Southern American vowel drawl

• Southern American English (SAE) dialect

  Characterized by a distinctive vowel drawl
• Southern American Vowel Drawl

  • Monophthongization
  • Diphthongization
  • Vowel Breaking
  • R-coloring
  • Lengthening
  • Glide Insertion
• Monophthongization


  1. Certain diphthongs are pronounced as single, pure vowel sounds

  2. Example: /aɪ/ in "ride" and "time" pronounced as [aː] or [ɑː]

  3. Example: /aɪ/ in "mine" and "fine" pronounced as [aː]
• Diphthongization


  1. Simple vowel sounds (monophthongs) are often pronounced as diphthongs

  2. Example: /eɪ/ pronounced as [eɪj] or [æɪ]

  3. Example: /æ/ in "trap" pronounced as [træɪp]
• Vowel Breaking


  1. A single vowel sound is split into a sequence of two sounds

  2. Example: /æ/ in "cat" pronounced as [æɪ]
• 1. coloring


  1. Vowel is often influenced by a following /r/

  2. Example: Vowel in "car" pronounced with a distinctive rhotic sound
• Lengthening


  Vowels are often lengthened, contributing to the drawling quality
• Glide Insertion


  1. A glide is inserted into vowel sounds

  2. Example: "pen" pronounced as [pɪjən]