I speak this way:
“I’m fixin’ to go” wherever I’m going.
“Y’all come” pleasant invite for all.
“All y’all need to shut-up” pissed and talking smack, or grandkids are screaming.
“Over yonder” well, kinda self explanatory.
You would think so, but apparently not for a great number of people.
Both were from the Appalachians, one from Tennessee and one from NC. I forget who came from which state. I think they relocated to Nashville (Nashville, Smashville, as Mr. Drysdale said. After he followed that up with Clampett, Smampett he realized the error of his ways) when they got really big.
How quickly do the Ozarks morph into flatlands? Green Acres seems to be set where it’s flat as a pancake. Of course to Hollywood types it could have been that all hicks lived close together. I sometimes get asked by Washington, DC student if I’m from Texas. I’m guessing Texas is a thousand miles from where I grew up, give or take a few miles. I’ve never been close to Texas (New Orleans is probably the closest I’ve been).
Sorry, you’re right. I was thinking of the folklorist. Silly me.
Thanks for the link. I was slightly familiar with John and Alan Lomax, and liked reading about Botkin. He probably would have enjoyed talking to the Clampetts.
Joplin lies near the western edge of the Ozark Plateau. Northwest of Joplin you will find the Cherokee Lowlands and the Osage Cuestas. While both of these regions contain some rolling hills and low-lying ridges, they are comprised mostly of relatively flat plains.
The Ozarks are bounded on the southeast by the Mississippi River Alluvial Plain (also called the Delta Region) which is extremely flat.
The Ozarks are the North American Continent’s oldest mountain ranges, and have been seriously eroded over time. Although they span Missouri & Arkansas, and there are higher peaks in Arkansas, the highest point in the entire state of Missouri is Taum Sauk Mountain, 1772 ft (540 m), which is flatlands for those familiar with serious mountain ranges like the Rockies.
1800 feet is barely up to our county seat in the Sierra Nevada foothills. We see residents there as flatlanders, unpracticed on mountain roads. Brakelights are a giveaway.
Local western friends drove Back East and returned via Pennsylvania. They stopped at a gas station to ask where the Appalachians started. The station guy replied, “You from California, ain’t ya?”
We’ll drive the Ozarks in a few months. Should we look for the Clampett homestead?
From someone that moved to the south. Yonder means “somewhere”.
My coffee cup is on my desk. It is “somewhere” but if I were sitting at my desk I wouldn’t describe it as being “over yonder.” If I were on the other side of the room, I might say that it is “over yonder on my desk.” I think “over yonder” means a considerable distance away but still close enough to be perceived. What a considerable distance is varies with context. Indoors, a considerable distance might be just a few feet. In an open field it would be a much further distance. Capable of being perceived might mean capable of being seen with the eyes or it might just mean that you can point in the general direction of something. For example, if I were in Eureka Springs or Calico Rock, I would never say that the country of Mongolia is “over yonder.” However, if I were in Russia somewhere near the Mongolian border, I might say Mongolia is “over yonder” if I am capable of pointing in the general direction of Mongolia (actual pointing not required).
Of course not. Such a distance would be described as “Way over yonder,” or in some circumstances, “Way over yonder past X.”
But “over yonder” and “way over yonder” are two different, but related, concepts.
“Yonder” is a term used to describe where one’s father’s castle is, right? Or is it “fadder’s”
How I see “yonder” used in the country South…
- Not here. It doesn’t matter where it is - similar to calling a house and the person you want is not at home.
- With a point or a look in the direction of the thing. It gets you in the neighborhood.
- It is not used if it is in an unusual place (except for number 1)
- Otherwise it’s “somewhere”.
So, if you are sitting at the table and ask about the milk and the person says it’s yonder, and they didn’t point/look someplace.
Assume it matters where it is… They didn’t point/look so it’s not in the living room, bathroom or someplace you wouldn’t expect.
This means it’s probably in the refrigerator, on the island in the kitchen or on the cabinet by the stove. Check those places. If not, try to think of another logical spot it might be. If not, you have to ask for something more specific, at the risk of a “I already told you”.
It appears we have been discussing at least three distinct concepts: “yonder”, “over yonder”, and “way over yonder.”
I believe the line is “These are the lands of my fadder, and yonder lies his castle.” 
They were from Arkansas, because Granny mentioned the Razorback Hog newspaper.
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