Another reason not to live in Texas

[Notmuchlonger]

Im not sure what you would call it. Dialect maybe? But creole or cajun is really difficult for me to understand. That and for whatever reason British folks. Im hard of hearing so thats probably why.

Texans I understand perfectly fine

[Leonidas]

Originally Posted by Nords

Georgia was colonized under the same selection system as Australia's Botany Bay, but I don't think that's what you're implying.

Grew up in Georgia so I'm totally familiar with Governor Ogelthorpe's colony. It was intended to be a place where debtors, being held in English prisons, could get a new start in the new world and serve as a military buffer to protect South Carolina. I don't think the penal colony ever got off the ground, if I recall correctly.

Originally Posted by Nords

Did you have my college history prof who referred to it as "the War of Northern Aggression"?

The phrasing is not unusual among historians educated in the South. Dr. Henry Curry, graduate of U of Virginia, Duke and Emory, all good Southern schools. He was a native Virginian, a Chaplain in the Army Reserves and when I first saw Shelby Foote (a Mississippian) speak I was instantly reminded of Curry.

Originally Posted by Nords

And Walt, you don't even want to know the etymology of the phrase "to shoot a Yankee"...

"I feel that I would like to shoot a Yankee, and yet I know that this would not be in harmony with the spirit of Christianity."

[Want2retire]

Originally Posted by Notmuchlonger

Im not sure what you would call it. Dialect maybe? But creole or cajun is really difficult for me to understand.

Cajun French is not like Parisian French. I'm pretty strong in the latter from school and travels. But Cajun French is similar to Pidgin English, which I spoke back in Hawaii. In both, words from several different languages are thrown in, and grammar and pronunciation are not standard (to put it mildly). They should call Cajun French, Pidgin French, in that sense. I can't speak Cajun French though I can understand about 2/3rds of it so I get along fine down in Acadiana.

True Creole French sounds more like Parisian French to me. But it's not the same, either, I suppose due to the Spanish influence. Then there are those of partly Haitian descent, whose French has its own distinct color.

Some native New Orleanians have a peculiar accent that is not found elsewhere in Louisiana. They are called "Yats", because of the occasional greeting, "Where y'at?" (An answer might be, "Howz yo mama an d'em?" Anyway, they have what is called a Yat accent. Frank has a Yat accent, though due to a fine education and a cultured upbringing he can also shift easily to standard English. To me, a Yat accent sounds like a Brooklyn or NJ accent but with a little very subtle French color to the pronunciation, and at a slower pace.

In New Orleans, you don't go to the grocery store... you "make groceries". That's probably just the result of a literal translation. The sidewalk is a banquette. There's a lot more that you are dealing with that isn't actually English.

So, don't feel bad about not understanding! It's not your hearing - - it's the language.

And Leonidas - - you rock!! (referring to post #17). That's what it is known as down here, too - - the War of Northern Aggression. In some respects, one could say that shadows of Reconstruction linger even today.

[Leonidas]

Originally Posted by Want2retire

Some native New Orleanians have a peculiar accent that is not found elsewhere in Louisiana. They are called "Yats", because of the occasional greeting, "Where y'at?" (An answer might be, "Howz yo mama an d'em?" Anyway, they have what is called a Yat accent. Frank has a Yat accent, though due to education he can also speak standard English. To me, a Yat accent sounds like a Brooklyn or NJ accent but with a little very subtle French color to the pronunciation, and at a slower pace.

I think they call that the Irish Channel accent. It's sometimes easy to mistake someone speaking Irish Channel for somebody from NYC because the differences can be so subtle. The similarities come from the 1800's when migration to New Orleans was very similar to what was going on in NYC (Irish & Italian).

Originally Posted by Want2retire

And Leonidas - - you rock!! That's what it is known as down here, too - - the War of Northern Aggression. In some respects, one could say that shadows of Reconstruction linger even today.

You are too kind! That was a sweet lagniappe to brighten my day.

[2soon2tell]

W2R

I think you described the NOLA accent pretty accurately. I grew up in the Gentilly area and later moved to Metairie or Metry as the locals pronounce it. The locals described moving to Metairie as moving to the parish as in Jefferson Parish. The yat accent seemed to be stronger in the St. Bernard- Chalmette area and the Irish Channel uptown area of NO.

What other city can you grow up in and go to CYF on Sunday evening at your church and then go cruise down Bourbon St. This was back when you could still drive down Bourbon. We thought it was normal to being going into bars and nightclubs at 15. The rule was if you were tall enough to get your money over the bar then they would serve you.

Gotta go. Laissez les bon temps roulez

2soon

[ecsat]

I've lived in Austin, Texas, since 1985 and other Texas places in previous years, and I've never even heard of "love bugs"! Where in Texas do they live? If it's the Houston area -- well, I've never wanted to live in Houston.

Also, honestly, I've never heard of one ebola outbreak in Texas.

Regarding the alleged mandatory death penalty for DUI -- well, it's not enforced.

Now, as to why so many people live in Texas: (1) there's a lot of room here, (2) at least in the central and southern parts of the state, the winters aren't bad, (3) no state income tax, (4) [may be obsolete now] it's across a shallow river from Mexico and jobs are [used to be?] easier to find here than in Mexico, (5) it's a "right to work" state (no requirement to join labor unions). No doubt other Texans would list numerous other reasons. (E.g., UT Austin people would say "UT Austin". Aggies would say, "Texas A&M", Travis County Democrats would claim, "The most liberal county in the USA", etc. Music lovers would say "Austin -- the live music capital of the world.) Nevertheless, I think I'd rather live in Hawaii (the Big Island), if only I could afford it.

