Could someone explain to me; what is the difference between a drawl and accent ?

An "accent" is simply a different way of speaking.

A "drawl" is a non-technical term that is usually applied to speech that sounds slow and drawn out. In the U.S., this term is often used to describe southern accents.

Could someone explain to me; what is the difference between a drawl and accent ?

An "accent" is simply a different way of speaking.

A "drawl" is a non-technical term that is usually applied to speech that sounds slow and drawn out. In the U.S., this term is often used to describe southern accents.

Thank you brubaker

Hi All,

Something interesting that struck me about Bryan’s recollection was his description of Z’s accent. He described Z having a slight drawl, but not southern. Do we think Z was faking? If so, why? He didn’t expect Bryan to be living and talking after the attack. Also, when people try to put on an affected drawl, they usually go way past a slight drawl to some flavor of a southern accent. I’m not even addressing that Bryan felt that Z was uneducated. I know Slover said Z had no accent, however this could be colored by her own accent/ear. Not to mention it was over the phone, and a much short convo than Bryan had. So having said all that, what do we think?

P.S. Sorry if this isn’t new, but I haven’t seen these specific points brought up broadly for POI’s.

He probably lived in the south when he was young and his parents migrated from the south towards the end of the Dust Bowl. Lots of Okie and Arkie’s came to California.

Nancy Slover said at a TFM that the closet voice to Zodiacs’s she had heard was the voice of the actor who played ALA in the movie Zodiac. That was before Gyke sent shivers up her spine, when she heard his voice recordings. The actor had been in the movie Fargo and was born in Colorado .

I find it absolutely laughable that Slover heard a call that lasted less than a minute decades ago but can still remember the particulars of the voice. I think she believes that she does, but 40 years of scholarship in memory suggests that we all overvalue the accuracy of our memories. I don’t think she could pick out Z’s weeks later, much less decades later.

Hartnell said that he didn’t have an accent or a drawl, but he did have a very recognizable cadence to his speech pattern. He said he would recognize the cadence and pattern of his speech today if he heard it.

So, I have often wondered if the distinct cadence that Hartnell referenced was the byproduct of Zodiac trying to conceal and accent. I had a history teacher in high school who was an actor prior to becoming a teacher. He would do his lectures in character with accents and costumes (i.e., he would be Marco Polo and lecture in an Italian accent, for instance). He told me that he had to concentrate really hard when he first learned an accent because each accent has a different cadence and rhythm. However, it was effortless the longer he had practiced. I wonder if Zodiac was trying really hard to speak slowly to cover a natural accent at LB (and the phone calls, for that matter).

Nancy Slover said at a TFM that the closet voice to Zodiacs’s she had heard was the voice of the actor who played ALA in the movie Zodiac. That was before Gyke sent shivers up her spine, when she heard his voice recordings. The actor had been in the movie Fargo and was born in Colorado .

I find it absolutely laughable that Slover heard a call that lasted less than a minute decades ago but can still remember the particulars of the voice. I think she believes that she does, but 40 years of scholarship in memory suggests that we all overvalue the accuracy of our memories. I don’t think she could pick out Z’s weeks later, much less decades later.

Back so soon under a new nick?

Hartnell said that he didn’t have an accent or a drawl, but he did have a very recognizable cadence to his speech pattern. He said he would recognize the cadence and pattern of his speech today if he heard it.

So, I have often wondered if the distinct cadence that Hartnell referenced was the byproduct of Zodiac trying to conceal and accent. I had a history teacher in high school who was an actor prior to becoming a teacher. He would do his lectures in character with accents and costumes (i.e., he would be Marco Polo and lecture in an Italian accent, for instance). He told me that he had to concentrate really hard when he first learned an accent because each accent has a different cadence and rhythm. However, it was effortless the longer he had practiced. I wonder if Zodiac was trying really hard to speak slowly to cover a natural accent at LB (and the phone calls, for that matter).

Hey…I saw that movie…the guy from SOAP was awesome.

Anybody else getting a very distinctive "blast from the past" vibe off the Renaissance Man, here?

