Why Taylor Swift's Accent Has Changed

"As Swift's star rose, something else shifted: her voice. Researchers at the University of Minnesota analyzed recorded interviews with Swift throughout her career and found that after she moved to Tennessee, she picked up a southern accent. She began to pronounce my like "mah" and boom like "bee-oom"-features not typically present in a Pennsylvania accent. Matthew Winn, a co-author of the study, told me that these changes suggest that Swift's voice subtly altered to fit in with the Nashville scene."

"after Swift moved to New York City, her vocal pitch lowered. This happens to most women gradually over the course of their life, but Swift's pitch dropped more suddenly than one would expect. This time, Winn told me, the change seemed to be motivated by Swift's desire to be heard, rather than to blend in. In those years, Swift was speaking out about women's rights and other issues, and Winn speculated that she wanted to come across as authoritative, as people with deeper voices"

Researchers at the University of Minnesota analyzed recorded interviews with Taylor Swift over her career and identified shifts in accent and pitch corresponding to relocations and social goals. After moving from Pennsylvania to Nashville, Swift acquired a southern accent, adopting pronunciations like my as "mah" and boom as "bee-oom," likely to blend into the Nashville country scene. After moving to New York City years later, her vocal pitch lowered more abruptly than typical age-related change, appearing motivated by a desire to be heard and to project authority. The findings illustrate second-dialect acquisition and how social context and goals shape speech.

Read at The Atlantic