Southern Slang

Growing up in Southern Indiana I tend to have an accent. The slang most commonly used by members of my family comes from a southern descent. This includes words like ain’t, youens, and never completing words that end in –ing with an actual “g.” I usually use this type of English around my friends and family from home.

This type of English is used around individuals who speak the same way. My grandmother was constantly calling for my cousins and I by saying “Youens get in the house and close that door! We ain’t tryin to cool the outdoors.” It wasn’t until I recently watched a home video of this that it actually hit me how much of a twang that we all had while growing up. Although we are from around the Bloomington area my family talked like we were from south of the Dixie line.

When I first started school this affected how I communicated with friends and how I would complete my homework. I had to learn to sound out words just like every other student but I just was not sure why they wanted to add extra letters to some words they sounded perfectly fine to me without the addition of a “g.”

During middle school my friends and I began to base our language upon our favorite movies. To my parents’ dismay the movie my best friend and I really enjoyed Legally Blonde with Reese Witherspoon. She was a very pretty girl who got into Harvard, what was not to like? “Like” became a staple in my vocal vocabulary I became the typical “airhead girl.” I would whip my hair back and forth and probably said “like” around 10 times in one sentence. It got to the point where I annoyed myself. This is the point at which my friends and I quit quoting movies and just began to have conversations.

I began to change my English when I entered high school and had to write formal papers. I had quickly learned in school that writing in first person was unacceptable for formal papers. Therefore, any slang that I commonly used in conversations was not appropriate to be included in the paper. I began to expand my vocabulary by looking up synonyms for words I frequently used in everyday conversations.

When speaking to someone of authority like my boss at work I speak only with respect and with terms that communicate the opinion or idea I have to help make work more efficient. When speaking to my boss about a work situation I do not bother her with unneeded information. It is best to get the point across and let her continue with her work. However, if I am just having a conversation with my boss I feel I can be semi-formal with her. It is unprofessional to discuss many personal matters with my boss but perfectly acceptable to inform my boss of what is happening with my life.

A situation that would require me to give my boss information on my personal life would be if there was a particular family reason that I could not attend work when I was scheduled. I would still have the discussion without a sentence such as “I ain’t goin’ to be able to make it to work on Saturday, I have a family deal.” Instead I would explain that “I have a family issue that contradicts me working on Saturday is there any way that I could have that weekend off?”

The most formal situations that I have entered into would be interview situations. To have a successful interview however you must allow the interviewer to know you. I have always believed the best way to do this is to tell them about myself and not let my “southern slang” do that for me. I have been interviewed for jobs, scholarships, and in pageants. During situations such as these most people become very nervous. Although I have heard all of the ways to avoid the nervousness, imagine them in their underwear count to three before answering, nothing has really ever worked for me. I go into the interview and answer the questions straight forward and then when I become acquainted with the interviewer I began to tell them more detailed answers.

I have noticed the different Englishes I have used my whole life throughout my writing career but was never aware of the different types I used verbally until I read “Mother Tongue.” If I would talk to some of my relatives the way I continue to write papers some of them would never understand a word I have said. I find it very difficult to have a conversation with someone who encourages wordy conversations because they become boring and seem like homework. I feel privileged that I can relate to people of many different Englishes and hope to relate to more people through conversations in the future.