As many of you know I am a Yankee who has now been transplanted to what I call the deep south (yes I know there is some room for argument there). This transplant was now 13 years ago, and I have been slowly developing "south mouth" in that time. South mouth is a phenomenon known to Yankees as when you slowly begin to sound "southern" to your friends in the north, and strange foreign sounds emit from your mouth - the most commonly known being the famous"y'all." Go to this test to see how far this has progressed http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/yankeetest.html
I have now reached 46% Dixie.
Even though I often lament my slow downfall into south mouth, it is also one of my favorite activities to discover new southern terms. I have been avidly trying to learn how to say "maw maw" and "paw paw" and the variants "me maw" and pa paw" easy on the surface, but there is a twang that is difficult to produce. I have learned this year about nabs, snubbs, and that barbecue is in fact a noun and a verb and does not involve an outdoor grill, but a pit. I have tried Pepsi with peanuts. Among my favorites this year was my good friend who says "futha" for the word further, but insisted that she did not for a solid month before it slipped out again, and she noticed - I have even been asked if I was "kin" to someone this year.
One of my favorite stories about my experience with the southern language happened when I was first out of school and working for a large bookstore. I had a customer come into the store and ask for a "wheel kit" - I was not familiar with a "wheel kit" and I asked him if he meant a book on how to make a wheel. The man gave me a look like I was crazy, and said "no a kit to make wheels" - I still obviously had not gotten the message, and finally asked him to spell "wheels" he spelled out "wills" and the nature of his request became plainly obvious, and I know the man thought I had sh** for brains.
As I look back on 13 years here in the south, I am still enjoying learning new things about this place which still sometimes feels like a foreign country.
But, is also definitely home.
1 comment:
I remember the "wheel kit" situation. I never would have figured it out either. My favorite "South Mouth" is "oall change" which is spelled "oil change." This lady told me that she needed an "oall change" and I had no idea what she was talking about.
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