LL-L: "Idiomatica" LOWLANDS-L, 30.APR.2001 (03) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 30.APR.2001 (03) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: David Darr <darr at ocean.washington.edu>
Subject: LL-L: "Idiomatica" LOWLANDS-L, 30.APR.2001 (02) [E]

> Is this familiar to any of you?  Do you have any background information?
> How widely is this used, geographically, ethnically?  A couple of times I

> have heard someone say this kind of thing to an adult in movies, each
time
> meant to be a threat.  I have never heard it used around here (the U.S.
> northwest coast), except from my mother-in-law, who grew up at Georgia's
> border with Alabama and was of mixed African, European and Native
American
> (assumedly Creek) background (but of course was classified as "Black" in
> keeping with time and place).  I have never heard this device used before
I
> came to the United States.

Ron, I grew up occasionally hearing this kind of thing as well... mostly
from older relatives who still spoke "real" Ozark. This would have been in
the early/mid 1960s in the Ozark region of south central Missouri.

David

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From: fr.andreas at juno.com
Subject: LL-L: "Idiomatica" LOWLANDS-L, 30.APR.2001 (02) [E]

Hello, Ron et al.

     I've heard that sort of thing ("A'm a-fixin tae go." "A'll fix yir
go fer ye! Git!") my whole life, but never used it myself. Neither did my
parents. That aside, I had an aunt who was famous for it.
     Was your mother-in-law from northern Alabama? That's the furthest
south and west that Southern Appalachia stretches. Likely it's a pretty
widespread Southern U.S. regionalism.

Yours,
+Fr Andreas Richard Turner.

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From: Storen at aol.com
Subject: Idiomatica

> Is this familiar to any of you?

Yes.  Those expressions seem perfectly normal, albeit rare, to me in New
Jersey.  I know nothing of the origin, but they don't strike me as
southern.  I would
characterize them as "jokingly dismissive."  I personally would say
something
like "dagh! candy bar, schmandy bar," which serves the same purpose.  I
think
you already discussed this construction a while ago.

Steven W Kavchok
Hillsborough, New Jersey

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From: R. F. Hahn [sassisch at yahoo.com]
Subject: Idiomatica

Dear Lowlanders,

Thanks to David, Richard and Steven for responding (above).

Steven wrote:

> > Is this familiar to any of you?
>
> Yes.  Those expressions seem perfectly normal, albeit rare, to me in New
> Jersey.  I know nothing of the origin, but they don't strike me as
southern.  I would
> characterize them as "jokingly dismissive."  I personally would say
something
> like "dagh! candy bar, schmandy bar," which serves the same purpose.  I
think
> you already discussed this construction a while ago.

They were "jokingly dismissive" at times, but in the "good" old days they
were more often used as genuine threats with a funny overtone.  The
well-known Northeastern, Yiddish-derived device characterized by "candy
bar, schmandy bar" is merely dismissive (a clear case of poo-pooing),
without the element of threat.

Richard asked:

>      Was your mother-in-law from northern Alabama? That's the furthest
> south and west that Southern Appalachia stretches. Likely it's a pretty
> widespread Southern U.S. regionalism.

I was wrong in saying she was from Georgia, as I was just told.  Her father
was from Georgia, but she was born in Roanoake, Alabama, and spent much of
her youth in Birmingham, Alabama.  At least Roanaoke qualifies as northern
Alabama, doesn't it?  Does Appalachian reach that far?  If not, it must
have had some influence on the speech of that region.  The lady had
definitely "northernized" her English, but her Southern roots would become
quite obvious whenever she got really excited and was talking to relatives
or close friends.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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