[email protected]

I was going to write that Holly learned to spell from IMs too, and then the
next e-mail was an instant message Holly sent me (for the dates). This is
Holly chatting with Helena (her real name is in French, "Heléne," but she uses
the anglicized version in New Mexico), the mom of the family she stayed with
there. So Kent Helene is a woman of 40 or so with a Master's degree from York,
and her spelling is a good example of informal language use for this purpose.
(She is a great speller, and has edited publications, and so people can
choose their level of formality.)

Holly's spelling is pretty good! This is not writing written slowly,
checked, edited, re-read... this is real-time writing, type-and-send.

Helena's an archeologist and was this week working on an episode of Time
Team, an English TV show hosted by Tony Robinson (who played Baldrick on Black
Adder--that's the way Americans might know him), so that's the Time Team
reference:




kenthelene (2:21:22 AM): hello, i'm here (not totally sure who i'm chatting
with though--sandra? holly?)
BlazingOranges (2:21:32 AM): Holly!
BlazingOranges (2:21:38 AM): you guessed right :d
kenthelene (2:21:47 AM): okay, just checking...
kenthelene (2:22:06 AM): update on our travel plans or my last week filming
with Time Team?
kenthelene (2:22:17 AM): Prolly the travel thing right?
BlazingOranges (2:22:17 AM): everything
kenthelene (2:24:37 AM): okay, Time Team was TOTALLY AWESOME and they've
asked me to come back and film one more episode with them! I am thinking we are
likely to be in Albuquerque by the 18th of October. We are having to get our
passports extended before we leave the country so that is the biggest hold up.
Hopefully that will happen on the 12th so we'll be good to go. I'll let you know
for sure when we buy the tickets. That will be in the next few days.
kenthelene (2:25:01 AM): and can i just say: TIME TEAM WAS AWESOME!
kenthelene (2:25:21 AM): I've got pictures that i'll send out today...

BlazingOranges (2:26:33 AM): Oh wicked, I'm glad the show went totally
amazingly AWESOME... and I'm extra glad that ya'll are coming to visit
kenthelene (2:27:11 AM): hey is it early or late for you right now:-) ?
BlazingOranges (2:27:32 AM): hmmm late
kenthelene (2:27:43 AM): :-)
BlazingOranges (2:28:08 AM): But i've been tryng lately to get up at noon
so... this is getting to be the latest
kenthelene (2:28:16 AM): oh, i saw one of your socks! but then it disappeared
into the depths of the living room again, but we'll find it again
kenthelene (2:28:28 AM): jazzy says hi!
BlazingOranges (2:28:34 AM): yay!
BlazingOranges (2:28:36 AM): and Hi!
kenthelene (2:28:53 AM): okay, sweet one i gots tah run...


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[email protected]

In a message dated 10/1/2005 8:21:46 AM Central Standard Time,
SandraDodd@... writes:

