Hillbilly that is. Take your shoes off. Set a spell.
I found this fun quiz on NPR this morning. Apparently my easy usage of "y'all" makes me 65% dixie. And it doesn't help that I call my daily Dr. Peppers "cokes". Take a look at the quiz and see how you fare. But don't be fooled by the selection of "quaint southernisms" included in the introduction of the quiz. Maybe Southern folks were saying "cain't" and "if'n" 50 years ago but the only place you're going to hear that nonsense today is on Beverly Hillbilly reruns. In fact, if you read the "southernisms", the tone becomes a little condescending.
Backer n. A large cultivated weed you can smoke legally. (Southerners don't get all that excited about the syllables in front of the accented one.)
Gol darn (it)! exp. An expression of surprise or frustration.
His'n poss. pro. Belonging to him, as in "Are them-air boots mine, yourn or his'n." (See "her'n" for more.)
Please. This is just silly. I'm glad there are still some parts of the country with their own dialects. And I think a Texas drawl is as charming as any other accent around. But Southern accent does not equal stupidity. Or even poor grammar. Sadly, I'm coming to believe the rest of the world has this perception of Texans, and Southerners in general, as being gun-toting, ignorant cowboys. I won't take the space to list the great musicians, intellects, writers and artists from the South. And I won't give dignity to the stereotypes by discussing our president. So I'll just say that if I hear you drawl or twang I'll chase you down and ask where you're from. And if you say, "Alabama" or "Tennesee" I'll tell you I'm from Texas and comment on how nice it is to hear an accent. And I'll tell you about how much I love being away from the heat but how I miss the people and the food. And our conversation may be a bit nostalgic but will certainly be coherent.
http://here-in-idaho.blogspot.com/
posted by Will at 6/25/2006 07:52:00 PM
3 Comments:
well, i call all soda "coke" which can be confusing because i am usually talking about a diet pepsi.
hmmm... i think i'll go take that quiz!
You say Tomaatooe I say tomato..
I think it is all Pygmalian...George Bernard Shaw did a really interesting play on accents..
Cockney, The Bronx Accent, The Irish Accents, The Bostonian, The French Canadian, all lovely...
as is the Southern Drawl...
As for cokes... I say pop...
Saw your comment on Pendullums page so I thought I would just c'mon over....I did you hillbilly quizz. Its funny I am 61% Southern. I was raised by a Yankee mother in the deep south so I am destined to be a little messed up. I lived in New Jersey for a couple of years and when I moved to Alabama, the teachers all told my mom that they loved how I spoke that I actually pronounced my vowels the "proper" way.
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