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From: arlan@inuxm.UUCP (A Andrews)
Newsgroups: net.nlang
Subject: Southernisms
Message-ID: <317@inuxm.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 14-Jan-86 17:38:32 EST
Article-I.D.: inuxm.317
Posted: Tue Jan 14 17:38:32 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 17-Jan-86 02:04:44 EST
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Organization: AT&T Consumer Products, Indianapolis
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As one who grew up in and around rural Arkansas (Little Rock and vicinity)
and has since lived in the southwest (N. Mex.), eastern seaboard (N. C.),
and is now living in midwest (IN), and also had a British grandfather, I have
encountered many variations of speech.  Just a few comments:

Down home, "route" was pronounced exactly as "rout" {rhymes with "out".}
It was only in college in the southwest that I heard it as "root".

In NC, I first heard the word "glompers" (if I recall it correctly), meaning
what we called "overalls".

In Edinburgh, Scotland, once I was trying to find a place to do my own, or have
someone do in a hurry, my laundry.  I tried "laundromat", "washateria", laundry,
and finally in exasperation told the policeman I needed to have my clothes
washed and dried quickly.  He said, "Ah, ye mean th' 'bendix'!"  (I hate
to think of how bad my spanish has sounded in Mexico, if I had trouble
communicating in Scotland!

--arlan andrews
(who still calls roughly woven vegetable-packing bags, "tote-sacks".)