Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Say That Again

You ain’t from around here are you boy? Or to pronounce it proper “Ewe ain’t frum roun heah or’ya boy”, Southern English is what I call this and being raised in South Carolina this accent and pronunciation on a lot of words and use of certain terms will always be with me, I have no desire to ever lose any of this but think it funny to see the looks and here the comments from people when I least expect it.

I have heard things all my life, especially my life since I moved away from the south; things like “Say that again because it sounds so funny”, “Where is that accent from? It sounds so strange”, “Say that again because I didn’t understand you” or my favorite one includes comments on how slow I talk. Do I get myself insulted? Not a bit, I usually smile and comment something like it appears you are listening with an accent because I don’t hear one from where I am listening.

Anyways I love people and appreciate the diversity we have in this country, I love my Southern Accent and love the smile on folks faces when they hear it even though some are laughing others are smiling because they actually recognize where you are from, I remember while I was still working I would meet a new customer to turn their water on and after a brief conversation they would say something like “Whut part uh Calina ewe frum” I’d reply “Pickens County an whut part uh Jaja ewe frum” it’s really nice to run into folks who understand you.

Yesterday I went with Cindy down to see a Doctor for a sinus infection, the Doctor who came in asked all the usual questions and after a few minutes asked Cindy where she was from because he just knew it wasn’t here, Cindy replied that she was born and raised in California, he shook his head and said I thought you might be from my neck of the woods, she said that we had not long ago moved back here from New Mexico, he said that must be it since it’s close to Texas, Cindy grinned and went on with the conversation, I joined in and asked “Whar iz it ewe or’frum” he spun around and pointed right at me saying “Thar et iz, thet’s whar thu accent iz comin frum” I laughed when he told me he was from Mississippi and he was happy to hear he was talking to a Carolina Boy, he confirmed that Cindy had picked up her accent from being around me and really laughed when I asked him if he had ever heard the term “Ewe ain’t frum roun heah or’ya boy”. When we walked out I shook his hand and said Thank You Sir, his reply was “that tells me you are from home, you use the terms Sir and Thank You”.

This concludes my little discussion on Southern English and how different we sound across the country, and also how funny it is when someone finds you humorous even when you are not trying and how neat it is to be recognized by your voice as to where you were raised, and appreciates you being polite rather than looking at you funny because you are being polite. I hope you all enjoyed my little bit of poking fun at myself here and hope you could read everything I wrote in Southern English, if not then you are probably reading it too fast just slow down and it’ll come to you, and until next time:

“Yall com back nowh ya heah”

24 comments:

  1. Southern folk don't have accents. It's the people who aren't from there who do. Well, at least that's what southern folk have told me. A time or two.

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  2. Jimmy- family roots from Alabama, yet raised in Va & N Carolina, I still have that "twang"..
    I love my "twang".. makes me feel lazy and fun.. us southerners do talk slow and different, yet people like it (regardless of what they say). Heck, it's sorda lak we have our own lingo..
    Southerners Rock!!!!

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  3. No, it's actually Californians that don't have accents...everyone ELSE does though...
    I love the different accents. I always wish I was fluent in other languages just so I could see what it is like to hear THEIR different accents.

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  4. Fun post, Jimmy!

    And it's ironic because I wrote a post awhile back, which I haven't posted on my blog yet, about the various accents people have. We here in Philly have a definite accent, and certain phrases we use.

    Many years ago, I was in the stage play "To Kill Mockingbird" and I had to develope a southern accent for the part I portrayed. And it was funny because all night long I would be talking in a southern accent, to the point that I unconsciously started using it during the day. People were saying, "Where the hell did that southern draw suddenly come from, Ron???" HAHAHAHAA!

    I think it's wonderful to hear the various accents from all over the world. That's what makes all unique. So don't ever lose your accent, my friend.

    “Yall com back nowh ya heah”

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  5. I love the differences in dialect! Why is it that the southern one is so darn fun to imitate? I am from Kansas and people don't really detect it except apparently I say "fence" with heavy emphasis on the first syllable.

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  6. Hey Matty, “Southern folk don't have accents. It's the people who aren't from there who do.” It’s really funny that I don’t really notice an accent but others do, I suppose that’s just from being raised with it.

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  7. Lynne, “us southerners do talk slow and different, yet people like it” I agree that people like it, for me it is a comfortable sound and tone that makes you feel at home.

