Ahra-lessnes in white-Southern speech (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Jonathan Lighter]

My friend from rural Middle Tennessee - a distinguished attorney - always
says "fum."
Other than that and maybe one or two other items, he's got all his r's.

JL

On Tue, Jun 16, 2009 at 12:38 AM, Wilson Gray <hwgray at gmail.com> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Ahra-lessnes in white-Southern speech (UNCLASSIFIED)
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Back in the day, ca.1940-45, when coal was the usual source of power
> for everything from steam plants to home heating in Saint Louis,,
> there was a common radio commercial:
>
> [with echo] "OLD ABE" COAL!!!
>
> An[sic] onnis val-yew f'om Kin-tuckih, suh!
>
> Nobody on the show re The Great Tornado Season of '08 used "suh" or
> any other example of stereotypically-Southern r-lessness, EXCEPT for
> ONE person who said, ONE TIME, "gum-mint." Hence, I am unable to
> provide any other examples of r-lessness because there were NO others.
> THAT is my point.
>
> My apologies for posting a trivial comment that is more difficult to
> understand than a comment of substance.
>
> -Wilson
>
> On Mon, Jun 15, 2009 at 4:57 PM, Jonathan Lighter<wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> > Sender: Â  Â  Â  American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster: Â  Â  Â  Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject: Â  Â  Â Re: Ahra-lessnes in white-Southern speech (UNCLASSIFIED)
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > I'm with Bill, except that I hear "wethuh," not "whethuh." Â Both
> actually,
> > but they're not synonymous in the South.
> >
> > JL
> >
> > On Mon, Jun 15, 2009 at 1:57 PM, Mullins, Bill AMRDEC <
> > Bill.Mullins at us.army.mil> wrote:
> >
> >> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> >> -----------------------
> >> Sender: Â  Â  Â  American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >> Poster: Â  Â  Â  "Mullins, Bill AMRDEC" <Bill.Mullins at US.ARMY.MIL>
> >> Subject: Â  Â  Â Re: Ahra-lessnes in white-Southern speech
> (UNCLASSIFIED)
> >>
> >>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> > ------
> >>
> >> Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
> >> Caveats: NONE
> >>
> >> Can you give some specific example words beyond "gummint" in which this
> >> might be seen? Â I live in Huntsville, and might recognize some of this
> >> speech.
> >>
> >> If I look through the text of the email below, the following
> pronunciatio=
> > ns
> >> wouldn't sound odd to my ear:
> >>
> >> Ah-meh-kihn (American)
> >> Suthun (southern)
> >> Nor-thun-ners (northerners)
> >> Wheh-thuh (weather)
> >>
> >> Bill
> >>
> >> > -----Original Message-----
> >> > From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
> >> > Behalf Of Wilson Gray
> >> > Sent: Monday, June 15, 2009 10:18 AM
> >> > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> >> > Subject: Ahra-lessnes in white-Southern speech
> >> >
> >> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> ---------------
> >> > --------
> >> > Sender: Â  Â  Â  American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >> > Poster: Â  Â  Â  Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> >> > Subject: Â  Â  Â Ahra-lessnes in white-Southern speech
> >> >
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> >> > --------
> >> >
> >> > Are there any white-Southern speakers left who *don't* use [r] in all
> >> > the places where Northerners do? I watched a Weather Channel show on
> >> > the Great Tornado Season of '74. Many ordinary white folk from
> >> > Kentucky and Alabama were interviewed WRT their memories of that
> >> > season. Only one speaker, from around Dothan and Huntsville, Alabama,
> >> > failed to use [r] and that was in only one word: *government*, which
> >> > he pronounced as approximately "gum mint" [g^m mI at nt].
> >> >
> >> > They all used what black speakers usually characterize as the
> >> > "hillbilly" dialect. The "Southern" dialect is the ahra-less one
> >> > usually attempted nowadays only by Northern actors attempting to
> >> > portray Southern-speakers.
> >> >
> >> > Is BE the only r-less AmE dialect left with a number of speakers large
> >> > enough to bother to count?
> >> > --
> >> > -Wilson
> >> > =E2=80=93=E2=80=93=E2=80=93
> >> > All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
> >> > come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> >> > -----
> >> > -Mark Twain
> >> >
> >> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> >> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >> Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
> >> Caveats: NONE
> >>
> >> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >>
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
>
>
> --
> -Wilson
> –––
>  All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
> come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> -----
> -Mark Twain
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org