and I'm extra glad that ya'll are coming to visit



~~~

And she said "ya'll"? Do people in New Mexico use that term when speaking?
I can understand it being a contraction of "you all" in IM.

When I was growing up in Arkansas and we passed notes to each other in
school, we always spelled it "y'all".

Karen


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[email protected]

In a message dated 10/1/05 8:56:15 AM, tuckervill2@... writes:


> -=-And she said "ya'll"?  Do people in New Mexico use that term when
> speaking? -=-
>

Not where we live. The SE corner of New Mexico uses it. Probably Holly
used it just for fun.

-=-we always spelled it "y'all". -=-

That's about the way I've always seen it spelled too. I don't guess she's
seen it spelled much.

Sandra


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elainegh8

I say y'all in email quite a bit and I live in the UK and am about as
English as they come. Hmm maybe I'm on too many US based lists? LOl

BWs Elaine

> > -=-And she said "ya'll"?  Do people in New Mexico use that term
when > > speaking? -=-

> Not where we live. The SE corner of New Mexico uses it.
Probably Holly
> used it just for fun.
> -=-we always spelled it "y'all". -=-
> Sandra

Schuyler Waynforth

David (dh) says "I reckon" and went to boarding school in the south of
England. Up in the north of England I hear y'all occasionally, so,
maybe it isn't just a southern U.S. thing.

Schuyler


--- In [email protected], "elainegh8"
<elainegh8@h...> wrote:
> I say y'all in email quite a bit and I live in the UK and am about as
> English as they come. Hmm maybe I'm on too many US based lists? LOl
>
> BWs Elaine
>
> > > -=-And she said "ya'll"? Do people in New Mexico use that term
> when > > speaking? -=-
>
> > Not where we live. The SE corner of New Mexico uses it.
> Probably Holly
> > used it just for fun.
> > -=-we always spelled it "y'all". -=-
> > Sandra

[email protected]

In a message dated 10/2/05 9:30:13 AM, s.waynforth@... writes:


> -=-David (dh) says "I reckon" and went to boarding school in the south of
> England.-=-
>
Brits and southern American grannies use "I reckon."
Americans and Chaucer use "I guess."




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Schuyler Waynforth

A friend of mine loved the pairing of southern twang with English in
Disney's Robin Hood. Maybe they'd noticed the I reckon and y'all and
figured it was a linguistic match?

Schuyler

--- In [email protected], SandraDodd@a... wrote:
>
> In a message dated 10/2/05 9:30:13 AM, s.waynforth@b... writes:
>
>
> > -=-David (dh) says "I reckon" and went to boarding school in the
south of
> > England.-=-
> >
> Brits and southern American grannies use "I reckon."
> Americans and Chaucer use "I guess."
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

elainegh8

I say "I reckon" and I'm not from the south of England or have even
stayed in the south of England...am in the Midlands. I didn't even
think it was a US phrase LOL.

Some of my family are from Lancashire, Accrington area, and they all
call trouser 'pants' just like Americans do. Can get confusing as
then we all think they're talking about underwear :S

Don't you just love regional variations :)

BWs Elaine


> David (dh) says "I reckon" and went to boarding school in the
south of
> England. Up in the north of England I hear y'all occasionally, so,
> maybe it isn't just a southern U.S. thing.
>
> Schuyler
>

[email protected]

> -=-A friend of mine loved the pairing of southern twang with English in
> Disney's Robin Hood.  Maybe they'd noticed the I reckon and y'all and
> figured it was a linguistic match?-=-
>

No. <g>
It was just the songwriter/singer they chose who added the C&W music twang.

But I have read (in history of English discussions and such) that the accent
existing in the southern U.S. has close roots to the English of when the
hillbilly factions left--1700's and before. People there are inflexible and
didn't have as much in the way of schools or the written word for a long time, nor
as much mixing it up with other groups of people, and some of the phrases they
kept are OLD. "I'm much beholden to you" survived into the 2nd half of the
20th century, and others too.

There are similarities between rodeos and medieval tournaments. That I
didn't read anywhere, but have seen myself from going to rodeos and reading about
tournaments (and hanging out with those who do some of the research--Steve
Muhlberger especially--and corresponding with some others.

It's kinda creepy in a fascinating kind of way. <g> Or wait. I think I
mean it's fascinating, in a creepy kind of way.

Sandra



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[email protected]

In a message dated 10/2/2005 10:42:21 AM Central Standard Time,
SandraDodd@... writes:

Brits and southern American grannies use "I reckon."



~~~

I know lots of people who use "reckon" or other forms, ("by my reckoning").
I use it some, but I'm not a native southerner.

Oh wait, I AM a southern American grannie! ;)

Karen


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[email protected]

In a message dated 10/2/05 11:01:02 AM, elainegh8@... writes:


>
> Some of my family are from Lancashire, Accrington area, and they all
> call trouser 'pants' just like Americans do. Can get confusing as
> then we all think they're talking about underwear :S
>

When I was little, older relatives of mine never said "pants." They would
say "trousers" for nice pants, and "dungarees" for denim pants. Ladies didn't
wear trousers, in their world, but some might wear dungarees or "overhauls"
if they worked on farms or rode horses.

Sandra


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elainegh8

Dungarees here are trousers that have a bib and two attached braces
(?) at the top that have button or other fasteners that attach to the
bib. I'm not explaining it well :S An overall is either a type of
coat thing you wear over your clothes to stop getting dirty (not a
coat as such as you can wear it indoors) or a kind of all in one jump
suit type thing to stop getting dirty. Work clothes I guess.