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  8. Good Morning Joe, Yes Sir I don’t really notice any sort of accent here so to say but someone from other areas North or South really jump out at you, funny that you said that because we had a man come up to us at a mall trying to sell something and asked where we were from, Cindy said she was raised here in California and he said “You have lost your California accent” I always wondered what a California accent was after that.

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  9. Hey Ron, You are so right about the different accents in different areas, Melissa our daughter is like you mentioned, whenever we went back home to SC she would talk with a Southern Drawl for quite a while after we got back home, her friends thought it was so funny that she would pick it up like that.

    I love To Kill A Mockingbird and look forward to your post on accents, I bet you did stick out in Philly with a Southern Drawl Ha Ha

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  10. Morning Betty, Maybe the Southern accent is just a bit easier to pick up..I know it is for me Ha Ha, it is funny how certain terms or pronunciations of words not common to where you live but where you were raised will be with you from now on, kind of cool in my opinion.

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  11. Jimmy I love your southern accent that fully comes through in your writing! I have told you before my favorite southern phrase you use i s"so to say." To me that is strictly a Jimmy thing and if I ever hear anyone else say that I am going to think they stole it from you! Something funny to add to all the things about accents. Tim's mom is from Mexico and she has a Spanish accent. However, since this is his mom and he never knew otherwise he did not realize as a kid that his mom had an accent at all. When he started school and some of the other kids asked why does your mom talk to funny he came home and asked his mom what the heck the other kids were talking about. To him....the way she spoke was just "MOM." Today I have to admit we do make fun of some the pronunciations she does...like jewels. Instead of referring to jewelry we like to say it as she does...yulery.

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  12. Thank You Susie, You are a good friend, I completely understand about not hearing a difference in someone you grew up with's way of speaking, the spanish accent is one I got used to while in New Mexico but when I first moved there it sounded funny to me, gotta love it now though, OK does Tim's Mom use terms like "I sat down on the share and took off my choose" Spanish is another accent that is neat to listen to.

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  13. Living in England there are so many accents and dialects, and even them are hard to understand. It seems that you can tell where you come from by the way you talk.
    Luckily, I don't have an accent....at least I don't think so, but my husband was Scots and when he and some of his friends got together, then I was totally lost! Even my parents-in-law still say "Where do ye hail fra?"
    (Hummm, maybe I should have read more of Rabbie Burns!)
    Hugs to you both!

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  14. Hey Alice, I can imagine the different dialects in England also, just thinking you said your husband was Scots and my paternal family line is scottish had I picked up that dialect along with my southern accent how blessed I would be.

    Hugs back to you my Friend

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  15. Hahaha... can't stop laughing, reading your post, Jimmy!
    Yeah.. here in indonesia there're so many dialect and accent which reflect where they come from...
    It sounds funny to our ear when heard the other accent...

    Thanks for the interesting post,Jimmy!
    Happy Thursday!
    nensa

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  16. Hello Nensa, I am so proud you enjoyed reading this, I suppose the same is true no matter where you live in that your dialect is going to be different depending on where you were raised and sound funny to others when you go to another part of even your own country :)

    I still love to hear the different dialects from people I meet.

    Have a wonderful day my friend.

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  17. I adore the southern accents. When I get a call and hear it, I just immediately relax because I know...there will be no drama, but tons of charm.

    The southern way is so sweet. You wrote your accent beautifully! My accent is more hick coming from Oklahoma. My favorite accent of all time is the Mississippians. :-)

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  18. Thank You Angelia, I am kind of partial to the Southern Accent myself for some reason Ha Ha and I bet your "Hick Okie" Accent is pretty cool in it's self.

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  19. Laaaammmbb and Riiiicceee...enuf said! lol


    POOF!!

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  20. Weel ya no, I gautz it aul cept for tha "Jaja".

    LMAO!!! I have such a huge Texas drawl it ain't even funny and I was born in Maine! When we first came to Texas, the kids in the 6th grade made sooo much fun of my accent. I think I forced myself to adopt the Texan accent just to fit in and it stuck for good.

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  21. I find a southern drawl, southern manners, and southern hospitality a welcome sight!

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  22. Martha, “Laaaammmbb and Riiiicceee” I remember it well Lady :^) Poof

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  23. Hey Heather, “I gautz it aul cept for tha "Jaja".” Jaja would be Georgia Ha Ha, A Texas drawl is just about as rich as a Southern Accent, it is another that is easy to pick up and also another to be proud of.

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  24. Amen Suzi, “I find a southern drawl, southern manners, and southern hospitality a welcome sight!” Being raised in the South is a whole different way of life in my opinion and in a good way too.

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