Pronunciation in the South

In Georgia, we have a lot of water leaks, sink holes and cracked driveways.  I discovered that those who poured driveways failed to compact the soil before they poured. I did notice they had “compaction” for other people.  I wondered if their mispronunciation of “compassion” had anything to do with these cracked driveways.

I had noticed other pronunciation problems in other Southern States. In Georgia, we used the same number of syllables used in the North.  But in Alabama they had an extra syllable and called “Ala-ba-a-ma”.  In Louisiana they had subtracted a syllable and pronounced it “Loo-zee-ana”.  Mississippi had the same subtraction and pronounced it “Miss-sippi”.  I have heard some in Texas pronounce it “Tex-ians”.  I wondered if this was a Texas protest against “Miss-sippi” and Lou-zee-ana” for mispronouncing words.

I rushed to the DeKalb County Georgia public library to find out what I could about pronunciation in the South, but their book was out. They did have a book on Southern Colloquialisms, but most of it was misspelled.

I grew up in St. Louis Missouri and we had imported our whine from Northern States like Minnesota. This was most evident when St. Louisans would say ”How ya doin” and “You betcha”  I had also spend a couple of years living in Queens New York and heard all the languages and accents on the planet. Newyorkeze was spoken on the street. They would say things like ”See I got sompin in my look”, which translated into “Help, I’ve got something in my eye.”

This gave me the insight to suspect that these people had learned their pronunciation from their parents, their families and their teachers.

Southerners also had a love for “Southern cooking” and ate foreign substances like Okra, Collard Greens, Grits, Brunswick Stew and funny tasting Barbecue.

Tooth decay was rampant due to drinking “co-cola”. This syllable reduction was common across all Southern States.

Weather in the Southeast is good and winters are mild. When asked what we do in Atlanta for Christmas, I replied: We wash the cars”. There is little snow or ice, because Southerners can’t drive in snow and ice. When we do have snow and ice, we don’t drive and we have large pine trees collapsing on to our power lines.

Humidity is lower and bugs are fewer in higher elevations. Atlanta is “above the gnat line” at 1050 feet above sea level. Moisture comes from the Gulf and tornadoes come from the West. Georgia has a treaty with Alabama that allows tornadoes to break up as they cross the Georgia State line. Georgia gets the rain. The Southeast is a forest.

In 1997 the GDP for the State of Georgia was $240 billion. By 2017 it was $563.6 billion. The South did rise again.

I have enjoyed living in Atlanta since 1983 and remain unapologetic about my tendency to find humor in everything. Everyone is free to be offended.

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Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader