Welp, it’s been one year to the day that Yours Truly has lived in Memphis as a former citizen of the metropolitan Detroit area.
I love my home town, and now I’ve learned to love Memphis. The BBQ is amazing. The hospitality is second to none…
Yet, I think the best invention of the South (including the Mid-South) is the collective pronoun “y’all”.
I haven’t yet adopted it yet as part of my vocabulary, but think it’s time. This yankee who’s lived in SE Michigan for 40 years has no choice but to adopt this important addition to colloquial Southern English and will embrace it as the One True collective pronoun it should be recognized as—with the mid-south’s blessing of course.
Now, where’s the bourbon?!
*As for the working definition of “apology” in the OP, I’m using this one:
n., pl. -gies.
a defense or justification of a cause or doctrine.
Glad you like it. The South gets a bad rep in some circles but it really does have a lot to offer. It has its bad points too but they are offset by the nice people (of all races), the food, and the complex social interactions that are the result of a long history. The reasonable cost of living and mild winters help too.
I am from Louisiana and got tricked into moving to Massachusetts twenty years ago. You would think moving from one of the poorest states to one of the wealthiest ones would be a no-brainer but it doesn’t work that way. People are actually much happier in general back in my homeland and the race relations are much more fluid. I wish someone would invent a state that has the positives of both. Texas is about as close as they come but I am not a Texan much to the chagrin of the Texas side of my family.
Enjoy your new home. If you want to see the true Old South, take a weekend trip to Natchez, MS some time. It is a gorgeous town and one of the reasons people don’t just write off the whole state of Mississippi.
I was certainly leery at first, but this town sinks into your skin.
If there’s anything that certainly noticeable, almost palpable, is a segregation between whites and blacks I’ve never experienced at home, which is too bad, but I live in a mixed neighborhood none-the-less, and have met plenty of progressive people from the area. No area is perfect, and Memphis is a good place.
As for MS, I’ve only had one excursion so far, but can’t wait to begin to really visit the surrounding states and soak in all they have to offer. The South really is beautiful, and despite the humidity, sure beats the brutal winters of the North.
ETA: What’s the what on DopeFests around the area?
If you ever find yourself just a bit east of Memphis, in Eads, TN, the absolute best barbecue (pulled pork) sandwich I’ve had was from Morris Grocery, and I urge you to check it out if you like that kind of stuff.
They do make Bourbon in Tennessee - in Lynchburg, as a matter of fact. It does not, legally or stylistically, have to be from Bourbon county, KY. And the current Bourbon county doesn’t include the entire region that Bourbon came from.
Ironically, actually sippin that divine nectar ain’t allowed where it’s made, as it’s in a dry county…or at least it was last time I was in the area a few years ago.
This will probably appall all of the locals but one of my favorite places to eat in that area is the Old Country Store in Jackson. It’s a buffet restaurant, aimed at the tourist crowd, that features southern food.
I agree, y’all is one of the best things to come back into the English language. Now y’all just need to come up with a proper way to form impersonals… (the plural you and a proper impersonal are the two features of Spanish grammar that I miss most in regular English usage, when I learned how to form impersonals in French I was so happy I kept dancing around the office)
I finally adopted “Y’all” not because I ever developed a personal fondness for the term, but rather because I got tired of the communication troubles resulting in Southerners refusing to accept “You” as a plural.
My first real immersion in a Southern locale was when I started college in New Orleans. I certainly was not the only student from the North, but the vast majority of the students were from Louisiana, Georgia, Texas, and northern Florida (and no shortage of Mississippi and Alabama but mostly it was LA, GA, and TX).
When I used “You” as a plural, people looked at me like I had two heads.
I’d stop by to talk to three friends and I’d say “So, what are you doing tonight?” In response I would get “Well, WE are going to The Boot” accompanied by a slightly offended look, a look that almost said “Why the hell are you singling me out personally?”
Being a dry county just means you can’t buy it in a store there, but they do offer samples on a tour. The samples are only 1oz, so sippin’ is all you’ll be doing.
The weird thing is you used to be the second person plural pronoun. Thee was the first person singular pronoun.
And there were two different words for the subject and object, like I and me: Ye talked to John and John talked to you (or thou talked to John and John talked to thee).
As time passed, thee, thou, and ye were dropped and you covered for all of them.
So I heard! And as much rain and flooding as this area gets, I was shocked to see the recent flooding that happened back home, too.
And don’t get me wrong, I miss the D area a ton… especially our legendary DopeFests. I’ll send out the proper warnings next time I’m in town (hopefully over Christmas/New Year’s), and maybe we can throw one in honor of ME!
I’m guilty of the y’alls. I don’t even think about it. It’s the plural of you and it sounds friendlier than you all or the one people really hate, “You people!”
I am born and raised Memphis and I love it, but you know where I love even more? Bartlett. It’s like Memphis, only cleaner.
(the plural you and a proper impersonal are the two features of Spanish grammar that I miss most in regular English usage, when I learned how to form impersonals in French I was so happy I kept dancing around the office)