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My Southern English
About This Paper
The foundation of this paper began back in the mid 1970’s when I was attending Gadsden State Junior Collage in Gadsden, Alabama. I had an English professor, Mrs. Haggerty that took great pleasure in bleeding all over my papers with red ink and telling me I had to learn the “King's English” if I were to communicate. I tried to explain to Professor Haggerty that communication had nothing to do with speech that people who could not speak the same language or utter a sound at all could communicate, because communication is the conveying of one thought or idea to another, not speaking. She went on and on about my lack of communication skills. I tried to explain that if I wrote as poorly or using the style many authors we were reading used in my papers she would not accept those because they were not correct English either. She did not accept this explanation and told me she would only accept “my English Grammar and Style” when she saw an explanation of it in print and it was an accepted form of English. I told her that if it was the "King's English" let him speak it and that he would most likely speak English not a bastardized English that we as Americans speak. This only succeeded in infuriating her. My paper was much of what you will read below; of course I had not lived in the Mid-West or moved to Oklahoma at that time, this was added later when I submitted the same paper at a different University. Professor Haggerty gave me a “C” on the paper. When I was attending Oral Roberts University in 1999 I added the relevant changes and handed the paper into my professor there, I received an “A” on the paper. Obviously different professors grade differently or maybe it is the difference between a community collage and working on a doctorate at a University. Since I first wrote this in 1975 I have seen numerous renditions and variations on the internet and in print at different times, often signed anonymous or given credit to someone else. I don’t mind because this makes it now a published work and many people (via internet) have now accepted it as gospel for Southern English, or so I believe. I often wonder if Professor Haggerty is still alive and if so has she ever seen this in print? I wonder too if she would be will to go back and change some of my grades in her class? Now please enjoy: My Southern English Since I spent the first 35 years of my life in Alabama, I have a bit of a southern accent in fact I have been told it is very defined and noticeable. Although, I lost quite a bit of it while I was living in the blandly non-accented Midwest, I seem to have gained it again living in Southeast Oklahoma (AKA Little Dixie). Southern English is very functional. To another Southerner I could say, “I saw them naked” Now every one knows what that means. They did not have on any clothes. I could say, “They were neked” a southerner knows the difference, and is now laughin’. It means they did not have on any clothes and were doing something. I can say dog, doggie, and dawg, they all have a different meaning to a southerner. Dog a canine, Doggie a motherless calf, Dawg a rude, crude person usually a female. The Oxford standard saw widespread (antebellum Southern English) usage in Dixie prior to the War for Southern Independence and Reconstruction and even some limited use afterwards. When I was in elementary school at Pleasant Grove (Hollis Crossroads) the authoritative dictionary if a word was in question was the Oxford English. This is why you'll see words like “colour” and “organisation” throughout Dixie instead of the spellings you were taught in school. Many phases have roots to the Scottish and, Irish immigrants that settled the Deep South. I kindly request that you waste not your own precious time or mine by complaining about my use of Southern orthography since the Oxford standard is the most widely accepted and orthodox orthography in the English-speaking world. It is actually the most accurate guide to the spelling of the English language available today, and I proudly re-embrace it as a part of my Southern language and heritage. The “American English” is bastardized English purposely broken by a New England Yankee to set it apart from English. The most noticeable aspect probably is my vowels, which I’ll try to approximate here. They are all diphthongs except for the vowel I. AEY, EEY, I, O-OW, and YUUW Perhaps, the most noticeable aspect of the southern accent is the use of these and other diphthongs. Often where most Americans would place a simple vowel, I will substitute a diphthong, and vice-versa. Using these vowels makes a southerner's speech have a lot of somewhat melodic dips and glides in his words. The short a sound is sometimes followed by a schwa sound. Example (E.g.), the word cap is pronounced similar to CA-uh-P. However, the uh sound is very faint and not emphasized. Similar for the short “i” sound. Example (E.g.), I'll pronounce lift as li-uh-ft, again with the uh taking much less emphasis than the “li”. Whereas the diphthong “oi” which is pronounced by many Americans as a tri-vocal, I pronounce it as a bi-vocal. E.g., oil is pronounced by many Americans as oh-ee-ul, but I pronounce it as oh-ul. The words on and off get different initial diphthong sounds. On gets a long o followed by a w sound -- a homonym to the word own containing a hard w sound. The word off gets a back vowel “aw” sound, again with a hard “w” sound. I make another exception with the vowel that most Americans diphthongize. Most Americans make the long I sound into a diphthong. I do as well normally but rarely at the ends of words. When most Americans say the “i” sound in why or buy, they are really saying WI-EEY and BI-EEY, but I tend to omit the dip. Although, I still pedantically pronounce my “wh's” differently than my “w's”, and my back low vowels differently than my middle high vowels. I.e., cot != caught, and witch != which; weather != whether; wale != whale. I also tend to pronounce the “L's” in such words as help, walk, and talk. This seems to be especially true when I talk more slowly than normal. I generally pronounce en the same as in and em the same as “im”. Thus, pin and pen are indistinguishable, as are gem and Jim. This should not seem strange when you realize that almost everyone pronounces “er” and “ir” the same. The same is true with ell and ail thus bell and bail sound the same to Yankee ears. For me, the present indicative verb conjugation is as follows. I go we go you go ya’ll go it goes they go I prefer double modals to the more awkward, standard American expressions. E.g., I'd say, “I might could do that,” rather than, “I might be able to do that.” Another interesting aspect of modals is that the word “have” is pronounced differently when it means must than when it means posses or as an auxiliary verb. When “have” means must it is pronounced “haFF”: I have to do something. When “have” means posses it is pronounced “haV”: I have only $5 in my pocket. And “have” is pronounced haV in the sentence: I have been there many times. Southerners use several words and expressions, which were commonplace to English at one time but have fallen out of today's standard usage. Three examples quickly come to mind: 1. Fixin' to -- meaning preparing to, or on the verge of, or will be doing it immediately. E.g., I was just fixin' to call you back. 2. Reckon -- to think, believe, or suppose. E.g., Do you reckon the files corrupted? 3. Yonder, a place located about 5 to 10 seconds away or greater (by foot usually). E.g., Stand over yonder while I light these firecrackers. Also, it seems that many times the “t's” will become “d's” or become glottal stops or simple disappear altogether. That should not seem so unusual if you think of words such as listen or soften. The words latter and ladder sound alike. The word Atlanta sounds like A'lanna. “Yep, Southern English is quite different. My Mothers folks have been in the Heart of Dixie (Alabama) for over 300 years, many of my Fathers folks met the boat that landed (he was part Cherokee, though I’m not sure which part of him that was). Some of my family fought with the Over Mountain Boys at the Cowpens and Kings Mountain. Many of my family fought for Southern Independence, and some died for it. So I am a talker of Southern English and proud of it. The academics say that Southerners, being an agrarian society, retained the old speech patterns, etc., whereas other parts of the country were affected by immigration and therefore speech was affected. Southern English still retains some of the old Elizabethan traits. Since the King James Bible was translated in 1611, and in “Perfect English” of the day, just like Shakespeare's plays that were written at the same time, we can look at them and today's southern speaker and see the similarities. Such as in the King James 1611 version, Peter says: “I go a fishing....” 1 Peter 3:20 says: “...while the ark was a preparing...” Many southern speakers still use the “a” before a verb...” Come a running!” “I'm a going to town” “ I'm a fixing to do that.” Shakespeare shows that the “double comparison” was correct in his day. Mark Antony in Julius Caesar points to Brutus's stab wound as “the most unkindest cut of all”. Southerners today use double comparisons, but are told that it is ungrammatical. The use of “be” is passing out of southern English, but is maintained by some subcultures within the south. “ I be going now,” etc. Remember that Jesus is quoted in King James English as saying, “If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me.” Jimmy L. Langley Ph.D. Currently a Residence of McAlester, Oklahoma Commander of the Captain James J. McAlester Camp 775 Oklahoma Division Sons of Confederate Veterans The Captain James J. McAlester Camp 775 meets the first Thursday of every month unless it is a holiday or within 2 days of a national holiday of in event of inclement weather at “What About Bob’s”, 700 North Main Street in McAlester, Oklahoma. Y'ALL Oh and one other thing Y'all is the contraction for you all. It is not pronounced "you all" it is y'all and it is never singular. Pronounced like Yawl. There has to be two (2) or more for Y'all to be used. "Y'all goin' to town?" The Y'all indicates more than one person is going with the person being spoken to. You would never say "Y'all going to town?" or "How y'all doin'?" and there only be one person. That other peron may not be present but implied as in, "How are all y'all doin'" indicating your family, friends, and loved ones when they may be in a different geographic location. You never say, "How are y'all?" and mean just one person. If it is one person it is, "How are