[Rhodes22-list] Where are you from?

[Steve Alm]

Ed,

I like those kinds of tests.  My dad is from North Dakota and my mom from
Alabama.  Even though I've spent most of my life in the north, I scored
exactly 50% on the test.  When I'm down south, I can't help but put on a
little extra southern accent, but people usually look at me funny because
they know the subtleties between Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia for
example and I don't.  I get some funny looks up here as well when I say the
word "afternoon" I put the accent on the first syllable, and I also use the
word y'all.  But I rarely say, "I'm fixin' to go..." or "It's over yonder."
But if I didn't hear what you said, I'm more likely to say, "Sir?" instead
of "What?"  If I'm going in deep, I try to pull out stuff like, instead of
"if you want to" it becomes "if yownt to."

But the first question of the test asks for the pronunciation of "Aunt."
The choices are: rhymes with want or ant.  Shouldn't it be like ain't, as in
Aint B - Opie on Andy Griffith?

There's a long-running stage play up here called, "How To Talk Minnesotan."
that's hilarious.  If you've seen the movie, Fargo, you know what that's
like.  But North Dakota goes even deeper.  If you're on da farm, ya go out
to da barn to do da chorce, lige trow da piks over da fence some hey.  (Ya
know, da piks are doze animals from whacha get da bagon fer yer bagon an
ekks - da ekks come from da chiggens) Den ya go out to da crotch and tage da
keese from da pogged uff yer chegged an get in da Dotch an drife down da
rote about two milce to da nort'na'heff.  8-)

Slim



On 1/17/05 9:04 AM, "ed kroposki" <ekroposki at charter.net> wrote:

> www.angelfire.com/ak2/intelligencerreport/yankee_dixie_quiz.html