Regional Dialects in the United States

The South

The Northeast

The West

Transitional Areas

The primary boundary between the North and South begins somewhere in Central Delaware, extends westward near the old Mason-Dixon Line and continues approximately along the Ohio River. There are five original coastal centers from which most American dialects developed: Boston, Philadelphia, Tidewater Virginia, Charleston and New Orleans. By the end of the nineteenth century there were almost no foreign born residents in the South, but the Northern dialects were further enriched by other cultures which shaped their dialects. This is believed to have impacted the American Regional dialects that will be further discussed.