( CNN ) -- Hours of TV each day . The internet . Increased travel and mobility . All these factors expose us to culture and voices on a national rather than local scale . But if you think all this exposure is homogenizing our language , think again . Regional accents are going strong around the United States , bringing with them all kinds of cultural flavor . If you 're one of the many that assume all this media exposure must be homogenizing the American accent , you 're not alone . It sounds like a logical hypothesis : The accents heard in the media are far-reaching and pervasive , so local accents must be on the decline as the population is exposed to all this `` standardized '' speech . But experts say it 's a common misconception that has no basis in fact . `` There is zero evidence for television or the other popular media disseminating or influencing sound changes or grammatical innovations , '' wrote linguist J.K . Chambers in a 2006 essay for PBS . And experts agree that regional accents around the United States are alive and well . But what effect are these regional accents having on American culture ? As part of the CNN iReport cultural census , which examines some of the more intangible characteristics that define the American population , we asked people around the country to read a standard passage aloud so we could evaluate their regional accent . We also asked them to tell us a little about their speech : how they feel about their accent , who influenced it , and how they think others view it . Some of the strongest opinions came from iReporters with `` country '' accents : Southern or Western . These accents are among the most stigmatized in the United States , and people who possess them have a wide range of views , from pride to annoyance . `` I hope that when others hear me speak , they hear me , not my western twang , '' writes iReporter Sarah Beth Boynton , who was raised in Salt Lake City . Boynton grew up singing with her family and got sick of hearing that she should only sing country music because of her accent . `` I have made a concerted effort to speak with as little 'western twang ' in my accent as possible , '' she revealed . Meghann Holmes also tries to modulate her accent , but for professional reasons . A native of Kentucky , she says she 's proud of her accent and has `` great appreciation for regional accents and dialects . '' But she thinks this pride may not be appropriate for her workplace . `` Because I work in public relations , and because I am aware that some employ a negative image of people with strong 'hillbilly ' accents , I tend to modify my speech when I am conducting business , '' says Holmes , who lives in London , Kentucky . According to law professor Mari Matsuda , concerns like Holmes ' are well-founded . Matsuda , who teaches and writes at the University of Hawaii at Manoa , penned a frequently cited paper called `` Voices of America : Accent , Antidiscrimination Law , and a Jurisprudence for the Last Reconstruction '' for the Yale Law Journal . `` Sociolinguists have shown that in the area of speech evaluation , we are particularly susceptible to the cultural stereotypes we have absorbed , '' she writes . `` Low-status accents will sound foreign and unintelligible . High-status accents will sound clear and competent . '' Or , to put it simply , `` there is significant discrimination against regional accents , '' she said via e-mail . Matsuda argues that discrimination against both foreign and domestic accents , intentional or unintentional , can hurt people with a `` low-status '' accent when they 're looking for a job . A University of Chicago psychology study from 2010 backs her up : The study found that people who spoke with a foreign accent were seen as less credible than those who spoke with a `` standard '' American accent . Still , some Americans would n't give up their regional accent for anything . Just ask Sonya Tricie of New Orleans . `` I always hated my accent growing up , often trying to over-enunciate words to prevent sounding like the people around me , '' she remembers . But her tune changed , literally , when she went through the hellish experience of Hurricane Katrina . `` After Hurricane Katrina , I was horrified when I realized this very cultural and unique thing might be gone forever , '' Tricie explains . `` I moved back home and there is almost no way to describe how happy it makes me when one of my kids says something so local in our accent ! '' `` I love my accent . It is a part of me , '' agrees Kenyotta Elijah of Lufkin , Texas . She , too , tried to change her accent for professional reasons when she was younger , and says she 's gotten her fair share of jokes from people who have `` preconceived notions about southerners , particularly Texans . '' But now , it 's a point of pride . `` I love it when others , especially northerners , hear me talk , '' she says . `` Most of the time , they find my accent cute . ''
Regional accents are alive and well in the United States . We asked iReporters to tell us about their accents . The following is a list of some regional American accents that we've heard from people living here for years : Others say they take pride in their accent .