Thursday, January 21, 2010

Southern Vocabulary

I heard a few new phrases at school today:

"I almost punched her in the face, ya'know I'm 'trailer'!!"
"My cousin was married, but her 'wasband' was a slacker."
"I was on 'rent-a-meal' while I was pregnant."

These reminded me of the funny words I have learned while living in the south. Keep in mind I've lived here now for almost 15 years so I'm definitely a southerner and not much of a Yankee anymore, but I'm still shocked when things come out of my mouth like, "He done come undone!" Just kidding... I don't say stuff like that.... maybe once... a few nights ago.... when I confused came and come and had and done... or maybe not....

When I moved to Alabama from New Jersey it took A LOT of getting used to. I had to lose my northern accent very quickly (teenagers can be mean, but middle school teachers can be even meaner), no more 'Yous guys' or 'hot dawg'... and I learned I was supposed to add multiple syllables into small words like....'Wa-ail' instead of 'Well'.... I have apparently perfected this without much thought though.

I also had to learn completely new words too. I still have never said 'fixin to' and don't really see it in my near future, but 'ya'll' manages to sneak in there somehow...

So here are a few more that were new to me after my move that I find to be a TON of fun:

Tump - Who tumped over the trashcan? (This one is my favorite... seriously, use it every day and your life will be better, I promise.)
Mash - Did you mash the button?
Tote - Tote that suitcase upstairs. Or even better: Can you tote your little brother to school today?
Buggy - Put the groceries in the buggy please.

Are there any more I'm missing? Are these words unique to the south still? What are some words that you found in your neck of the woods that we probably don't have in Ala-freakin-bama? (Does anyone actually like this song?).

3 comments:

  1. I have literally just died laughing over this. I was born and raised in the south and I know I sound like a hick.

    Do you want some mashed taters? ;) HAHA.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am so confused... Clearly I have never been to the south! Seriously, cracking up right now!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love "tump." It's my favorite.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts with Thumbnails