We are in a countdown to our GTG in Savannah! The guest list is growing with people from all over the country, Canada too! I have been concerned though, that you may have a little trouble communicating while in the South. The lingo, admittedly, is a little different.
When I travel to Italy, I carry my English-Italian dictionary. I think it is important to try to speak the language, to immerse myself in the local culture. A few handy phrases, and I feel like I truly belong.
I have decided to do the same for those of you who are making plans for Savannah. With a few quick lessons you can learn to speak ‘Southern’. Try pronouncing these words and phrases: remember slow-drawl, think Paula Dean.
Greeting ~ Hey Y’all [ha-ay ya-all] Greeting familiar ~ How’s your momnem? [how’s ur mom-n-em?] Good bye ~ See Y’all Later (even if you will never see them again) Please ~ Palease [pa-lese] Thank you ~ Presheateit [pre-she-ate-it] Quiet ~ Hushup [ha-sh-up] Restaurant ~ restrunt [ress-tr-nt] Would you like ? ~ Youwant sum? [u-ont-sum] More Tea ? ~ Mo tea? [moe-teeee] I’d like a drink ~ Sweet tea please [sweeeeet teee pa-lese] Soda ~ Co’Cola (no matter what type you want) Breakfast ~ aigs n grits please [egs en gri-uts pa-lese] Toast ~ white bread Snack ~ Just a pinch [jus e pe-ench] I enjoyed my meal ~ It was fittoeat [it waaas fi-ut too eeet] How is the weather? ~ Isit muggy? [isit mu-gg-ie] Soon ~ directly [di-rect-ly] Leaving ~ fixin to go [fi-x-en to goe]
If you plan to rent a car and drive through Georgia you may need to ask directions… Over yander ~ there Bouta mile ~ 1-10 miles away Nearbouts ~ less than 10 miles Purtnear ~ less than 10 miles Ritecheer ~ you’re there Moanback ~ back up Fillin station ~ the place to buy gas Sensuous ~ since you were… Jawjah ~ you are in Georgia Lanna ~ Atlanta
Southerners are traditionally very friendly and polite. However, there are a few phrases to be careful of. Gimme sum suga!~ may mean give me a kiss. Be Niace~ means watch your mouth. Bless your heart~ this could be a derogatory comment
I know that we have a lot of southerners involved in Slow Travel. I am hoping that some of the other ‘locals’ will add any comments or phrases that may help you feel at home in Savannah. See y’all in Savannah! Sandi Join us for The Great Slow Travel Gathering - Savannah, Georgia - April 4 to 6, 2008.
Ok... Clarification. If someone was to say "she musa been buying her pants in the petite department at Walmart, bless her heart" Or "she's fixin to go to the beautyshop, bless her heart" Both are perfectly acceptable!
But then, if you get a 'wail, bless your heart', that is very compassionate. Not to be taken as a barb.
I know~ this can be a difficult language to follow! Keep practicing
Sandi, here's one you missed: fixin' - about to do something
also: Aint: the sister of your mother or father Arn: an implement for smoothing wrinkles out of clothes Ahmoana: "I am going to . . ." Bawl: what water does at 212 degrees Fahrenheit (a similar pronunciation is used for "awl" which is what you put in your car's engine to make it run smoothly. Bidness: business Bub: a fragile glass object that converts electricity into illumination, as in "laht bub"
Good thread. I am sure this will help (hep) all the people from other places (furiners) understand what is going on around them.
Or "she's fixin to go to the beautyshop, bless her heart"
It's the tone of voice, as well as facial expression, that indicates the intention of the speaker, rather than the words themselves. Southern sarcasm is in the nuances; look carefully.
Yuh-huh, I have this Texas-born friend who can say everythin' there is to say about someone or something she deeply disapproves of with a delicately placed and very soft, "Mmmmm-hmmmm..." Amazing how she can wick that up right at the ending of it, making it drip with disapproval or sarcasm!
Here's a few new uns for y'all to consider... ~Clone: A type of scent women put on themselves. "What's that clone you got on, honey?"
~ Everhoo: Another baffling Southernism - a reverse contraction of whoever."Everhoo one of you kids wants to go to the movie better clean up their room."
~Ka-yun: A sealed cylinder containing food. "If that woman didn't have a kay-un opener, her family would starve to death."
~ PEEcans: Northerners call them peCONNS for some obscure reason. "Honey, go out in the yard and pick up a passel of PEEcans. Ah'm gonna make us a paah."
~ Shainteer: Indicates the absence of a female. "Is the lady of the house in?" "Nope. Shainteer." Brenda
OK, I'm more hillbilly than southerner, but there is some crossover in expression.
Plurals can be tricky for some one who speaks book lernin english to comprehend.
"You" is seldom used to address more than one person.
Instead, it is "Y'all" for just a few people in a group and "All Y'all" when you are addressing everyone in the group.
When you are talking about a group of people, you don't say "they", you say "theyuns", "thems", or "themuns".
Deborah Horn In a previous life I was an Umbrian sunflower farmer. I want to do a past life regression and stay there. ----------------------------------- www.petsburg.com My blog: Old Shoes - New Trip
Posts: 5000 | Location: St. Louis, MO | Registered: 04 September 2001
"I feel like I been et by a panther and $%#@! off a cliff". - Describing a hangover.
