If you are gonna eat Southern, you should learn to talk Southern! The educated form of Southern Dialect consists of a quite “classy” type of speech that is somewhnat flavored with the vigor of the mid-west and the enunciation of the East, but continues to hold tightly to that melody associated only with the South.

In addition, there is a more relaxed form of Southern speech still in existence--— the “down home” version. You’ve heard this in the old Western cowboy movies. The cowboys of the west were, for the most part, former Confederate soldiers of the South and took west with them, much of the manners of the south and all of its speech, i.e. that lovely, drawled,. “Yes, Mam” and “No, mam.” The ordinary speech rate in some parts of the South is slower than along the Eastern seaboard of the nation, which is often machine-gun rapid.

There, also, in many areas of the South, is a speech pattern that is quite “twangy” with rather pronounced nasality (as in East Texas ), but the nasality is not as strong as is found in the speech of many people with Wisconsin roots (just about as Northern as can be.)

Many people, unfamiliar, with the various Southern speech patterns, falsely conclude that the speech of the lower sub-cultural groups is typical Southern speech, little realizing that this same type of speech is, also, prevalent in all major cities in the nation.

It is true that the speech of educated Americans, no matter where they may live, is more like that of other educated Americans, no matter where they live than like the speech of the less educated people living in their own home town. It is also true that speech patterns considered quite desirable in some areas of the country are deemed undesirable in other areas i.e. John F. Kennedy’s pronunciation of Mama as Mommer and Cuba as Cuber.

One of the characteristics of the Southern speech patterns, which continue to flourish in the South, is the use of the term “Y’all” to refer to more than one person. Many Yankees and “Johnny Come Lately” folks to the area, do not understand that ‘Y’all” can only mean more than one person, even if spoken just to a single listener.

“Y’all” means you and yours—--you and your family, you and your friend or friends—--you and buddy or buddies. If a Southerner tells Henry Clay who is standing there all alone without a soul around him, “ Henry, I wish y’all would come to my house for supper tomorrow night.,” the “y’all " refers not just to Henry Clay , but to Henry Clay and his someone else—--and he knows who. Yankees use “youse guys” in a similar fashion.

Just remember that “y’all” stands for “all of you.” for “you all,” and you will be able to talk correct Southern!!!! And spread the word, Southerners are tired of Yankee ignorance--—too often revealed in writing presented as Southern truth even by some sadly misinformed Southerners.

Some folks assume, incorrectly, that the Southern dialect is only the speech of black folks in the South. Certainly, the black dialect is one type of Southern dialect, but black dialect is, also, spoken in every city in the nation by folks who have never lived in the South and whose ancestors never lived there. This dialect is considered by some listeners to be the speech of uneducated, clannish folks not wishing to appear to be “copying” the “white man’s tongue.” Others consider it the speech of people whom, as children, were taught to speak BY children, as adults were away from the home most of the time. Exposed, consistently, to “White English” via television, radio and public school attendance, this segment of American society appears to choose to speak differently—unlike the oriental and numerous other modern day immigrants who, usually, make marked efforts to adopt a standard American dialect. Some blacks have even campaigned to have children’s text books written in “Black English” or “Ebonics” as they call it.

Educated blacks’ speech patterns are precisely like those of educated whites, and, in the South, like those of educated Southern whites.

It is often amusing to hear Northerners contend that Southerners “talk funny.”

It is almost impossible for Southerners to understand the speech typical in some parts of the nation. For example, the smearing together of sounds in a staccato fashion by many people in Connecticut poses a comprehension problem to non-Connecticut listeners.

One can only imagine the communication problems that will exist as a result of the current denigration of American laws regarding the mandatory learning of English as a pre-requisite for U.S. citizenship. There, no longer, is a requirement that voting ballots be written only in English. One World Government influences seem to be popping up everywhere throughout the land and are adversely affecting assimilation of new immigrants, thereby destroying American heritage and removing the glue that holds a great nation together.

Contact Joan Hough at joanhough@aol.com.