TarnportI was urging someone younger today to really appreciate the regional accents of the old folks around them, because after tv and other media spread, accents started to die and our generation will pretty much live to see the end of them. I've already outlived many I remember personally. I miss them - perhaps especially the ones that at the time I considered bumpkin.
ikuo@Tarnport This is true even in larger areas. I grew up and still live in a suburb of Boston. As a kid, the vast majority of people I encountered had Boston accents, including classmates, teachers, parents, store clerks, etc. Now, I literally can't even remember the last time I heard a Boston accent... It does make me sad.
@ikuo1000 I was somewhere very remote and very far from Boston just last month when I heard four South Boston accents from a distance of three tables! I literally ran toward them, glass sloshing in hand. What a glory to hear it spoken! So rare now, I know. They were fun too. Obviously.