Theories on Taylor Swift’s accent changing since her fame has skyrocketed has now been studied by experts.

Experts even took part in a world-first summit to discuss the supposed changes in Taylor Swift‘s accent across her music. It’s no secret the celebrity has taken the industry by storm. Whether it’s her record-breaking Eras Tour spanning almost two years and hundreds of concerts, or the number of Grammys she keeps on her shelf. The music star even saw her star power increase when she crossed over into the NFL. Taylor started dating tight end Travis Kelce from the Kansas City Chiefs last September and that’s all people want to talk about, it seems. But now a genuine discussion into her voice, or more specifically Taylor Swift’s accent is another example of the mania revolving around the icon.

Taylor Swift’s accent ‘changed slowly over time’

A study has been published by Dr Helen West, senior lecturer in English Language and Linguistics and graduate Esther Humphries looking at how Taylor Swift’s accent has changed over the years.

At the beginning of her career, she spoke with a Southern American or Tennessee accent. Think Our Song and Picture to Burn. The southern twang is clear to hear in these pop hits. However, over time her pronounciations have changed to a more Northern American accent instead, starting from her Red days.

At the Swiftposium academic conference earlier this year at the University of Melbourne, Taylor Swift’s accent was discussed in detail. It also looked at her effect on music, politics, economy, culture, law and more.

Dr West and Ms Humphries analyzed how she said the words kit, price and dress, and words that ended with ‘ing’. They used interviews from her early years, back in 2006, as well as 2012, and 20 of the most-streamed songs from four albums – Taylor Swift, Fearless, Red, and 1989.

Dr West said: “Taylor [Swift]’s accent changes between her country and pop music styles has generated quite a lot of public attention, but until our research, had not been analysed in any depth.

“The results reveal significant stylisation dependent on the musical genre Swift performs, with Southern American English accent forms more prevalent in her earlier country-style music. Her popular-style performances demonstrate a transition to Northern American accent forms.”

She added there was “clear evidence” there was a shift between the two genres, but it was actually subtle throughout the years.

However, they didn’t think it was an active decision from the singer.

Miss Humphries added: “These results suggest that Swift is not performing the accent simply for her music but indicate a form of bi-linguilism, with some linguistic awareness.

“The changes could be attributed to a range of factors including her emersion into the Nashville/South American English speech community, having moved to Nashville at the age of 14, and they could also carry some social meaning about ‘countryness’, youth culture and lack of pretention.”

‘She’s too big to ignore’

The fact there’s an entire conference, especially called Swiftposium, is wild.

Despite being named Time’s Person of the Year in December and the endless amount of award show trophies on her shelf, she’s not always taken seriously. Taylor feels this herself with songs such as The Man and Shake it Off.

Organizers of the event say “Swift’s influence, fanbase, and general mainstream popularity, have become too big for academia to ignore”.

Although, it wasn’t just her accent that academics studied, they also dived into Taylor Swift’s effect on the local economy when and where she tours and political matters, such as feminism and gay rights.

But colleges are now listening. Six universities now offer a course or module linked to the pop star, from Arizona State University’s course called ‘Psychology of Taylor Swift’ to Belgium’s University of Ghent offering ‘Literature (Taylor’s Version”. Stanford University has the All Too Well 10 Week Version course. Then there is New York’s Clive Davis Institute offering a module about her being an entrepreneur, as well as her songwriting and legacy.

Now Harvard has joined in, with Taylor Swift and Her World, set to start in spring.

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