How To Say Anything To a Southerner

[Nyboy]

Bless your little garden !!

 

[Smart Red]

I'm not paying attention to any of this "we speak properly" stuff. I know the truth.

For years radio and telly announcers/anchors were sent to Wisconsin and/or Minnesota (southern parts only) to learn proper English. From Wisconsin, one can go anywhere in the USA and be understood. Might be considered strange speakers, but understood nonetheless.

Of course, the northern parts of both states start speaking strangely, eh?

I remember the time my cousin "Lard" came from Arkansas for a visit. I couldn't believe anyone would name their child Lard so I asked him, his sister, and my aunt. All called him Lard. It was not until I asked my mother that I learned his name was Lloyd.

 

[Beekissed]

 

[thistlebloom]

We had some firewood delivered this evening and the firewood mans girlfriend visited with me while the men unloaded. She's from Mississippi and had such a cute accent. She oohed and ahhed over the flowers and veg gardens and loved the kids purple beans, and told me about her grandparents huge garden in their little town yard.
I thought of this thread and how I had a real live southerner right here in my own yard! I should have given her a list of words to say just so I could enjoy the different speech patterns!

She told me I should fry me up some of those green tamaters and gave me a quick tutorial. She spoke of different peas that I have no knowledge of, and
was amazed at the idea of the kids strawberry popcorn.
I sent her home with a bag of purple beans to try and as we wandered back out to the driveway the men had unhitched the trailer as they had discovered a problem with the hitch making it unsafe to tow until it gets repaired. The trailer, we said, was welcome to stay in the driveway until he got the hitch repaired. I said that that was a pretty good deal, a nice dump trailer free with the purchase of 3 cords of wood. The southern gal said yep, that's what we call a lagniappe! And I totally impressed her with knowing what that meant as she had never heard it used outside of the south.

So thanks to the linguistic lessons from @Ridgerunner I was able to get brownie points with a little southern gal.
And that was kind of a long winded story, but East or West or North or South
we are all just people and friends are just waiting to be made.

 

[ninnymary]

Ok Thistle, you've got me. This Cali girl doesn't know what lagniappe is.

Mary

 

[thistlebloom]

Ok Thistle, you've got me. This Cali girl doesn't know what lagniappe is.

Mary

Mary, it's a small gift given by a merchant to a customer. Sort of an over and above gesture, like a little extra...whatever...a 13th donut, an extra chocolate truffle... I'm sure Ridge could give us better examples.

 

[valley ranch]

Southerners have their good and bad like all the rest, but the best of them are generous to a fault and the most courteous people on the planet.

 

[Beekissed]

I agree. I once did a nursing job up in Rhode Island and the conversations with those folks about how they feel about southern people were quite interesting. For one, they were very confused when people down south waved and smiled at them when they drove through small towns or neighborhoods...they viewed that with much suspicion~"Why are these people who don't know me waving and smiling?".

They also think the service in the fast food joints and regular restaurants is far too slow and much too friendly....both were very irritating to them. Again, they wondered why someone was being friendly for no apparent reason to a perfect stranger.

They HATE our accents and our unbidden warmth and smiles...goes through them like a buzz saw! The first day I showed up for work there, I had a big smile on my face and a warm greeting...the woman at the desk cursed at me, "What the f.... are you smiling at????"....she was the assistant director of nursing.

Down here using that kind of language is considered unprofessional and VERY hostile, up there it's pretty standard and considered impolite if you don't join in. Very confusing to this southern girl. She promised to wipe that smile off my face and she did it...took her two months to do it, but she did it. I no longer felt like smiling by then and couldn't wait to get back down south.

That poor nurse from Alabama had a target on her back from the start. Bad enough she tried to pass meds one night while in her bare feet....

 

[Nyboy]

I do have to admit I found the slow service in restaurants in the south very irritating !!

 

[Beekissed]

So do I...but I'll take it if it's done with friendliness and courtesy. Up north things may be quicker but it sours the stomach and all taste for the food when folks have been so very rude in getting it to you. I will still tip if the service is slow~ but friendly~ but I don't tip if it's been fast and rude. No one deserves to feel like their very presence in the restaurant is a huge inconvenience for the server.