Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1886-03-24

Auc cultOTSutp Is COuuQou TO g COLI
mittee of six members of the Academy
of Han-Lin.
Quaint SOuthernism.
Some years ago Richard Grant
White wrote a delightfully."- interesting
book on Americanisms. He might we'll
have divided the subject into two parts:
Yankeeisms and Southernisms. Alb
solute correctness in pronunciation, or
in the formation of sentences, is
most difficult accomplishment and few
there be, either North or South, who
have reached such degree of perfec-
ton that no exception can be taken by
''carping critics. to their utterances.
In the matter of pronunciation the
times are changing, and one can
scarcely keep pace with the innova-
lions being introduced by the leading
orthepists.
The purpose of this paper is, how
ever, to present, in succint way, a
few of the quaintnesses of pronuncia-
ton and construction held by the
southern people AS class. Among
these the first that comes to mind is
the custom of emitting the last two let
tiers of such words as '.more,' ''store,'
''four'-which are pronounced mo-
''sto," TO- What clock is it?' YOU
ask the Carolinian and ten to one he
tells you it's half pas TO, ~ if that hap
pens to be the hour.
Another common Southernism is the
use of like as it, or ''lke' for the
words ''as it, ''She looked like she
knew me- is a common expression,
or ''she looked liked as if she'd die -
This is common in Washington, and
in the States south of Mason and Dix
on's line.
The word funny is frequently
used, instead of strange, and some
times with startling effects. A young
Southern girl was visiting us once, and
a caller was telling of the death of her
mother through swallowing fish bone.
oh! wasn't it funny?' exclaimed
our visitor at the close of the narrative.
| think you mean strange said the
caller, as soon as she recovered from
her establishment. Our girl friend has
never used the word Funny since.
If you happen to hear anybody say
frye cheer, you may know it is in
tended to mean sri ght here'' For
instance: A South Carolinian will say,
''Where was he at last?' and his fellow
citizen will say, He stood rye cheer
with me- Djear-pronounced in one
syllable-is not a Russian word as
might be supposed; it means ''Do you
hear?' and is addressed to servants in
this form, ''You, jim! Bring in that
wood, djear?'
"To get to CO. is essentially a
Georgia expression, They say. ''Do,
don't fail to come tonight and the
reply is, 'l've tried to get to go three
weeks now, so l reckon l II be there
t'night.' The expression ''Do DON'T
is heard in Georgia and South Caro-
lima, but rarely elsewhere. One of the
most laughable things you ever heard is
the peculiar pronunciation of the word
''about. 1t is impossible to express
the South Carolinian pronunciation,
phonetically. 1t sounds like abaout---
pronounced very quickly in three syl-
]ables ''Quare,' for ''queer,' is an
other word. The use Of ''reckon'' for
''presume' is said to have been de-
rived from the Yankees, as was the ex-
preston ''right smart for the word
''much!'
In imitation of English, perhaps, is
the custom of saying live got it, for
Il have it, and the general use of the
word 'got' where it is quite unneces-
sary. Also English is the use of
''obliged,' as lin obliged to do it,
for Il must do it, she is obliged to
CO., for she must CO. Ambiguity of
expression is too prevalent in Dixie,
and too many people sacrifice sense to
sound.
Low country people and the resi-
dents of middle South Carolina say
''ges-arden" for ''garden, "gee-yard'
for ''guard, with the hard sound of
"g..' So too, with such words as
card "car,' and "cart,' into which
is introduced the sound of ''kee,' to
take the place of the first consonant.
thus: ''kee-ard,' ..kee-ar,' "kee-
art"
The use of delightful for delicious in
such a sentence as 1.-The ice cream is
delightful isvery common. "Pretty'
is word very often misused. for in
stance: Isn't this pretty day?':-and
and this is very general one. North
Carolinians say the sceneryis ''pretty'
meaning picturesque; the day is
"'pretty meaning fine, and that per-
son s manners are ''pretty,' meaning
well-bred.
''You ALL or, as it is abbreviated,
~ ALL is one of the most ridiculous
of all the Southernjsms I can call to
mind. 1t usually means two or more
persons, but is at all times used when
only enc person is meant For instance.
a caller on departing, says, ~ all
must come to see u.s. She means the
lady upon whom she is calling, and her
husband may call.
The Yankees have quite as many
ridiculous figures of speech as those 1
have mentioned as peculiarly Southern,
and it will be reserved for another pa
per to present the oddities of Yankee
conversation. In the mean time every
true-hearted Southerner who reads
these lines will declare that he never
used any of these Southernisms, and
will be just as honest in his belief as
the Charlestonian when he VOWS that
he never says "dis-a-way' for this
way aud "dat-a-way' for ''that
way
Hands and Hearts.
m