you?" Doing Busiess in the South If you are visting the south you may also get ask, "How you come on?" This is Old South verbage meaning, "How are you?" it is a common greeting with elderly Southerners but because of the influence of television it is fast falling out of favor. The proper response if you are well is, "Fine. How are you?" If you are ill or saddened the response is, "Poorly. Thank ya for askin'. How are you?" In the South if you are doing business there this is often the greeting. It is a custom to do a little socializing. If you are visiting the south you may also get ask, "How you come on?" This is Old South verbiage meaning, "How are you?" it is a common greeting with elderly Southerners but because of the influence of television it is fast falling out of favor. The proper response if you are well is, "Fine. How are you?" If you are ill or saddened the response is, "Poorly. Thank ya for askin'. How are you?" In the South if you are doing business there this is often the greeting. It is a custom to do a little socializing before business, to do less is considered rude. Ask how the family is, how is the fishin’, anything to show a personal interest in the person you are doing business with. There are subjects that are considered off limits, rude, and should be avoided. They are: anything negative about the person’s family. Don’t talk about their spouse at all unless you know them. Don’t talk about their dog or cat. You can however ask about huntin’ and how does the dog do on the hunt if it is a sporting dog, if not you will just sound stupid and lose all credibility. Don’t talk about religion. Wars have been started over this subject. Leave it alone and if you are ask about attending church with them the reply is, “Thank you. I appreciate the invite.” Then change the subject. That is all that is expected. Another subject to avoid is politics. Like religion wars can be started over this subject. People in the South love their politics and each thinks everyone should see things like they do or they are wrong. Avoid the fight and hard feelings by avoiding this subject. If ask what you think about a candidate you are being baited, so don’t bite. Simple respond by saying, “I really don’t discuss politics, I found it safer that way.” People will laugh and the subject has been avoided. They now know you know the rules. My grandpaw use to add that you don’t talk about someone’s choice of tobacco (Tabacky). I don’t know that their choice is good enough any more, but their use of it is. If they use tobacco of any kind let sleeping dog lie. Don’t tell them they should stop. They know this but it is a habit and they don’t need you to remind them they have one. Someone in their family will do that for them. A new subject to avoid is Global Warming (Climate Change). You find Southerners on both sides like all arguments. Some people say man contributes and causes global warming and others say earth’s climate is cyclic and earth is just following that cycle as it has for millennium. Leave the subject alone no matter how you feel. If they are trying to make a living and you don’t like it don’t do business with them. We never say, "You come back now, ya hear?" That is Hollywood Bull. We don't mind y'all Yankees coming down spending your money going to our reptile farms (you will never see Southern License Plates at a reptile farm unless they are working there), eating our cookin’. Many parts of the south the war ain't over yet and you jest mite get hurt. We love our Confederate Flags and if you don't, for your sake do not tell us you don't. Remember much of what you hear and see in the South is designed for one thing, to separate the Yankee from his/her green backs. We will talk slower and act dumber than dirt for your entertainment and laugh all the way to the bank with your (now our) dollars in hand. So come on down and spend that money, we want you to have a good time and come back next year, with more money. Our warm climate and beaches await ya, but we don't want to hear how you do it in Detroit or New York or any place else up north. This is the south and you ain't up north. If you don't like it here Delta is ready when you are. So spend your money, but go home. Difference Between A Yankee and A Damnyankee If you have not heard the difference between a Yankee and a DamnYankee (I was in high school before I learned this was two words) let me splan it to ya. A Yankee is a fine person. They come down spend their money and then they go back north. A DamnYankee is like hemorrhoids; they come down, stay down and are a pain in the rump. In case you did not know the real cause of the war of Northern Aggression (the north invaded the south first) was over Florida. If Florida left the Union where would Yankees have to retire to? They had to fight to get it back.
True Meaning of the term REDNECK
REDNECK does not mean what you heard from Jeff Foxworthy. A Redneck is someone whose neck is burned from the hot southern sun and doing hard manual labor bent over with the neck exposed to its blistering rays. It is a badge of honor not a joke. So you be a good Yankees spend your money and go home. Now you know we are not as stupid as you thought or want us to be. Love those Yankee green backs, please send and spend more. “Y’all come back now, ya hear!”
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