ADS-L Digest - 15 May 2008 to 16 May 2008 (#2008-138)

[Your Name]

In a message dated 5/17/2008 12:00:34 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
LISTSERV at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU writes:

A late-thirty-ish, white, male speaker from North Carolina who  spoke
with an almost-stereotypical, rale slow, Deep-Southern drawl,  with
[daUg] for "dog," [hi at l] for "hill," etc., except that it was  fully
r-ful. (By "Deep-Southern," I mean basically that part of the  old
"Black Belt" South from South Carolina through East Texas.)  The
speaker also used "woif (wife)  "roight" (right) "boik" (bike),  etc.,
a feature so striking that it even drew my wife's attention,  and
pronounced "I, my, lie," etc. so that they really did sound like  "ah,
mah, lah."

It was only the second time that I had heard that type of
pronunciation  used in real life. The only other person that I've ever
met who used "ah,"  etc., was from Georgia. Oddly, I was never able to
determine whether she was  black or white. Back in the day, asking a
person who thought himself white  whether he was black or white would
have been a serious insult and posing  that question to someone who
thought himself black would have been incredibly  lame. As the Russians
say, _Rybak rybaka izdaleko vidit_. "Fisherman  recognizes (literally,
"sees") fisherman, [even] from a distance." I.e.,  members of the same
social congeries easily recognize each other / one  another.

-WilsonA late-thirty-ish, white, male speaker from North Carolina who  spoke
with an almost-stereotypical, rale slow, Deep-Southern drawl,  with
[daUg] for "dog," [hi at l] for "hill," etc., except that it was  fully
r-ful. (By "Deep-Southern," I mean basically that part of the  old
"Black Belt" South from South Carolina through East Texas.)  The
speaker also used "woif (wife)  "roight" (right) "boik" (bike),  etc.,
a feature so striking that it even drew my wife's attention,  and
pronounced "I, my, lie," etc. so that they really did sound like  "ah,
mah, lah."

It was only the second time that I had heard that type of
pronunciation  used in real life. The only other person that I've ever
met who used "ah,"  etc., was from Georgia. Oddly, I was never able to
determine whether she was  black or white. Back in the day, asking a
person who thought himself white  whether he was black or white would
have been a serious insult and posing  that question to someone who
thought himself black would have been incredibly  lame. As the Russians
say, _Rybak rybaka izdaleko vidit_. "Fisherman  recognizes (literally,
"sees") fisherman, [even] from a distance." I.e.,  members of the same
social congeries easily recognize each other / one  another.

-Wilson

I've never BEEN in the Deep South as you define it (or, I'm sure, as anyone
defines it); but I've heard quite a few people - both black and white - use
the  type of pronunciation you describe.  Maybe you've only heard it twice
because they've all come "up nawth" here to New York State?  Because, while  not
exactly common here, it's far from unheard-of.



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