14-05-2025
New Orleans' Yat accent is disappearing, researchers say
The sounds ya mom n'em used ta make are disappearing, researchers say.
Why it matters: Though we're hearing it less and less, the Yat accent is still a key part of New Orleans' identity.
Zoom in: Research from Virginia Tech professor Katie Carmichael, a Tulane alumna, has shown for years how the Yat accent has been disappearing from the city as its speakers moved into the suburbs.
In her latest study, published in December, Carmichael reports that its disappearance is most noticeable among millennials.
Don't get carried away though. This isn't yet another thing this generation destroyed.
Blame Hurricane Katrina instead.
Just adolescents when the storm hit, Katrina-enforced out-migration was the main culprit, the AP reports from Carmichael's research. The storm exposed young New Orleanians to other linguistic sounds in the process.
The big picture: The Yat death knell is among a broader trend of Southern accents disappearing, the AP says.
