Back to courseStart free 14-day trial
Vowel Lengthening
The "Southern drawl" comes from lengthening vowels and sometimes adding extra syllable-like glides. Short vowels become longer, and some single syllables split into two.
Examples:
- "yes" → "ye-us" (almost two syllables)
- "bad" → "ba-ud"
- "bed" → "be-ud"
This gives Southern speech its characteristic slower, more melodic quality.
Listen Across Accents
Tap an accent to hear each example. Audio is generated on demand and cached.
yes
Well, I guess that sounds about right to me.
Your Turn — 2 exercises
Record yourself and get instant AI pronunciation feedback. Free account required.