Sarah heard me tell Mikyla that the toy she was looking for was 'over yunner' - and she gasped over the phone and said, "Mom, I can't believe I just heard you say 'yunner"
Of course I said yunner. I live in the South. Everyone here knows where 'yunner' is. When I first came here from Michigan at age thirteen, I couldn't speak a lick of Mountain English. Now, I'm quite fluent, as you can see...using phrases like.. 'a lick of', instead of 'a bit of'.
Depending on how far South you are...pronounciation changes a little.. yunner can be said as yonder, yander, yanner. Slight deviations are expected and acknowledged, no matter how it's said, they're all the same place. Over There.
I learned early here, that when someone offers a 'poke'...they're not trying to pick a fight, they're offering you a paper bag (sack) so you can carry (fetch) something home more easily. It's just another language.. you either learn it and communicate, or you don't.
Mountain English: Ahwonna go uppin-a bottom'n'git-me-a pop but iono if ah wanna redpop or a rootbeer.
Translation: I want to go to the store (up in the bottom is a location sort of like yunner, but more specific, as there is a particular store there) and get a soda but I don't know If I want a Red Pop, or a Root Beer.
Now, I know some of you know what I'm talking about when I use either language, being bilingual as well, but some of you sit there scratching your head wondering what the hell I'm talking about.. those of you who don't have a clue, just let me know and I'll do a quick translation for ya. I'm sorry, it never occurred to me until now that some of you haven't had a course in Mountain English!
Posted by juel at December 21, 2006 02:08 PM