What is the Language of Your Illinois Land? (Chicago, Peoria: apartments, hotel)

[runninfiend]

Henry Thoreau once wrote, "If a man is rich and strong anywhere, it must be on his native soil. Here I have been these forty years of learning the language of these fields that I may better express myself...Many a weed here stands for more of life to me than the big trees of California would if I should go there."

Like Thoreau, I'm curious about a sense of place, the land, and the language we use to define and come to grips with it. In this spirit, I've put a together a sort of starting glossary of terms that refer to a language of the landscape of my home spot--Woodford County, Illinois.

Some of these terms are universal, some probably have meanings here amongst the locals that differ slightly from other variations of the word in another region. I would expect someone in Little Egypt or suburban Chicago or along the Mississippi to have some similarities, but perhaps also many differences in how they categorize their places.

I wonder if anyone out there will add to my humble list? This thread might not fly, but here goes.

As for my definitions, anything in quotation marks is taken from various print sources, the rest is my own interpretation through experiences, conversations, and paying attention to where I live. This is only a start, I've probably missed many others.

What is the language of your homeland? This is mine:

Barrens--"Open, desolate landscapes of bare rock and sparse vegetation...soils usually sandy or rocky, growing thin, stunted and shruby forests." True barrens in Illinois are rare, but some are found in the southern part of the state.

I hear the term associated in central IL. mostly with former pasturelands that have a sparse vegetation, often of so-called "scrub" trees like locust or osage orange, and various shrubs.

Bluff--"A high bank above a river, a headland of precipitous cliffs." Refers to the high parts of particularly the Illinois River.

Bottoms--Typically used in this region as the floodplains of rivers or creeks, although the traditional definition is the low spot of whatever feature you're talking about. An example locally is Horseshoe bottom in Pottstown, near Peoria. Bottoms are also often named for landowners past and present--Steffen's bottom is a flat flood prone area near the Mackinaw River at Congerville.

Dell--"Chiefly a literary term, once used to describe a small, secluded hollow densely overgrown with trees, vines and shrub." Mackinaw Dells was once the site of village called Slabtown. The settlement was killed when the railroad was put in up the hill at Congerville, IL. A small, rough dirt road leads back into this area now, which by sight, essentially conforms to the traditional definition, although Mackinaw Dells technically exists more on a bluff land rather than a true hollow. The area is still called by the name.

"It was 1889 when the railroad switch was put in at Congerville. The trestle bridge at The Dells was put in then too. The farmers were hired to come with their teams and dump shovels to do the grading. One man had a little team of mules working. When they dumped the shovel full of dirt over the egde, it was too heavy for the mules to hold and they were pulled over the enbankment, head over heels. Everyone was amazed to see that the mules were still able to work after this ordeal."

Filter Strip--A long, narrow strip of undisturbed or planted vegetation to collect sediment in protection of a water course. Around these parts it refers mostly to government subsidized grass plantings used as buffers along small creeks and drainage ditches that were previously row cropped.

Ford--A shallow place in a river where a man or animal can cross. Locals here know "Rocky Ford," an almost always shallow, pebble strewn crossing of the Mackinaw, was used often starting with settlement in the 19th century as a shortcut to the village of Bowling Green, which is now a ghost town.

There are faint tracks in the dirt today which indicate where the wagons used to enter the river. Another well known ford was Wyatt's Ford, north of Carlock, once the site of the Mackinac Mineral Hotel. Abraham Lincoln also used this ford on his circuit

Hill or Goat Prairie--"Prairie occuring on steep, rugged terrain, often a hilltop--a rocky, dry area, a result of glacial drift, often abounds in wildflowers and prairie glasses." Prairies only a goat would typically venture to. The term I have heard locally is "hill prairie" and the only pure remnant I know of occurs at Forest Park in Peoria.

Hollow--Known as "hollers" in the south and typically "scooped out places in the land, often where two mountains join.

Hollows in central Illinois occur mostly in the older glaciated areas, the term is used in geographical nomenclature, although mostly older locals are aware of the particulars. From time to time I hear the term used by someone who's been around the area for a long while. Younger folks seem to lack this knowledge.

Our hollows are areas of greater erosion that has resulted in more scooped and open "valleys" as opposed to steeper, younger ravines.

Along the bluffs of the Illinois can be found Moon, Strawberry, and Harp Hollow, along with numerous other unnamed, mostly now developed hollows. Cole Hollow is an example from the east side of the river.

Moraine--Joseph LeConte writing in 1857: "On the surface, and about the foot of glaciers, are always found immense piles of heterogeneous debris consisting of rock fragments of all sizes, mixed with earth. These are called moraines. Often 20 to 50 feet high."

