Yes, someone has created a map of North American English dialects, based on pronunciation patterns and it’s recently been updated.
It was developed by Rick Aschmann, a professional linguist and Christian missionary who grew up traveling back and forth between Mexico and the U.S.
The full map includes links to YouTube videos as well as audio clips of individuals thought to be representative of the specific area’s speech patterns.
Who are the folks used as examples for Birmingham, AL? There are three actually – U.S. Senator Richard Shelby, U.S. Congressman Spencer Bachus and retired Florida State University (and Woodlawn High School alum) Bobby Bowden (NOTE: the videos linked to are not necessarily the ones used by the site).
If you disagree with his findings, you can always contact him.
Screenshot of the North American Dialect map. Courtesy of website.
Tomorrow’s runoff election is specifically for residents of Jefferson County living in District 1 and pertains to the 
The fact that Birmingham, AL ranked as the country’s 30th craziest city in a recent list shouldn’t be what throws you for a loop. It should be the ability to be reminded about just how 
Have you visited Goldie?
If you’re in Tuscaloosa between now and the end of December this year and you’re walking by Woods Quad on the Alabama campus, you’ll stumble upon a sculpture created by graduate student Joe McCreary (who just so happens to work as the metal arts education coordinator at Sloss Furnaces). The piece, named Goldie has a serious purpose to it though, according to the post on Alabama’s faculty/staff blog – dialog:
“Goldie symbolizes the closing of Birmingham’s Sloss Furnaces in 1972 and America’s passage into the post-industrial era. The robot is not so much dead or sleeping as turned off.”
Now there’s a photo of Goldie on the site, but we were wondering if someone wouldn’t mind scoring one for our use – in exchange for a white Terminal T of course. Drop us an email with the file or link if you’re interested.
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Posted in Quirky
Tagged AL, Alabama, Birmingham, Commentary, Goldie, Joe McCreary, robot, sculpture, Sloss Furnaces, Tuscaloosa, Woods Quad