[theatergypsy]

Originally Posted by Manigault

The Southern uses I am familiar with are "a tad" when someone means a little bit. In Louisiana they add a suffix sometimes to statements, like "You are crazy, yes." or "I'm going home, me." Yes, sometimes when a southern person does not hear the question they will say "Sir?" or "Ma'am?" but I just cringe when the response to something not heard is "Do what?"

I say 'y'all' all the time. My other favorite colloquialism is "That don't make me no never mind." You just have to know what it means -- literally it makes no sense.

My Father used to say this (he was born in England but picked up a lot of American colloquiallisms), and it meant "It has nothing to do with me", or "It doesn't matter to me".

[Janetj54]

Being originally from east Tennessee my father always said that the south has many "dialects" not accents. TRUE,True,true. Dialects being a variation in sound and tone. Dialects are a variation of the same language. When I think of accents, I think of someone who speaks another primary language besides English...and speaking English.
The south has a lot of Scot and Irish 'old middle English' (with some old German/Germanic/Dutch) influences in thier speech. Much of Louisiana has more French. Historically East Tennesseeans were referred to as "You don't want to go there i.e. those people speak "Gaelic." Now look that up.
Many people couldn't understand the earlier settlers of East Tn. in what they were saying.

[850_branded]

Originally Posted by theatergypsy

My Father used to say this (he was born in England but picked up a lot of American colloquiallisms), and it meant "It has nothing to do with me", or "It doesn't matter to me".

I use that one all the time...and it always causes this look of belwilderment. But that's because I'm a native of Pensacola FL (check the screen handle), and done been some of everywhere during my twelve years in the service. ("Some of everywhere...there's another one fo' ya!) I currenlty live in Indiana now, but also spent a lot of time living in Pittsburgh, and Maryland, and various other parts of "up north" (which, in the minds of most from around my way, is anything above North Carolina /Kentucky...lol.)

Anyway, here's a few more (mo'?) words and phrases pulled straight off the dome--and while some of these may border on more "urban", we all know they all come straight from down south:

- "co'na" - corner

- "rrnge" - orange (this might just be a Florida thing...but I'm surprised no one's brought that up yet)

- out from up under - as in "get out from up under that bed, boy!"

- "washing powder" - detergent (and yet I still use this even when referring to liquid detergent, why I don't know)

- "feets", or "foots" (my momma used to always use those two words, and that's probably how it became so ingrained in my everyday speech)

- someone already covered "figarata"

- the way words like "rings", "things", and "wings" and "swings" get turned into "rangs", "thangs", "wangs" and "swangs"

- "Puckle" - pickle. There's really no way to spell this the right way, but most of you should know the sound I'm talking about

- the way a "k" seems to end up in place of a "tr", ex. "skreet", "skrimp", and "skrawberry" (which never fails to get a double-take whenever it slips out my mouth)

- then there's this: "case quarter" i.e. an actual 25-cent piece. Coming up, if we had some combination of change that equalled 25 cents but needed an actual quarter, we'd ask folk if they had a "case quarter". My best friend from back home was a California transplant, and that used to drive him nuts everytime he heard it. Sometimes I still do it to this day and it gets the funniest looks from people.

--Now I'm a funny case, because, Pensacola, being where it is, folk can sometimes also hear a lil' bit of the New Orleans dialect/pronunciations in me (if you've ever heard that nasal, drawn-out long-vowel "o" sound before, you know exactly what I'm talking about) qs well as a tadbit of Caribbean in my vernacular--and that's probably because I used to go to N.O. a lot when I was younger and grew up around a good many Jamaicans. Even now in current day, since I done bounced around to so many different places, certain pieces of other dialects have managed to infiltrate my vernacular...but I ain't never nor will I ever lose root of the way I was brought up. 'Cuz ain't nothin' like the good ol' south, ya hear?

[southernnaturelover]

850, I'm from Atmore so you know I've heard all of those! LOL ^

[gingerpeaches]

I was born and raised in Alabama and spent some time in the Navy.
My friends used to give me a hard time about ya'll, MASH the button (as opposed to pressing it). Also if someone asks you how you are, you might say... Fine as frog hair split three ways, lol., I drink my Coke, whatever the "soda" is , grits and cream of wheat are NOT the same thing,
taters are potatoes and maters are tomatoes, Could be means maybe,
Yes ma'am/sir was taught to us from a early age as a sign of respect to our elders/older people in our lives, still is as far as I am concerned because I SO dislike hearing a child saying yeah and no to a grown up.
And yes when my kids say it they are corrected (includes THE LOOK" and my raised eyebrow till they say it lol, because I dont think being respectful ever goes out of style.
Little sweet adorable babies are sweetpea, and "sugah" /sugar is usually a term of endearment most of the time. I am LOVING this thread!

[gingerpeaches]

Oh Yes, forgot .. when I go to the grocery store I get a buggy aka a cart lol.

[Janetj54]

Originally Posted by Janetj54

Being originally from east Tennessee my father always said that the south has many "dialects" not accents. TRUE,True,true. Dialects being a variation in sound and tone. Dialects are a variation of the same language. When I think of accents, I think of someone who speaks another primary language besides English...and speaking English.
The south has a lot of Scot and Irish 'old middle English' (with some old German/Germanic/Dutch) influences in thier speech. Much of Louisiana has more French. Historically East Tennesseeans were referred to as "You don't want to go there i.e. those people speak "Gaelic." Now look that up.
Many people couldn't understand the earlier settlers of East Tn. in what they were saying.

Words such as "I reckon" "Over Yonder" "Tek ya ta task" "Hain't for Haunt"
"Holler for Hollow" "Old Scatch is gonna git ye" (meaning the devil) "Painter instead of panther" etc. And old world superstitions run rampant in the mountains of East Tn. and much of it is from Northern Ireland, which once was settled by the Scots, thus the term Scots-Irish. When many got off the boat in America saying they came from Ireland in the early 1700's...the bookkeepers said, Why, these people do not speak Irish...they are Scots! Just so ya know...I'm just a big history buff and genealogist. Good day to ya!

[cexermage]

What does "we dirty" and "we O fo' sho'" mean? I realize it is terrible English, and I don't talk like this, but I have seen people who do and I am curious what they mean.

[Granny Sue]

Not sure on the 1st one but the other is "We are sure"

Are you going to be there? "we O fo sho"

[TiPatCo]

My mom uses "'hair in/on a biscuit" ironically: "you're as welcome as a hair in a biscuit".