[John P.]

As a customer service representative, I talk to people from all over the United States. I have noticed that people from the South tend to talk at a higher speed than folks from other parts. Why is this?

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Name : John P., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 28, City : Tampa Bay, State : FL Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, 

[Augustine23649]

I have noticed this in the South and in southern Appalachia (which, in the case of West Virginia and Kentucky, is not culturally Southern but neither is it Northern). Many Southerners tend to describe things and situations in great detail, and it takes talking faster to 'get it all in'. There is also a nervousness or intimidation factor that may come across in something like calling customer service, feeling the need to 'explain it all' lest a pivotal detail be lost. I have also found, and this is not peculiarly Southern, that talking slowly causes the listener's mind to wander and you lose their attention. I am a relatively slow talker and, frankly, am offended when my listener uses my pauses and deliberation in speech as an opportunity to quit listening to me or, worse, to interrupt me in mid-sentence. Americans do not so much converse as they carry on simultaneous monologues.

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Name : Augustine23649, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 39, City : Columbia, State : SC Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Jane]

As a Southerner born and bred in Alabama, I find just the opposite is true. When I speak with people from the South on the phone, I find myself wanting to rush the words out of their mouths, as it seems to take an especially long time for them to convey their thoughts. I think that it is because 1) we are really aware that we have accents, so we try to talk slower in order to be fully understood, and 2) our parents and teachers TEACH us to speak slowly, clearly and loudly enough to be heard. It's possible that we take these principles a little too far. Does anyone else out there find this to be true?

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Name : Jane, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 28, City : San Diego, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Paralegal, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[L March]

I also work customer service over the phone and talk to many people from all over the country, and I really haven't found that Southerners talk faster - they often talk slower, but not always that, either. Often it depends on exactly where they are calling from - if they're calling on their own, they are more likely to be slower-talking and more accented than if they are calling for a school or business, for instance. Older folks seem to speak more slowly, too, though that may be due to hearing loss sometimes.

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Name : L March, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : unnamed, Age : 31, City : Keene, State : NH Country : United States, Occupation : customer service, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Ann23806]

I'm from Georgia and have a possible answer. First, I think that in general, in conversation with friends, family and acquaintances we tend to talk slowly. But I have noticed that we also often adjust or match our speaking patterns after whomever we are speaking with. So if we're speaking with a stranger on the phone about a business matter, we try to match the other person. Needless to say we might overdo it. Basically I think we're trying to overcompensate for our stereotype: slow, redneck and stupid.

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Name : Ann23806, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 23, City : Nowhere, State : GA Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 4 Years of College, 

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