<Li> / ɑːr / as rounded (ɒː ~ ɔː). </Li> <Li> Coil--curl merger (traditionally, though now in decline). </Li> <P> Yat also lacks the typical vowel changes of the Southern Shift and the pin--pen merger that are commonly heard elsewhere throughout the South . Yat is associated with the working and lower middle classes, though a spectrum with fewer notable Yat features is often heard the higher one's socioeconomic status; such New Orleans affluence is associated with the New Orleans Uptown and the Garden District, and its speech patterns are sometimes considered a separate variety altogether from the Yat dialect . </P> <P> Additionally, many unique terms such as "neutral ground" for the median of a divided street (Louisiana / Southern Mississippi) or "banquette" for a sidewalk (southern Louisiana / eastern Texas) are found in New Orleans and elsewhere in coastal Louisiana . </P>

Where does the deep south accent come from