Why do the Mannings sound like they have a Different accent ??

I think whether you have a New Orleans accent depends on whom you were around growing up, who your teachers were, and your family.

My parents are at least third-generation New Orleanians coming from all branches of the family tree (my mom grew up less than a block from the Loyola campus and my dad's from Bywater), and I sound like I'm from St. Louis. Why? I think it's because I was raised in newer area of Algiers (Aurora) and most of my friends' families were relative newcomers to the area (from all parts of the south and midwest), as were most of my teachers. If I lived on Algiers Point, ("da pernt" in local parlance) or Old Gretna, which were like most New Orleans neighborhoods, I probably would've been more of a yat.

But as noted above, Uptown's different because it wasn't settled by immigrants, but settled by Protestant businessmen from both the South and up East, folks whose families are the backbone of that insular New Orleans "old money" society. Oddly enough, it was this same set that started Mardi Gras, our most treasured cultural tradition, which is ironic considering Carnival is deeply rooted in Latin Catholic tradition.

Because accents are generally thicker and less polished the further you go down the socioeconomic scale, it would make sense that old monied Uptowners don't speak the way people do in bluer collar areas of town. If Uptowners have an accent, it's more closely identifiable with old money southern. (i.e., pronouncing the letter "R" as "ahr" as opposed to that distinctly local/Brooklyn "awh").

That of course, doesn't apply to all uptown. Generally, the further you got away from the street car line (south of Magazine) or north of, say, Claiborne, the more likely you were to have a New Orleans accent.

That all said, Peyton and Eli have a lot more twang than most of their Garden District neighbors, despite having gone to Newman (the most expensive school in town) and spent their summers playing in the pool with the other "preps" at N.O. Country Club. I'd agree with those who'd say that's likely because they're daddy was an ol' country boy, they went to school in Knoxville and Oxford, and they're in a business where accents are commonplace (esp. if you were in the SEC). Interesting that Cooper doesn't with nearly the thick accent that his little brothers have.