. It's as much fun as the sugary-sweet nectar that it researches. You can even participate in the Pop vs. Soda vs. Coke survey.

*For more, check out J.S. Reed's My Tears Spoiled My Aim. Reed has some GREAT stuff in there on how Americans define the South (the Sweet Tea Line, the "Hell, Yes!" Line, Kudzu, and more).