Oft neglected by passersby, they are found everywhere on our young glacial landscape. Next time you drive through the seemingly nondescript landscape, take another look and try and spot the moraines.

Shelbyville, Bloomington, and Leroy are the most prominent around here; I type this from near the slopes of the Eureka moraine. Often streams cut their way through moraines, giving exposure to the layers beneath the layered topsoil. Lick Creek cuts through the LeRoy Moraine, the Mackinaw slices through the Bloomington Moraine, etc.

Paddock--Cordoned off section of a pasture.

Ridge or Ridgeline--Typically defined as the spines traversing the tops of mountains, but on our depositional landscape, often refers to the tops of ravines where the surface has worn away to nearly an edge or point.

Swale--Usually a low area along the contour of a filter strip that holds runoff water after rains.

Terrace--Bench-like surfaces carved from sloping terrain by water. In our vernacular terrace is an agricultural term, built up and molded from soil rather than sliced out of rock.

In practical terms terraces are used on sloping land to prevent erosion and allow agricultural production on land otherwise too hilly. They inadvertently lend contour and line to the sweep of the landscape, although strictly a human construct on the former prairie.

Till--As a noun, "sediment left behind by a glacier--a mixture of clay, sand, gravel, and boulders. Unlike sediments dropped by moving water, these materials were not sorted by size and weight, which is why those mining the sand-and-gravel pits dotted across the midwest must do the sorting mechanically."

Woodford County has several such pits. Few know this is why.

As a verb, "to work the soil by plowing or harrowing."

Both noun and verb are fitting for a local glossary.

Timber--A forested area "filled with trees or woody plants reaching a mature height of at least twenty feet with a single stem or trunk"

Timber or sometimes "woods" is the term of choice over "forest" when referring to woodlands. Most timber is now along our streams and more marginal areas that weren't cultivated.

An upland or definable area of timber is sometimes referred to as a grove. Singular groves on the upland once occurred on the prairies of Central Illinois. They are fairly rare, but can sometimes still be found. Funk's grove in particular is a remant grove, visit it and see, but please remember it was once 2,700 acres.

Groves once here but now gone include Old Town Timber (was 14,200 acres), Cheney's Grove (was 13,150 acres), Buckles' Grove (was 7,280 acres) and Blooming Grove (now where Bloomington, IL is, was 6,280 acres). Over 87,950 acres of grove existed at settlement in 1836, with another 20,980 along the Mackinaw River closer to my home.

Where I sit now was once called Walnut Grove, and looking out my window I can see the descendent timber of those woods first encountered by the settlers who named it such.

Watershed--Here it refers to "an area through which water is drained into a particular watercourse or body of water."

Our watershed is the Mackinaw.

Waterway--Similar to filter strip, waterways usually are grassy areas kept in between row crops for drainage and not necessarily associated with ditches or streams.

[NYrules]

Language/dialecht of the land? LOL! Well lets see, in IL we have:

Chicagoan: Usually goes something like this, "Da Bears really suck dis year, but dares always nex chyear." OR "Ma... go sitdownin da fronchtroom" Or "Im thirsty... I want a drink of wauh-der" Or "give me a pop" (meaning a drink, not someone's father or a punch in the chops") Or, "it was really windy last night, did you see the chrees how they were blowin all over?"

Hillrod: Usually goes something along like this, "ah got me ah new pickum up truck...(pause for no reason other than to regain your train of thought) its uhh ford...(pause again for no reason) gets me good my-ah-lage"

Ebonics: Usually something like, "sheeeet man, were yat? Oz is over ats the boats (just place plural words in the sentence randomly for no reason) Oz iz playin the fity cent machine and oz just won me a hundurd dahhh lahs" (don't pluralize words that are supposed to be plural) OR "there'll be two of us and give us a boof" OR MY FAVORITE, "lets me AXE yous a question"


Chichano: "hey maaannn wuzzup holmes? Thats a nice ride essay"

Valley Girl mostly for the little rich white girls in the burbs: "Like OHHHHHHHHHHHHH my God... I went to the mall yesterday to like pick up a pair of pants from Abercrombie, and like I saw Jeremy there and he was like lookin soooo hot yah know... So I was like, "hey Jeremy" and he was like, "hey", and I was like, "you wanna go ta tha gap? and he was like..."(I can't do it anymore. I'm typing it and its even annoying me )

Just havin some fun.

[j33]

runninfiend - interesting post examining the nuances of what is just so often dismissed as 'a field' ... it would make sense that someone whose livelihood was tied to the land would examine it so closely. Being someone who grew up mostly in urban and denser suburban areas and have spent most my life in such areas, I do not have that same relationship or knowledge of natural terms.

