Having lived in North Carolina for 22 years, I can tell you, that it still exists. :) There are actually several different accents in the state, but one of the funniest is from the area around Siler City or further west around Buncombe County . I hear it quite often among young men. Just watch (and listen to) this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAqm5ls8Ep8

and for a variety around the state:
http://web.ku.edu/~idea/northamerica/usa/northcarolina/northcarolina.htm

My daughter was born in the Sandhills area, and it is still surprising when my family (Wisconsinites living mostly out west in Colorado, Arizona, and California) points out her accent. I guess I've grown accustomed to it over the years... :)

Forgot the outer banks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgi9wYsR5fo



>Some, yeah - but there is (apparently) considerable concern that the 'native' Carolinian accents are dying out due to homogenation. That's about the only Southern accent I can't do with all the 'swallowing' of vowels that they do.
>
>
>>You beat me to that first point, although I wouldn't go quite so far as "almost impossible." There are still regional differences you can hear. They may not go down to the block level but they're still there.
>>
>>>When I was stationed in Texas, Mississippi, Florida, and Missouri, I got to enjoy lots of different accents thanks to the Air Force. Not only did I hear the locals, many of the guys I was stationed with were from the South. During the mid 1960’s I was able to distinguish many accents and their origins. I could tell you what town a person came from in the South. Then things began to change. By the 1990’s it became almost impossible to determine where a person was from by listening to an accent. Some people have attributed this to television.
>>>
>>>I am still good at detecting Spanish accents. I can tell what Spanish speaking country a person came from after a moment’s conversation. Even within Spanish speaking countries they have differences in accents.
>>>
>>>My wife is from Peru, and her family is from Spain. When a Spanish speaking person asks her:
>>>“Habla usted Espanol”? She will always reply, “No, yo hablo Castellano”! That is when I walk away! You see, the people of Peru and Columbia consider his/her language to be that of Spain.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>My father's brother was in the Air Force, his wife made him get out.
>>>>He was the primary test pilot for Republic (in the F86 years), til his wife made him quit.
>>>>So, they ended up on Bonham Texas (north of Dallas) and they bought a Western Auto store.
>>>>They, and particularly their sons, thought it was hilarious when the farmers around town would walk in asking about 'tars'. You know, for their trucks.
>>>>Once they figured that out, they started asking the farmers if they wanted 'ar' in them 'tars'. Is it any wonder the Western Auto went out of business?
>>>>
>>>>I pull that story out, not because I think you're making fun of the guy behind the counter as they were the farmers, but as another example of extreme accents.
>>>>
>>>>>One of my favorite language mishaps was after Hurricane Katrina, when a group of us went to Houston on a relief mission. We were evacuated ourselves from Houston due to Hurricane Rita (which was mostly a non event). In the middle of the night we stopped for the bathroom and more coffee at some 7-11 in rural Arkansas. I had too much coffee in me already and decided to compromise with Coke. It was my turn to drive and I needed all the caffeination I could get, coming on the heels of several days in which we weren't exactly getting a lot of sleep. I went over by the soda dispenser, completely standard, and didn't see the kind of logoed soda cups I was used to. Have I mentioned that I was only half coherent? The young guy at the counter, who, I don't want to seem unkind, seemed like exactly the kind of guy who would be working the night shift at a 9-11, said "The what ones." His Arkansas accent was so thick he made Bill Clinton sound like a Bostonian. "I'm looking for the Coke cups," I repeated. "The what ones," he repeated. What we had here was a failure to communicate. I finally figured out he was saying "The white ones, " white Styrofoam cups. And there they were.
>>>>>
>>>>>I seem to keep bringing up that week so maybe it has been one of the most memorable of my life.

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