Hi there!
I grew up in a very small town, technically in middle Tennessee, but really about 1.5 hours from 3 major cities in TN: Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga. Some people say they are from the middle of nowhere, but I mean it:)
In the years since graduation college, I have moved all over the country. Starting in LA, then Baltimore, Atlanta, Chicago and now I live in Denver. I stopped trying to lose my very strong Southern accent while in Chicago because it helped people remember me and made me seem friendlier, which was a boon in my sales position.
Now I have 3 sons and I want to preserve some of the amazing colloquialism from youth, and so am attempting to write a book with some of the best loved sayings that I grew up hearing used in everyday language (ie. "Like a duck on a june bug")
I would love to learn some background on the language I spoke growing up and thought your organization might be able to help. Could you possibly answer the following:
- What other cultures have shaped the Southern Accent, specifically the Middle TN accent.
- How is our accent similar or dissimilar to other Southern accents?
- In what year will we have no Southern accent? And here's the kicker: This may not be special or unique to my family, but we didn't just use the same colloquialism that our neighbors used, we went a step further and started making up words. One in particular, wewawed (pronounced wee-wauwed, meaning crooked or bend) holds a special place in my heart and I still use today. Can you tell me where we may have gotten this word? It isn't in any dictionary that I can find and I've never met anyone else who's family used it.
Thank you so much for your time and assistance!
Dana Mabry Schoonover
