Comment

'This is Alabama; we speak English,' governor candidate says

3
Shiplord Kirel: From behind wingnut lines10/13/2010 1:19:02 am PDT

The relative ease with which southern actors switch between native and British accents is a clue to how close the former are in basic phonetics to their ancestral dialect. A Texas drawl doesn’t sound much like Oxford English to the unpracticed ear but it is actually quite easy to make the transition. A great example of this is John Hillerman, a native of Dennison Texas who played the stereotypically English Higgins on Magnum PI. At one point, Hillerman played a dual role, appearing as a distant Higgins relative from Oklahoma. The “Okie”/North Texas drawl he used in this role is in fact his natural, everyday accent.