Oh, Ginger! That reminds me of one my niece said after I talked about how rough her ex-mother-in-law looked even though she was only in her early 50s. Niece described her as "been rode hard and put away wet!".
This thread is Having seen in listed for a while, decided that I had to check in to it. I have laughed through each reply--to the point that Ken is looking at me very strangely.
But--I spent a year in Italy and don't speak Italian any better so how in the world will I ever manage Savannah in a weekend? Earline, Brenda, Sandi, Ginger-do you tutor?
Well, I s'wan, Janey-kins...a tooter, that's wat y'all be wantin'? Heah's a li'l somethin' t' keep y'all speakin' southern-like, 'til we fahnd a tooter for y'all ~
Afar: In a state of combustion. "Call the far department. That house is afar."
Braht: Dazzing. "Venus is a braht planet."
Cayut: A furry animal much beloved by little girls but detested by adults when it engages in mating rituals in the middle of the night. "Be sure to put the cayut outside before you go to bed."
Clone: A type of scent women put on themselves. "what's that clone you got on, honey?"
Farn: Anything that is not domestic. "Ah don't drink no farn liquor, specially Rooshin vodka."
Jack-leg: Self taught, especially in reference to automobile mechanics and clergy-men. "He's just a jack-leg preacher, but he sure knows how to put out the hellfire and brimstone."
Kerosene cat in hell with gasoline drawers on: A colorful Southern expression used as as evaluation of someone's ability to accomplish something. "He ain't got no more chance than a kerosene cat in hell with gasoline drawers on."
Parts: Buccaneers who sailed under the dreaded skull and crossbones. "See that third baseman? He just signed a big contrack with the Pittsburg Parts."
Retard: No longer employed. "He's retard now."
That ole dawg won't hunt no more: That will not work. "You want to borrow $20 when you still owe me fifty? That ole dawg won't hunt no more."
Uhmewzin: Funny, comical. "Few things are more uhmewzin than a Yankee tryin' to affect a Southern accent, since they invariably address one person as y'all when any Southern six-year-old knows y'all is always plural because it means all of y'all."
Wahn: What Jesus turned the water into, unless you're Babdist who is persuaded it was only grape juice. "Could ah have another glass of that wahn?"
Dale: A brand of computer "Bubba, juhere that Patrick Crispen just got hisself a Dale k'puter?" Brenda
Make groceries: buy them--and when you get home, you don't put them away, you put them "up"
Pecan: do NOT say "pee-can" because you might think that is southern but it makes us laugh in Louisiana. Say "pah-kahn"
Younger people calling you "ma'am" do not mean to imply that you are an old lady; it's just polite to "ma'am" you. With "yes" it sometimes becomes "Yes'm." But there are subtleties. Too much "a'a" in the "ma'am" can sometimes be tainted with a bit of irony--I think, but I may be mistaken. If it is "yes MA"AM" it may mean the chirrun are being especially obedient and attentive. Not only chirrun "Ma'am" you by the way--I often "Ma'am" someone who is probably a contemporary but is a stranger, to show respect.
"Miz X"; "Mister X": folks seem to tell their children to refer to non-related adults this way, no matter what your marital or social status is. This is often done in the third person, as in: Mother: "You chirrun help Miz Trish put that up." Chirrun: "Yes'm."
In Alabama, people seem to say "cheer" for "chair." Can you verify this, Sandi?
And my favorite: "That dog can hunt"/"that dog won't hunt" for if something will work or not.
Here's an on-line test to see how Yankee or rebel you are. I just got an 83% "do you still use confederate money?" score. Apparently after 11 years here I'm going native.
Every fizzy drink is a "coke" or more rarely a "cold drink." It doesn't matter what brand or flavor. It is not "pop" or "soda" but "coke." Chances are you are buying Dr. Pepper. You may also be buying peanuts to stick in the neck of the bottle, but that's another topic.
When you are making groceries and you buy your cokes, you wheel them to the check-out in your "buggy," not "cart," and they put them in a "sack," not a "bag."
I really don't wish to make this discussion too serious, but just for information, there's one thing y'all should keep in mind is that there is not one standard Southern accent, but several. There are both regional and class (yes, class!) differences.
The Low Country speech of Savannah, Charleston, and points in between shares some features with that of other parts of the South, but is somewhat distinct. And the Appalachian speech, up here in the mountains, is quite different, especially relating to the "r" sound (i.e., whether it's pronounced or not).
Ann is quite right about the "class" thing. When I started looking for a house in the little town where my sister lives, our realtor was showing us some places out in the country in a hollow (which is quite large enough for several houses). I said, "Oh, my sister pronounces this 'holler'" to which Miz Snooty Nose said, "Oh, that is ignorant to pranounce (her pronunciation) it that way. It should be 'holla'".
That's truly an amusing story and also a good illustration of the difference between upland and lowland Southern. Up this a-way, if you didn't say "holler," folks would look at you rather strangely. I suppose that could be considered by some to be a class difference as well. Until recently, lowlanders considered all people up here in the hills to be "pur."
Something like "p-er!" [Linguists have ways of distinguishing these sounds, but then someone would have to be one as well to decipher the symbols they use to describe them.]
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