BWs Elaine

When I was little, older relatives of mine never said "pants." They
would
> say "trousers" for nice pants, and "dungarees" for denim pants.
Ladies didn't
> wear trousers, in their world, but some might wear dungarees
or "overhauls"
> if they worked on farms or rode horses.
>
> Sandra
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

In a message dated 10/2/2005 1:12:31 PM Central Standard Time,
sandrewmama@... writes:

My mom called ladies pants "slacks". I had to explain that word to
my 7yo
just the other day


~~~

My dad bought some new pants the other day, and I mentioned how I thought
they were a little bulky on him. He said, "These are my drapes. That's what
we used to call them when I was a kid." (He's 70.)

It called to mind Fred Astaire dancing with his trousers neatly pulled up
just right and the pleats hanging just so. I'd never heard them called
"drapes" before, but it must have been a style.

Karen


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[email protected]

In a message dated 10/2/2005 2:38:59 PM Central Standard Time,
elainegh8@... writes:

Dungarees here are trousers that have a bib and two attached braces
(?) at the top that have button or other fasteners that attach to the
bib.

~~~

Overalls, here.

~~~

I'm not explaining it well :S An overall is either a type of
coat thing you wear over your clothes to stop getting dirty (not a
coat as such as you can wear it indoors) or a kind of all in one jump
suit type thing to stop getting dirty. Work clothes I guess.


~~~

Coveralls, here.

Karen


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camden

I'm from maine & dh is from ill. so we have different sayings .......

for me its a living room & soda ....... for him its front room & pop. When I first met him he asked me if I wanted a pop. I didnt have a clue. Thats okay he didnt know where Maine was either, thought it was somewhere in Canada !!

Regional differences are so funny ......... my family who lives in fl. now for 20+ yrs laughs everytime I say "wicked good"

Carol


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[email protected]

In a message dated 10/2/05 1:38:59 PM, elainegh8@... writes:


> Dungarees here are trousers that have a bib and two attached braces
> (?) at the top  that have button or other fasteners that attach to the
> bib. I'm not explaining it well :S
>

Overalls, here.

-=-An overall is either a type of
coat thing you wear over your clothes to stop getting dirty (not a
coat as such as you can wear it indoors) or a kind of all in one jump
suit type thing to stop getting dirty. Work clothes I guess.-=-

Coveralls.
In Minneapolis and such wintry places they have some that are REALLY HEAVY,
super warm, insulated. People in New Mexico had never heard of such a thing.
Keith brought a pair back for a friend of his who's a mechanic. Very
exciting. <g>

Sandra



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Katy Jennings

<<<<Coveralls.
In Minneapolis and such wintry places they have some that are REALLY HEAVY,
super warm, insulated. People in New Mexico had never heard of such a thing. >>>>


Aircraft mechanics wear them in southern NM. My dad was a helicopter pilot/mechanic and all of his mechanic cronies wore them. Since they often had to work with the rotor blades moving, you wouldn't want anything that may become untucked and tangled! That could be ugly. <g>

Katy


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[email protected]

In a message dated 10/2/05 5:22:55 PM, kjennings95@... writes:


> Aircraft mechanics wear them in southern NM.  My dad was a helicopter
> pilot/mechanic and all of his mechanic cronies wore them. 
>

I've seen insulated ones, but these were sub-zero kind of
go-to-north-pole-by-dogsled versions. <g>

Sandra


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elainegh8

My nan (grandma) often called ladies trousers 'slacks'. This is UK.

> My mom called ladies pants "slacks". I had to explain that word
to > my 7yo> just the other day

Teddy boys in the UK (50's 60's ?) used to wear 'drapes' and 'crepes'
The drapes I think were the trousers (might be the jacket) and the
crepes (pronounced crapes) were the shoes as they had a very thick
crepe sole.

BWs Elaine

I'd never heard them called
> "drapes" before, but it must have been a style.
>
> Karen

elainegh8

I would imagine they become sauna suits in New Mexico ;)

BWs Elaine
> Coveralls.
> In Minneapolis and such wintry places they have some that are REALLY
>HEAVY, super warm, insulated. People in New Mexico had never heard
>of such a thing. Keith brought a pair back for a friend of his who's
>a mechanic. Very exciting. <g>
>
> Sandra