Wikipedia Describes Southern Talk

A forum for discussing US dialects (accents).
scw1217
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Wikipedia Describes Southern Talk

Postby scw1217 » Sat Apr 01, 2006 7:32 pm

I found these articles somewhat amusing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appalachian_English

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_American_English

And for an even more inciting look into it try:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regional_v ... an_English

All very interesting and technically put.

Perry
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Postby Perry » Sun Apr 02, 2006 12:01 pm

Thanks, I enjoyed reading the Wikpedia Appalachian English article. (I have to admit that I didn't understand the pronounciation symbols; but living in the Appalachian's I was able to guess at the sounds.)
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frank
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Postby frank » Sun Apr 02, 2006 1:04 pm

I loved this part:
Detractors of the dialect both within and outside of the speaking area cite laziness or indifference in learning standard forms as the reasons for its existence. However, the areas where Appalachian English is spoken were settled in the 18th century, and many of the characteristics of the dialect predate the standardization of American English and continue to be passed on orally.
Something to keep in mind :-)

F

Perry
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Postby Perry » Sun Apr 02, 2006 6:54 pm

I loved this part:
Detractors of the dialect both within and outside of the speaking area cite laziness or indifference in learning standard forms as the reasons for its existence. However, the areas where Appalachian English is spoken were settled in the 18th century, and many of the characteristics of the dialect predate the standardization of American English and continue to be passed on orally.
Something to keep in mind :-)

F
That might could be right.
"Time is nature's way of keeping everything from happening all at once. Lately it hasn't been working."
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Stargzer
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Postby Stargzer » Fri Apr 07, 2006 2:05 pm

Blinds: window shades. Open them blinds and let some sunshine in!
Perhaps from Venetian Blinds?
A window blind is a covering for a window, usually attached to the interior side of a window. It simply refers to some device to hide from sight (thus "blinding" the viewer) or to reduce sunlight. There are several kinds of blinds, . . .
[emphasis added]

So, the use of 'blinds' instead of '(window) shades' may be merely a stylistic difference.
How you you make a Venetian blind?
Poke him in the eyes!
<sound>rimshot</sound>

:P
Regards//Larry

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gailr
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Postby gailr » Fri Apr 07, 2006 11:23 pm

How you you make a Venetian blind?
Poke him in the eyes!
<sound>rimshot</sound>
Kliban included a cartoon of the 'Venetian Deaf' in one of his little collections. Sadly, it doesn't appear to be posted anywhere; a suave guy was wearing mini venetian blinds over his ears.
-gailr

Mama
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Goan

Postby Mama » Wed May 10, 2006 8:55 pm

I grew up saying the word goan (rhymes with loan or phone) to mean going to, as in "I'm goan do that when I get around to it." But most people look at me oddly when I say that, so is it just me, or is this something southern as well?

Stargzer
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Re: Goan

Postby Stargzer » Sat May 13, 2006 1:54 am

I grew up saying the word goan (rhymes with loan or phone) to mean going to, as in "I'm goan do that when I get around to it." But most people look at me oddly when I say that, so is it just me, or is this something southern as well?
Sounds to me like a variant pronunciation of "gone" as in "I'm gone do that when I get aroun' to it," where "gone" is in turn a variation of "gonna" as in "going to."
Regards//Larry

"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee

Mama
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gone

Postby Mama » Sat May 13, 2006 2:27 pm

Yes, I probably would have spelled it gone, but was going for the phonetics, in case someone thought it was gone, as in that's long gone.


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