Vegas Lawyer…what are your thoughts on ALA?

Hartnell said that he didn’t have an accent or a drawl, but he did have a very recognizable cadence to his speech pattern. He said he would recognize the cadence and pattern of his speech today if he heard it.

So, I have often wondered if the distinct cadence that Hartnell referenced was the byproduct of Zodiac trying to conceal and accent. I had a history teacher in high school who was an actor prior to becoming a teacher. He would do his lectures in character with accents and costumes (i.e., he would be Marco Polo and lecture in an Italian accent, for instance). He told me that he had to concentrate really hard when he first learned an accent because each accent has a different cadence and rhythm. However, it was effortless the longer he had practiced. I wonder if Zodiac was trying really hard to speak slowly to cover a natural accent at LB (and the phone calls, for that matter).

Hey…I saw that movie…the guy from SOAP was awesome.

Anybody else getting a very distinctive "blast from the past" vibe off the Renaissance Man, here?

Vegas Lawyer…what are your thoughts on ALA?

No hard evidence fits ALA. The circumstantial evidence was very convincing at first, but so much of it comes from Cheney, who apparently had motive to frame ALA.

Who was also discredited by LE who classified him as a none reliable witness. Also didn’t a DA say that he would never take the case on the evidence provided?

Who was also discredited by LE who classified him as a none reliable witness. Also didn’t a DA say that he would never take the case on the evidence provided?

I don’t recall a specific quote, but it wouldn’t surprise me if that were the case. I wouldn’t bring charges based upon the evidence adduced against any suspect. There isn’t probable cause against any named suspect. At this point, I think only DNA or a confession would close the case. With only a very dubious and partial DNA profile, I don’t see that happening. Riverside has some DNA, but I don’t know what is going on with that testing. Maybe that case gets solved at some point via the genealogy websites. Even if that case is solved, I don’t know how you could link it to the other Zodiac murders without a confession. Fingerprints? Maybe. There are some partials from Napa and some latents from the Stine scene. If Riverside identifies Bates’ killer, maybe his fingerprints match. There is still the question of whether the fingerprints on the cab were left by the killer. I don’t see any one suspect getting charged with all the canonical Zodiac murders. Riverside is probably the best chance for a break in the case.

Vegas Lawyer…what are your thoughts on ALA?

No hard evidence fits ALA. The circumstantial evidence was very convincing at first, but so much of it comes from Cheney, who apparently had motive to frame ALA.

I’m well aware…was just curious…that said, you remind me of an ALA-proponent from years past. Many of the same idiosyncrasies in his writing style as your own…and he was incredibly anti-"KQ as Z" as well. But coincidences abound in this case…

Vegas Lawyer…what are your thoughts on ALA?

No hard evidence fits ALA. The circumstantial evidence was very convincing at first, but so much of it comes from Cheney, who apparently had motive to frame ALA.

I’m well aware…was just curious…that said, you remind me of an ALA-proponent from years past. Many of the same idiosyncrasies in his writing style as your own…and he was incredibly anti-"KQ as Z" as well. But coincidences abound in this case…

It wouldn’t have been me. I only started looking into this case a few years ago. I only started posting on Zodiac boards in 2021 because I just completed reading all of the official reports in 2020.

The Robbins kids seem to have closed the door on ALA. We know they saw Zodiac, as opposed to Fouke, who may or may not have seen him. They apparently told Jim Dean that ALA looked nothing like the guy they saw. I suppose Allen could have wore some sort of disguise, but you would need to be a Hollywood makeup artist to make ALA look like the PH sketch. And that is an ad hoc explanation for why Allen doesn’t fit the description. Even if you take Zodiac’s line that he only looks like the sketch when he does his thing, one would have to conclude that Allen is a shapeshifter like something out of the Outsider to alter his appearance that much.

I also read that Allen passed multiple polygraphs regarding involvement with the murders. Polygraphs are hardly reliable, but my understanding of how they work makes passing one a far more reliable indicator of innocence than failing one points to a reliable indication of guilt.