However, I do find myself explaining building styles to people trying to find apartments who have moved from more rural environs and have realized I just can't always throw out words like '2-flat, courtyard, midrise, 4+1, walk-up' least people look at me as if I were talking gibberish.

I guess the language of 'my Illinois land' mostly revolves around the build environment (as one would expect, as that is pretty much all I've got going around here). However, I do find it uniquely and charmingly Midwestern that vacant lots are referred to as 'prairie'.

....oh and nyrules chicago =/= "middle aged white dude from Bridgeport"

[Drover]

Hmmm... language of the Illinois all around me is... go about a mile north and it's Korean, then go about 4 blocks over from there and it's Arabic... go about a mile west and it's Polish... go about a mile south and it's Spanish... go about a mile east and it's English mixed with rapidly fading German...

[Katiana]

I'm not sure I understand this thread. Most of those words are in use with the same meanings everywhere in the US. Are you talking about landforms in Woodford County? Or something else?

[runninfiend]

Originally Posted by pittnurse70

I'm not sure I understand this thread. Most of those words are in use with the same meanings everywhere in the US. Are you talking about landforms in Woodford County? Or something else?

I generally believe that most are becoming increasingly estranged from their environments. Language and subtle interpretation of both natural and human-influenced landforms is a way, I think, to both examine and reinforce connection to one's place.

As stated, many of the terms are universal, but the subtleties in definition are not always. Many of my terms would apply throughout the midwest, but there are wide varieties even within my regional area, and certainly amongst regions of the United States:

-The term moraine would have little meaning a bit southwest of here.

-Hollows here are different from hollers in Appalachia or even Missouri.

-Barrens in southern Illinois are completely different from barrens here in central Illinois.

-Even common terms like ridge or terrace are vastly different depending on where you are.

-A seemingly basic term like waterway defines something different even in seemingly similar agriculture areas of the midwest.

If you go west, the agricultural terminology is different, even though at a cursory glance the topography may look similar to here. Terms like field row, wheat furrow, table land, field contour are not always the same as Illinois. Those are just a few off the top of my head. Surely there are many others.

A hollow in North Dakota is far different from a hollow in Peoria County, IL or east Tennessee, referring to a depression in the land that resulted from glacial melting, not a scooped area of land at a hill intersect.

So, I'm interested in local terminology with relation to the landscape. Folks on this forum seem interested in place, so I thought there may be some interest. Although, it could be that folks who might most contribute aren't on internet forums, or perhaps likely don't even have internet access.

Some other terms:

Draw--"A troughlike depression, choked with shrubs, thickets and small trees."
Locally draws are usually talked about as either waterways or small swaths of ground with trees and/or thick underbrush. To my eye they can be any cluster of trees from under an acre to a few acres in size, standing apart from the surrounding fields. Often associated with "drawing" in deer or other game.

"Cormac McCarthy in "All the Pretty Horses" writes, "The riders were fanned over the open country a mile below him and he counted not four but six of them before they dropped from sight into a draw."

Fencerow—A row of trees or shrubs used to delineate property line, or more commonly the boundaries between farm fields.

In the 1850s, before the advent of barbed wire, Osage Orange trees were imported from Texas and Oklahoma to central Illinois for use as fencerows. Many of these fencerows persisted into the 20th century as post fences were often built around them.

In the 1970s farmers began the philosophy of farming “fencerow to fencerow,” cutting out the traditional tree lines in order to add a row or two of corn. This practice continues today, and old style fencerows, while still around, are harder and harder to find. The Osage Orange, however, persists in many of our timbered as areas as a reminder of its journey to the prairies.

[ILMomof4]

I love the fronchtroom. My grandparents from Chicago always said this and so do I. Man do you get some weird looks from people. They also said pop and tree instead of three.

[dubuqueaskme]

Illinois' language is perfect English, without accent, the way it was meant to be spoken, particularly north of Effingham and south of Rochelle... no accent, north of Rochelle, northern accent with Scandanavian twang, south of Effingham, southern accent with that Indiana twang.

[j33]

you're kidding, right?

[arpschneider]

Originally Posted by dubuqueaskme

Illinois' language is perfect English, without accent, the way it was meant to be spoken, particularly north of Effingham and south of Rochelle... no accent, north of Rochelle, northern accent with Scandanavian twang, south of Effingham, southern accent with that Indiana twang.

The HECK you say! The "Mason-Dixon" line is smack-dab on the McLean-DeWitt County line and "Billy" ("all-y'all"!) is the language spoken south thereof.

You can't POSSIBLY get any further south than Clintucky. Keep heading towards Effingham and you're "going north" again. . .



Faithfully,

G.A.