Is Dallas considered Southern to you?

[Spade]

Originally Posted by synchronicity

I've lived the majority of my life in Chicago, and have almost never heard "y'all" there.

I've spent less than a year in Dallas and very little time in what one would refer to as the "Southern" US, but from my limited observations would generally agree with the comments of others that DFW is (as I believe has been said at other times) "where South Meets West", with Dallas on the "Southern" Side and Fort Worth on the "Western" Side. Obviously that's a generality, there's no bright dividing line that runs thru DFW airport or on the Arlington border or something. As also noted, the Metroplex has a high percentage of transplants (that happens when your population increases by almost 25% in the last decade), which has probably diluted the "regional-ness" of the area a bit, as noted in the quoted post above.

JMHO, and I freely admit to knowing squat on the subject, other than Chicago y'alls (or the lack thereof).

I've heard it. My cousins say it. So do their friends.

[Spade]

Originally Posted by Nairobi

Houston is more connected to the deep south, so it's not really in the same situation as the others.

IEtoTX made a good point in that virtually no city in today's South is 100% southern, and none of the big cities can fit the typical archetype of a southern town; not even cities like Atlanta or Charlotte.

"Southerness", as we know it, is being diluted far and wide, and not just in the border states.

Atlanta I agree but they retain more of it compared to Dallas and Houston because it is IN the Deep South. Charlotte though is not on that level yet even though they have received transplants over the last 10-15 years. It's still solidly Southern no question about it.

[TexasReb]

Originally Posted by synchronicity

I've lived the majority of my life in Chicago, and have almost never heard "y'all" there.

Just to add an interesting map, here is one which indicates where the use of "y'all" and/or "you-all" is most common in the country.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/Yall_US_Map.svg/800px- (broken link)

I've spent less than a year in Dallas and very little time in what one would refer to as the "Southern" US, but from my limited observations would generally agree with the comments of others that DFW is (as I believe has been said at other times) "where South Meets West", with Dallas on the "Southern" Side and Fort Worth on the "Western" Side. Obviously that's a generality, there's no bright dividing line that runs thru DFW airport or on the Arlington border or something.

This is a good post (incoming rep point!). But I have to add that the expression (which is very correct in its own way, and I have often used it myself), is often taken out of context and a point of common mis-conception. Of course, this is just IMHO.

Texas IS truly "Where the South meets the West", and this was a very popular tourist slogan some years back (again, for good reason). However, what often got lost in the application (and certainly in the real story of Texas history/culture) is that it did not mean it translated -- so far as the state was concerned -- into a dichotomy of two totally seperate regions.

What it really meant was that the classic Old South was blended with qualities of the new post-bellum Frontier West . Not in the least did it mean -- or ever intended to -- that that area of and along west of Ft. Worth (or I-35 W) meant leaving the South itself. No, it must meant the "western South", as opposed to the "eastern South". It had nothing to do with the "southwest" of New Mexico and Arizona, much less with the Rocky Mountain West. Except in some superficial areas as topography, the whole history/culture is totally different from the true western states.

As also noted, the Metroplex has a high percentage of transplants (that happens when your population increases by almost 25% in the last decade), which has probably diluted the "regional-ness" of the area a bit, as noted in the quoted post above.

Yes, no question at all about that (as you and some others have said) this is a major factor in the gradual changing of the general "atmosphere" of the area.

[Willsson]

Dallas is in north Texas. Houston is in southeast Texas. The United States is to the east, at least the part recognized in commercialism.

Texas is a whole 'nuther country.

[skids929]

Originally Posted by Overcooked_Oatmeal

My bad, I see what you're saying. I didn't eat my Wheaties this morning. To be fair, "ya'll" has its roots in both AAVE and Scots-Irish immigrants to the Southern US way back when (the term is the Americanized Scot term "ye aw"), which was passed down/interchanged with slaves and the rest is history.

The Remarkable History of "Y'all" | Dialect Blog

Just like an earlier poster said, I agree it's a second-person plural term that is lacking in the 'official' English language since no one uses "thou" anymore. Much more egalitarian than "you guys".

I'm very familiar with "Wicked Pissah" and other assorted New England slang thanks to a college suitemate from Dorchester or Dedham, I'm getting old can't exactly remember, Mass. (I thought a "bubbler" was just a bong before she clarified what she meant.) "Wicked Pissah" meaning something is really awesome "Wicked" itself being slang to add emphasis. Northern Californians using "hella" in a similar fashion.

All this localized slang and idiosyncrasies help the world go around.

Haha..Lol. Dorchester, now thats a rough town. Where Irish meets black can get ugly. ; )

People from MA are their own breed in their own right. Plenty of dufuses from here that have never left the 617 (boston) area code, and see no reason to ever do so. Like you said each place has it's own flavor.

[Nairobi]

Originally Posted by Spade

Atlanta I agree but they retain more of it compared to Dallas and Houston because it is IN the Deep South.

Few people would say that Atlanta is in a solidly Deep South location. It's more Piedmont South, and even almost borderline Appalachian South, as it sits near the mountains.

Atlanta feels more like parts of Tennessee than it does some other parts of Georgia, which are truly Deep South, and Houston is more reminiscent of Louisiana than most of Texas. Living in both cities, nothing about Atlanta was outstandingly more southern than Houston, to me.

Charlotte though is not on that level yet even though they have received transplants over the last 10-15 years. It's still solidly Southern no question about it.

100% southern? No way. Too much northern influence there.