Dan's Talkin' Souhern Dictionary

[Beagle]

The first thing you have to understand about Southern (note it does have a T in it) folk is they don't spell check. Dan - check your title.. haha.

Many years ago I did a project down in New Iberia, LA........I quickly learned
what a 'coon ass' was. (good ol boy)

I told them up in my neck of the woods those would be fighting words.

Cajun, as Dan refers to, is a contraction of French Arcadian/Acadian. Coon Ass can be fighting words the same way the N word or Cracker can be. The rednecks way down south here call them galvanized N's when they really want to start a fight... Nowlens (New Orleans) is home to a lot of French Arcadians. These were French folks that originally settled up in Canada that moved because it was cold. Keith may have some Cajun in him. The smart ones moved from France, the real smart ones moved south. haha.

I'm not real sure how the nickname Coonass got started... heard it all my life from the hillbilly's. It gets used playfully a lot, but I'm not sure I could say it and get away with it. Apparently you can't say tarbaby down here any more (Uncle Remus). We get cases that I used to call tarbaby's because they were sticky and once you touched it you couldn't get rid of it. Like the candy "tarbaby" which I also don't think you can buy any more. It's not meant the way most people think it is...

I never even think about it - but I have to edit y'all out of my emails to customers all the time, and "Fixinta" means "we are preparing to" but I don't register actually saying it, I think it's built in. Literally, means "We are fixing our position to" I think. Fixintagota the store.

ungyun. That would be an onion. Young-in is not a backwards ungyun.

[Big Dave]

Hey Beagle..one slight correction, it's Nawlin's (New Orleans)

[milner351]

I think the southern dialect starts about 10 miles South of Toledo, Certainly by the time you're south of a line through Columbus and Indy - you're in the "light south" as some call it.

Accents are great fun, thanks for the laughs guys.

One of the non southern things I recognize about the greater Detroit area is the way they sew sentences together.

'round here - you don't "work for General Motors" you "work up to GMs"

and - you don't go to the store to buy groceries, you "go up to the Meijers"

Somehow every store or destination becomes plural.

[Russell]

Somehow every store or destination becomes plural.

Is it plural or possessive?

[Thumpin455]

After growing up in Nebraska with a near non-existent accent, then living in the south for 5 years, and now 7 years here with the Finnish yoopers, I talk real funny to the people back home. Its like Holy wah, y'all goin fishin today eh? Dem waves is like twenty footers!

[milner351]

Is it plural or possessive?

Yes ;-)

[Loren]

After growing up in Nebraska with a near non-existent accent,

Yeah, around here we don't have accents either.

But, dude, like...this thread is like so totally off-the-hook...f'n gnarly, like the bros back there say some random sh*t!

[DanStokes]

John works ta Ford's. Comes from the days when Henry owned the place and he would walk thru the factory from time to time. The workers felt like they KNEW him. So they were working at "Ford's factory" (possessive), therefore, "I work ta Ford's (or up ta Ford's)". Lots of spill over as folks began to work "ta HydraMatic's" as if it was owned by Mr. HydraMatic.

Sorry I screwed up the title spelling. Not a lack of language skills, just a crappy typist. In fact, I type like lightning - seldom strike twice in the same place.

PLEASE let me make it clear that this whole thread is NOT meant as a put-down of Southerners or any Southern dialect. I love my Southern neighbors and friends and really enjoy the colorful language they use. Having spent nearly 2 weeks in Truck with David and Garrett I had a great time taking in their wonderful accents (especially David's). He was tellin' stories about carryin' Grandma ta the docter and so on and I loved every minute of it.

As we drove across country I was reminded what an amazing, diverse land we live in, both geographically and culturally.

Dan

[Loren]

I type like lightening -

[DanStokes]

Yep - crappy typist. Fixed it, though.

Dan

[Thumpin455]

Lightning does strike the same spot, quite often actually.

Talking about accents, since I grew up where there isnt much of one, I can pick them up easy. So I start talking like the people I am around. I have picked up accents from around the world, and the most fun have been from Asia. I have a nice Sri Lankan/Indian accent, according to a friend I have from there, and also the "Speedeneze" which is broken English, some German, and Turkish mixed together by an old Turkish guy I worked with on base in Germany. Hanging out with Mr Korkmaz meant I sounded like an idiot to anyone else. Korea was fun, but it was hard not sounding like I was making fun of them.

Anyone who lives in the south long enough will start to talk like they do, not just as midwest people.

[LORENSWIFE]

My favorite is when watching shows from places in the Southern US, England, Ireland etc. and all people are speaking english there is still a need for sub-titles.

[Cyclone03]

One Bryan got to encounter this weekend is ni**er toes, aka chocolate covered cream drops. If we're counting phrases, he still laughs when I say it's comin' a flood, or down in the holler, or something like that.

Dad called Brazil Nuts those^^^^^^toes.

[DanStokes]

X2 on Brazil nuts. I knew as a kid that THAT wasn't right.

Thought of another one at lunch. "That there waitress has purdy har. "HAR", grows on yur haid.

And remember, Wilmington natives have a pretty soft accent - more like Savannah but more subtle. Those who speak of "har" are probably from a bit further inland - maybe Wallace or thereabouts.

Dan

[moparmaniac07]

X2 on Brazil nuts. I knew as a kid that THAT wasn't right.

In college, there was a black cook at one of the fraternities near mine that would come over to my fraternities house and talk to our cook. Somehow the topic came up and he said he called them that too.