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My only problem with Katniss’ accent is that I had absolutely no idea it existed until seeing Collins read the first chapter of Mockingjay. I might be a terrible close reader (especially for such a fast paced book) and could have missed it, but I never saw a mention of District 12 being anywhere near the Appalachian mountains and was therefore a little surprised to find out I’d missed it. (The book not being written with vernacular/dialect spelling also threw me.) It’s an interesting thing though, whether Katniss will have her accent or her olive complexion in the movie. On another level it’s also interesting to consider if an Appalachian accent would endure after the people from the Appalachian mountains were gone and the inhabitants of District 12 took their place.

I so completely agree with you on this – a nice southern accent would be great. I do have to support Winn-Dixie a bit more though. Having grown up in FL (from the age of 3) I have no real discernible accent unless I choose to. With the exception of North FL (which we affectionately refer to as GA), most of FL does not have a standard accent aside from a few obvious uses of the “y’all”. My stepfather is about as FL as it gets (his family is FL and GA going back hundreds of years) and he turns the southern off and on at will. (Especially handy if dealing with a GA state trooper.) The only word he can’t hide is “hurricane”. It always comes out with a huge southern drawl which even he can’t control.

So I guess as far as FL, I’d have to say that accents are all over the place down there. Talk about regional – are you from the north part of the state or the south or Lake Okeechobee or Miami (Hello Cuban & Haitian) or the beaches – which are everybody and everything with surfer on top. (“Duuuuude, what all are ya’ll doing today? Gonna hit some or what???”) (I actually talked like that for many years.)

Give me some a Appalachian accent any day of the week – I think it would be lovely (to my ears anyway!)

On a couple of other sites where this have been raised, someone mentioned Saoirse Ronan (Atonement; City of Ember, which I haven’t seen), who the more I think about, the more I like the idea. I also think Anna Kendrick (she may have been in Twilight, but she’s got major acting chops, or possibly Mae Whitman (Parenthood). I’d love to see Jurnee Smollett (Friday Night Lights; Eve’s Bayou) do it, though she’s a bit old for the character (who’s more in the Dakota Fanning / Abigail Breslin age group).

Putting aside the question of film/tv adaptations, I don’t think it’s just southern accents that readers/listeners would take issue with. Do we imagine Clementine with a strong Boston accent dropping her Rs?

That’s a good point, Eric. Like I say, it’s all newscaster accents from here to Saturday. Audiobooks would probably be the best way of testing assumptions on this matter.

And Colleen you’re correct about Florida accents. My thinking, though, is that since AnnaSophia Robb’s father in the movie has an accent, it would stand to reason that his daughter would as well.

Personally, I’m surprised about the backlash of the Appalachian accent. It made perfect sense to me. Katniss is from a coal district, people. If PanEm is the US, there aren’t a lot of places that can be. (Another place is actually the coal mining country in Pennsylvania where my family comes from — we have accents too, but they’re somewhat harder to wrangle).

A lot of Florida has an accent. The southern accent isn’t so strong in the coastal parts, but there are others. I grew up in Florida and I say y’all — everyone should say y’all. English is lacking a good you plural, and my Greek professor in college, who was from England, said y’all.

As for audio books, I just got my first audio book, and I was surprised that the performer chose to give my French-speaking French characters French accents in their dialogue. (That the German-speaking-French character got a German accent seemed right). It was so cute.

Isn’t the Higher Power of Lucky set in California?

I actually think Kristin Stewart’s sharp little features are perfect for Katniss, but 1) she’s too old and 2) I don’t think she’s a very good actress. I hope they cast somebody unknown, olive skin, southern accent and all.

I have a strong Southern accent, so I’m personally all for them, but they must be done correctly. Since District 12 is a mining district, I wonder why everyone is so surprised– why wouldn’t Katniss have an Appalachian / Kentucky accent? Why the issue over a Southern accent, anyway? Can you read To Kill A Mockingbird without giving Scout an Alabama twang?

Like Miss Print, I don’t remember reading any dilect indicators. Like the other districts commenting on Katniss thick accent. Though it would be very cool if who ever played Katniss in the movie had an accent.

Though, I highly don’t that will happen. Hollywood doesn’t want an actress with a Southern accent or one with olive tone skin.

Jackson’s Pearce’s YA novel Sister’s Red is set in GA. I pictured the main characters as having an accent, since it starts in a small town before moving to the city of Atlanta.

The Higher Power of Lucky is set in Texas? I thought it was the Southern California desert.

Maybe it’s because I grew up in coal country– in the more northern part of the Appalachians than have southern accents though– but that was a detail that always stuck OUT for me in the HG books– “Oh yay! Appalachian coal country!” Personally I always saw District 12 as being in West Virginia (I’m from PA). It wouldn’t be a DEEP southern accent, but my West Virginian grandmother-in-law clearly has a bit of an Appalachian drawl. Seems natural to me. It also seems natural that the regional accents would be strong because of the class issues– the regional accents are stronger in the lower classes, which would definitely be the ones from the Seam.

I think we’re so used to the bland non-accents in movies that that’s the only reason people would think an accent is wrong– they just don’t expect them anymore!

I suggest (without saying it’s what I think) that the southern accent, especially Appalachian, is not so much “bad guy” as “stupid”, “racist”, and “small minded.”

I’d have to reread THG, but I thought it was supposed to be the Appalachian coal country?

As someone who doesn’t like reading dialect, I am so thankful Collins didn’t do that. As others mentioned, do we have to be told how someone sounds in a book?

Yup. Everyone’s entirely correct about The Higher Power of Lucky. Corrected!