How to talk with Southern Accent

Robin Michael   Mon Oct 19, 2009 9:12 pm GMT
"The relentless failure of Bouvard and Pécuchet to learn anything from their adventures raises the question of what is knowable. Whenever they achieve some small measure of success (a rare occurrence), it is the result of unknown external forces beyond their comprehension."

I will soon run out of my allowance of posts. This must be one of the last, I am afraid!

Bouvard et Pécuchet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bouvard et Pécuchet details the adventures of two Parisian copy-clerks, François Denys Bartholomée Bouvard and Juste Romain Cyrille Pécuchet, ...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouvard_et_Pécuchet - Cached - Similar
Robin Michael   Mon Oct 19, 2009 9:23 pm GMT
I tried to start a new Topic but I have already had three.

the Sottisier (a collection of stupid quotations taken from the books of famous writers).

I misread it as 'The Scottisier'.

As you may have gathered, I am not taking Antimoon very seriously.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictionary_of_Received_Ideas

(But on a more serious note, to answer the criticism leveled against me and Damian, this is not supposed to be a very serious academic forum but a place were people can explore the English language. So, other native English speakers have a greater knowledge - big deal! That is not really what it is about. There is no need to be unpleasant.)
Uriel   Tue Oct 20, 2009 12:40 am GMT
<<Uriel would probably describe these words as 'enchancers'.>>

I would?
R.M.   Tue Oct 20, 2009 1:33 am GMT
<<"frightfully awfully!"

I think that this is what the American conductor of the last night of the Proms meant when he said that he learnt to use adverbs in the UK.

Uriel would probably describe these words as 'enchancers'. >>

Superlatives, Enhancers, Adverbs?

Idiomatic English expressions of a bygone era?
Nat   Tue Oct 27, 2009 6:26 pm GMT
"Y'all" is NEVER singular.
Guest   Tue Oct 27, 2009 6:58 pm GMT
<"Y'all" is NEVER singular.>

I've heard Southerners call a single person "y'all" before.
Guest   Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:52 pm GMT
<enhancers>

You probably mean intensifiers.
Rene   Thu Oct 29, 2009 2:43 am GMT
"I've heard Southerners call a single person "y'all" before."

No you haven't, you've misinterpreted the usage of ya'll which is sometimes used to signify a group that is not immeadiatly apparent(generally that of the family which was so important in Southern history.)

For example, if you went alone to visit a colleague at their home they might end the visit by saying, "Ya'll come by sometime." It would seem they are referring to you- a singular- as "ya'll" but that isn't true. Instead they are referring to the old tradition of inviting an entire family around. In this instance, your colleague probably doesn't want you to bring by your crippled Aunt Edna on your next visit, but is simply following tradition.

Although my own family ties to the South (Arkansas to be precise) are three generations back, it still holds true that if you are invited to a family dinner, you can bring as many friends, relatives, minor acquaintances, and pets as you want. I can't tell you how many years I have served food and refreshed drinks at Christmas or Thanksgiving for people I have never met before in my life.
RiverWear   Tue Nov 03, 2009 10:27 am GMT
Typical traits of a southern accent are the elongated 'a' in words like "Bath" and "Chance", baaawth etc

Proper git gay them accents are like, apologies to any southerners reading.
Jasper   Tue Nov 03, 2009 5:39 pm GMT
Guest: "I've heard Southerners call a single person "y'all" before."

Guest, all I can tell you is that I spent the first 18 years of my life living in the South, and all of that time, I never heard "y'all" used in the singular—except by a "Yankee".

There were lots of times that we said "y'all" to one person...but actually had a group of people in mind. You might say, for example,"I can't believe y'all are still supporting Bush" to one person. You're saying it to one person, but really you're thinking "you Republicans"...
Joe Bob   Sat Nov 07, 2009 2:56 pm GMT
I agree with Jasper. Only retarded, brain-dead Yankees think "y'all" is singular and "guys" refers to men and women.