Speak My Language

After hearing my family over the speakers during a Skype call the other day, Zane asked if I was going to "speak Arkansas" when we go there next week.  It certainly is a colorful way to talk.  And the more I think about it, there are some fairly unique accretions to the mother tongue.  I've become so used to them, I don't even notice anymore. 

Here are a few I do recall:

• fixin':  preparing  (I'm fixin' to leave work and go home.)
• bein's:  seeing as how  (I thought you could stop and see cousin Euretta, bein's you're gonna drive through there anyway.)
• y'all:  you all  (Y'all come back soon!)
• all y'all:  plural form of y'all  (How're all y'all doin'?)
• dawgs:  legs/feet  (Lordy, my dawgs is tired.)
• drippin's:  leftover grease, usually from bacon  (I always add me some drippin's to the vegetables when I boil them.)
• dadgummit, dadnabbit:  Expletive substitution  (Dadgummit!  I missed killin' that deer by a hair.)
• swan:  swear  (Well, I'll swan!  That's the funniest thing I ever did see.)  

There are lots more.

Comments

[Brian]

Speaking Arkansas is very similar to speaking Oklahoma. Yihaw! :)

[lb]

All y'all talk funny.

[Marsha]

I resemble those remarks! Both my husband (current & former) and adult children say they can always tell when I'm talking to my mother on the phone because I start slipping into "Arkansas." And when I've lived away, people have said that I don't have an accent. Funny:)

[Curtis]

Being from southern Ahia, in the foothills of Appalachia, I know what youins are talkin' 'bout. Would you believe I have an uncle who was arrested (multiple times) for brewing "white lightnin"?

True. And it's good stuff!

[Kevin-Andrew]

Yep, similar to Georgia ... and North Carolina too! ;)

[Jim]

Imagine growing up in a bilingual family where English and German would eventually create it's own linguistic challenge. My mother would constantly mix them all up and "invent" new words. Then throw in Bavarian, Austrian and Swiss words and accents, mixed with some Urdu, Farsi and Hindi. No wonder people look at me funny when I speak.

[Kevin Donegan]

Hilarious! We only get that on sitcoms here!! :-) Get's me to thinkin' tho...

[Kezza]

You'll have to demonstrate how to speak Arkansas for me some time. I used to get pulled up for speaking South Australian but it has finally faded, except of course when I go back to SA I get called out for speaking Victorian... You can never win!