redneck: weißer reaktionärer Hinterwäldler (siehe LEO!!), eher bildungsfern

Also in Australien hat redneck eine ziemlich böse bedeutung,so sie nennen die Arbeiter die auf Farmen leben , und nicht sehr intellektuell sind. gilt als grosse Beleidihung.

BTW: das 'redneck' kommt meines Wissens daher, daß Menschen mit heller Hautfarbe, die draußen auf dem Feld, beim Straßenbau usw. arbeiten, von der Sonne besonders im Nacken gerötet/gebräunt sind; also vor allem ein Hinweis auf Zugehörigkeit zur Unterklasse oder zu geringerer Bildung.
Den Hillbilly habe ich mir immer als den Bill aus den Hügeln erklärt, aber das ist nicht weiter gesichert... :-)

Dict.cc übsesetzt hillbilly mit Hinterwäldler. Nachzulesen unter genanntem Link.

redneck and hillbilly are both american stereotypes.
redneck has already been explained (soweit ich weiss auch schon gänzlich)
hillbilly is just that. a 'hillperson' the 'hills' being the (low) appalachian mountians in central eastern america (the ozarks).
hillbilly and redneck are similar.
i associate rednecks with particulaly intolerant attitudes toward people who are not like them(christian middle-american farmers).
hillbillies are more carefree. the picture i get is a guy in overalls with a straw hat and a piece of hay in his mouth strumming a banjo. think huckleberry finn if you can!
try here: www.hillbillyuniversity.net
or look up Jeff Foxworthy, he's the redneck god in the states

urbandictionary.com and wikipedia state that the term "hillbilly" originated from the following:
in the 18th and 19th century, there were numerous immigrants from germanic countries, notably scotland (but might have also been ireland, england and germany) who settled in the higher regions of the appalachian mountains, thus the term "hill". in addition, they were having an affinity to naming their sons "william", or shortly "bill", thus the "bill".

the term used to be an usual, standard word, now it's considered being offensive.
Hillbillies have a not unjustified reputation of being involved in inbreeding and sexual congress with mammals.

Alle bisherigen Poster scheinen sich sicher zu sein, daß kein Zusammenhang zu 'Hillebille' besteht (siehe: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillebille). Ich vermute aber mal, daß dieses Instrument bei der Namensgebung auch eine Rolle gespielt hat.

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillebille

oh!!

@ KlausB

Das unter dem Wiki-Eintrag benannte Instrument war bislang eigentlich nicht Gegenstand der Betrachtung. Aber dennoch außerordentlich Interessant, nicht nur in diesem Zusammenhang! Schade, dass ich bislang keine Etymologie des Wortes ausfindig machen konnte... wer also kennt sich mit der Hille Bille aus? (schöner Name, mag ich^^)

...
In 2004, Redden made a guest appearance on Blue Collar TV playing an inbred car repairman named Ray in a "Redneck Dictionary" skit, for the word "raisin bread" (Ray's-Inbred). When he was shown, he was playing a banjo.

The actor Billy Redden is an American actor best known for his role as Lonnie — the "Banjo Kid" in the 1972 movie "Deliverance".

watch this (and read the whole explanation on the right!) :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyKvD-4IxOY

If you will watch this outstanding scene (sorry, bad video) and read the excellent text (right-hand) - then you need no further explanation ! 

b.t.w.
The movie scene was chosen to the "Great Movie Scenes" 19 of 50 !

(to watch only the scene there are better videos also on YouTube)

enjoy (the whole movie - its worth to watch) !

This is a racist term (just like the N word) and shouldn't be used. But I bet you figured that out.

Just wanted to chime in on this string--redneck is a derogatory term for the most part, but the comments here make it sound much worse than it is. It calls to mind someone with a limited world view, high school education, working with their hands. Further stereotypes include pickup trucks, trailer parks, beer, unshaven beards, flannel shirts, thick regional accents, etc. etc.

It is nowhere near as bad as the N word!! Just don't say it to someone's face in an offensive manner!