Regional accents

As was suggested in class, this week we're going to talk about regional accents.  This is actually a really interesting topic to me because often when I tell people I'm from Texas, the first thing they say is "You don't sound like you're from Texas."

Here 50 people show their state's accents.  Can you notice the differences?:

However, I think regional accents are being lost.  Do you think we should make an effort to preserve them?

This article argues that accents aren't disappearing at all:

https://edition.cnn.com/2011/09/29/living/american-accents-ireport/index.html 

Does Spain have any regional accents?  Do you know of any regional accents in other countries?  What stereotypes are associated with certain accents?

I hope to have a spirited discussion about this topic on Tuesday.