On Being Southern

[CorgiMatt]

I'm from central South Carolina, born and raised by parents who demanded good grammar. Two of my four brothers have lived in the Raleigh area for about 30 years and I think that area totally messed up their speech patterns. If you love the South there is no more of a euphonious speech pattern than in Columbia where I live, and my brothers sound silly when they talk. Sorry.

By the way, the apostrophe in the word y'all comes between the y and the a.

[varider]

Here in Norfolk we have some banging sweet tea

[ERJ170]

By the way, the apostrophe in the word y'all comes between the y and the a.

[CorgiMatt]

People from all over the South incorrectly spell it ya'll, including where I'm from, but the contraction of you all, which is what y'all is, is y'all. My degree is in English. Funny how my computer underlined ya'll in red, including the second ya'll I just typed, and now the third, while it did not underline y'all.

Hmm... interesting... My posted version leaves off the red lines under ya'll. I'm editing this, and hmm is also underlined in red, but my posted version will leave off the red line I'm sure. Oh, well.

[TBurban]

Depends on where you're from.. I've seen it as ya'll, y'all, and yall.. where I'm from, it's ya'll..

BTW, I go to Norfolk a lot.. where do you find that banging sweet tea? And where do you find good BBQ (do NOT say Doumar's either)

[Greenville]

It's Red (pronounced Reeeeed as in dead)

It's Appalachain (pronou nced App-a-latch-in)

It's oil (not oy-al)

Tea is sweet and any other way is blasphemy.

Cheerwine is like real wine and not Merlot.

You put peanuts in your pepsi cola.

BBQ is vinegar and tangy, not saucy (that's probably just an Eastern NC thing)

You can sit out on the porch and wave at cars passing by, even if you don't know them.

[krazeeboi]

My mother and grandmother used to like to put peanuts in their soda also. Don't know how that came about though.

As to the list, real Southern BBQ can definitely be saucy. Personally, I think that's the best way, but I'm biased as I was raised on the mustard-based 'cue and I think it's the best thing this side of heaven.

[Mith242]

Texas (been there, or at least to Austin, forget it).

Kentucky, West Virginia, Western TN, Oklahoma, Arkansas.. nah.. not really southern either..

[Justiceham]

I have been to Arkansas and Western TN and they are definitely Southern. Most people think of southern as being "country" or "redneck," there is a bit of this mentality here but not as over-whelming as is found in Middle or Eastern TN. Memphis does have a good ole boy government system like my hometown of Murfreesboro, TN. My boyfriend was born and raised in Morehead, KY. He has a very heavy southern accent compared to the rest of his family who either moved to Ohio or West Virginia and developed a distinct Mid Western accent. He said most of his family shops and eats in Huntington and has noticed a varied culture. So my point like others have said is that there is no one distinct Southern Culture, but rather varied or mixed cases . Louisville, KY would be the perfect example of a split culture between Mid Western characteristics and Southern characteristics.

[Spartan]

Pepsi and peanuts is just as Southern as RC Cola and a Moonpie. Pepsi was invented in New Bern, NC... though I think more people like Coke. The peanuts thing is not as common as it used to be, but I know that it still happens.

As for Texas, I think there is a line that includes most of eastern Texas as southern. That state is so huge that it overlaps several cultural regions. Austin, Dallas, etc, are definitely southern.

With all of the talk about sweet tea and Virginia, I thought I'd chime in. This map shows the results of a survey of over 300 McDonalds in Virginia as to the availability of sweet tea in their premises. I think it works very well for showing the difference between North and South in Virginia. I like to put the approximate boundary at Fredericksburg, which is gradually becoming an outer suburb of D.C. It is also a useful historical landmark as the Union generally controlled the area north of the Rappahanock River.

[pyper]

As for Texas, I think there is a line that includes most of eastern Texas as southern. That state is so huge that it overlaps several cultural regions. Austin, Dallas, etc, are definitely southern.

[krazeeboi]

^That sounds about right. Texans are simply Texans first and foremost.

[Brent]

As far as I'm concerned, I'm Virginian first, American second. I moved back to Virginia from Ohio and brought with me a boyfriend who was originally from Pennsylvania. After a few months living in VA, he asked me when he could start calling himself a Virginian. My reply was "never because you weren't born here". It came out of me naturally and just as dickishly as any Texan would put it. I'm sure that there is similar sentiment in just about any state. Texas just turned it into a brand.