Questions tagged [southern-white-vernacular-english]
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27 questions
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Southern contraction for "let him", spelling
*I know there is no grammatically correct contraction for "let him", I'm looking for an informed guess on how "let him", contracted in a deep southern dialect might be spelled?
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How to colloquially express indifference -preferably in an American Southern tongue-
I am looking for phrases that express indifference in order to translate a foreign poem.
It is a Greek phrase and literally translates into "None of my nails is burning" which means "I ...
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Are 'biggity' and 'briggity' kin?
(Motivated by the question How common is "biggety" in Southern and Midland US?)
The DARE entry for briggity has the following (edited):
briggity: (also brickaty, brickety, brigaty, ...
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How common is "biggety" in Southern and Midland US?
I recently stumbled upon the word biggety, meaning conceited or vain, and when I went to look it up, it seems the word is regional, which might explain why I'd never heard of it, except for one region ...
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Meaning of "she has hern" in Faulkner's 'As I Lay Dying' [duplicate]
I am reading "As I Lay Dying" and have usually been able to look up the meaning behind the choice of words that Faulkner uses. However, I am unable to find a satisfactory definition of the ...
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Pronunciation of "genuine" in John Hartford - Steam Powered Aereo Plane
I was wondering whether there's people pronouncing "genuine" like Hartford does in this tune or if it's simply part of the freedom of artistic expression.
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In the Ozarks, why was a pregnant woman "with squirrel"?
Many blog posts online claim that in the Ozarks, being 'with squirrel' was once slang for 'being pregnant.' That is, if Sally is 'with squirrel', then Sally is pregnant.
They mostly cite Vance ...
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Why does the 'Intrusive 'R' appear in the state of Mississippi?
I've seen people discuss the intrusive 'R'. I have also been very curious about this subject, because I am from Mississippi and both my Mother and my Grandmother use the intrusive 'R'. ('Warsh', ...
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What does the social idiom "not received" mean in 19th century America?
I am struggling with a use of the word "received" that I have never seen before, in conjunction with a social status in 19th century America. Specifically, in Margaret Mitchell's Gone With ...
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American English region where "here" is pronounced "cheer"
On the Andy Griffith Show the characters from Mayberry (modeled on Mount Airy NC) pronounce "here" as "cheer".
This can be heard at second 29 of Andy Griffith Football Story from ...
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Why do Christians in American deep south say "whenever" when they mean "when"?
As a midwestern American (Iowa), I want to understand the history, reason, and mechanics of why southern Americans say "whenever" when the word "when" would suffice.
For instance:
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Why do southern evangelical Christians in American churches say "how that" instead of how? [duplicate]
Why do evangelical Christians in American churches say "how that" instead of how?
Ex. 1:
Let me tell you a story about Billy Beaumont and how that, for our sakes, he joined the war to fight ...
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What is the origin of the phrase "eating on"?
My husband's family uses the phrase "eating on" as in "we have been eating on these leftovers for several days." This isn't a phrase my family uses, and honestly, I find it evokes ...
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Why do Southerners pronounce "naked" differently?
I was watching a TV show and this guy from Tennessee pronounces naked as /'nekɪd/, without the diphthong /eɪ/ in the first syllable, and instead pronounced as a single /e/ vowel.
Dictionary ...
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What does "done wore out one" refer to in casual Southern US American?
In the highly racist and despicable, although humorous, song "Alabama n-word", apparently from the 1960s in the Southern USA, at 1:30 into the song, the lyrics go like this:
I'm glad this ...
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Does hillbilly slang fall under a type of English language and if not, what is it called?
Does hillbilly slang (for lack of better words) fall under a type of English language and if not, what is it referred to as, if anything?
Such as:
Ch'out!= combo of "watch out!" combined.
y'...
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What is the origin of the use by Texans of "them" to mean one person?
I have always wondered about a use of the pronoun "them" that is characteristic of many Texans, and would like to know if it has been documented by linguists and, perhaps, had its origins explained.
...
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"I'm Marsh Turner called."
From the movie Cross Creek, set in 1920s' Florida.
Marsh: I'm Marsh Turner called. This is my daughter Ellie.
The syntax of this line (as opposed to the standard "I am called Marsh Turner") ...
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Is it "bad" to try and learn southern American English? [closed]
I have always been really interested in south American life style, culture, and specially language, a while back, I asked a professional American English teacher, about if it was OK to try and learn ...
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...Your baby gonna come out naked
I heard this in a casual how-to video. It seemed random and not associated with anything they were doing. Someone said, "My favorite one is... your baby is going to come out naked. If you keep working ...
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Southern Dialect: Word for a time of day?
I remember reading a story somewhere that a Southerner wrote about one of his life experiences. He mentioned that in the region he lived there was a time of day that cooled off a large amount in less ...
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How does "A hit dog will holler" work as a metaphor?
Background: I, an Australian, once had a co-worker in North Carolina who would often use Southern-US idioms that confused me. I spent an evening panicked about how to handle "This dog will hunt" as ...
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Is "in the essence of time" legitimate? Standard? Regional?
I had never heard "in the essence of time" before a recent trip to Virginia. Various local attendees of a meeting I attended used the phrase to justify moving on to a new topic, in a situation where I ...
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When was "fo' sho'" first used in print, television, or music? Or, better yet, when was it standard southern slang?
I can only seem to find Urban Dictionary, et al. references, so I'm turning here for an answer. I know that "fo" ("for") and "sho" ("sure") are common southern dialect replacements, but a debate ...
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"It is" used as "there is": what is the origin?
Ok, this is a somewhat nonstandard English question. In the Southern US, or at least in Central Virginia, there is an idiomatic use of the phrase it is that is equivalent to the expression there is, ...
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Does John Fogerty Talk Southern?
What is it that makes people think, erroneously, that Creedence Clearwater Revival are from the South? Is it something in the way the singer John Fogerty pronounces?
In fact he's from California and ...
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"Have [something] to allow," where to allow means to say
My mother routinely uses the phrase have to allow as a synonym for "have to say," generally in a context like,
What did she have to allow?
to request that her interlocutor summarize a conversation....
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