Ed Cannon - Austin, Texas, USA - not a gun owner

[REWahoo]

Originally Posted by ecsat

Now, as to why so many people live in Texas...

Ed, you keep blowing smoke up everybody's skirt about how "wonderful" this place is and we'll soon have more imports than a BMW dealership. Put a lid on it!

[Notmuchlonger]

Isnt Texas one of the highest places for retirement? Thought I read something about that a few months ago..

Florida is passing the buck!

[ecsat]

Originally Posted by REWahoo

Ed, you keep blowing smoke up everybody's skirt about how "wonderful" this place is and we'll soon have more imports than a BMW dealership. Put a lid on it!

Wahoo, do you mean Hawaii? Texas is hot, parched and/or humid, flash flood alley, tornado alley, hurricane alley, hailstorm alley (We just had a terrific hailstorm in Austin -- millions of dollars worth of damage all over town.), etc. It's also allergy alley -- with a terrible allergy season in the winter (ashe juniper, a.k.a. "mountain cedar")! Traffic in Austin is miserable. I try to drive only at night, but before 2:00 AM -- when the bars close. Texans are mean, brawling, gun-toting, skanky drunks -- and the men are pretty bad too.

Ed Cannon - Austin, Texas, USA - "King of the Hill" fan - born on Federal territory in a state east of Texas

[REWahoo]

Yep. That's more like it...

[Eagle43]

Originally Posted by Want2retire

.

Some native New Orleanians have a peculiar accent that is not found elsewhere in Louisiana. They are called "Yats", because of the occasional greeting, "Where y'at?" ...((cut for brevity))..... To me, a Yat accent sounds like a Brooklyn or NJ accent but with a little very subtle French color to the pronunciation, and at a slower pace.

So, don't feel bad about not understanding! It's not your hearing - - it's the language.

W2R you are right on. I've only been gone from New Orleans since 1960. I went to a Mayfest concert a couple of weeks ago, sat at a crowded table and after I said something the guy immediately asked me if I was from New Orleans. Who knew? I think my relatives sound like they're from Brooklyn (a little). It's a distinctive accent, certainly different from the rest of Louisiana or the Deep South.

[ecsat]

Originally Posted by Notmuchlonger

Isnt Texas one of the highest places for retirement? Thought I read something about that a few months ago..

Florida is passing the buck!

San Antonio is crawling with retirees.

When I was a kid we spent four months in Panama City, Florida, and it was a really nice place! But I never got any farther east or south in that fair state (except for one landing and take-off at Miami).

Ed Cannon - Austin, Texas, USA

[Notmuchlonger]

Originally Posted by ecsat

San Antonio is crawling with retirees.

When I was a kid we spent four months in Panama City, Florida, and it was a really nice place! But I never got any farther east or south in that fair state (except for one landing and take-off at Miami).

Ed Cannon - Austin, Texas, USA

Ive been to New Braunfels. Great place to get jerky there mail order. San Antonio was fairly nice.

Oh wait to keep with the theme..

Man I walked outside in San Antonio and I was attacked by fire ants! Wow I was sore for days..

[ecsat]

Originally Posted by Notmuchlonger

Ive been to New Braunfels. Great place to get jerky there mail order. San Antonio was fairly nice.

Oh wait to keep with the theme..

Man I walked outside in San Antonio and I was attacked by fire ants! Wow I was sore for days..

After all of these years of driving through it, I've never actually stopped in New Braunfels or Gruene.

I've seen fire ants in San Antonio killing and carrying off tarantulas (at the San Jose Mission, I believe), so imagine what they're like when they're hungry AND angry! I can't wait to see those crazy "rasberry" ants versus fire ants.

In my previous messages I forgot to mention sand- and duststorms. And, believe it or not, several years ago I experienced an earthquake in Austin, Texas! It was a 5.7 or 5.8 magnitude whose epicenter was near Alpine, about 400 miles away.

Ed Cannon - Austin, Texas, USA

[Want2retire]

Nobody mentioned that College Station had arsenic that seeped into the groundwater for most of a century from the old cotton gin and resulted in some sort of huge multi-million dollar settlement, but hey, we Aggies gotta be tough anyway.

[REWahoo]

Originally Posted by Want2retire

Nobody mentioned that College Station had arsenic that seeped into the groundwater for most of a century from the old cotton gin...

Ahhhh. Guess that might explain the unique atmosphere at the Dixie Chicken...

[Want2retire]

Originally Posted by REWahoo

Ahhhh. Guess that might explain the unique atmosphere at the Dixie Chicken...

(tee-hee! ) It never occurred to me that you might have been there too! Boy does that bring back memories.

Yep - - everybody living on the north side of campus could get in on the settlement. We lived on the south side. Oh well!

[Nords]

Originally Posted by Walt34

Okay, I'll bite....
What is it?

This is one of those topics that would have made high school Civil War history a lot more interesting.

Caution: not for those grossed out by bodily functions or gunpowder chemistry.

The Civil War origins of the phrase "To shoot a Yankee"

Originally Posted by Want2retire

Nobody mentioned that College Station had arsenic that seeped into the groundwater for most of a century from the old cotton gin and resulted in some sort of huge multi-million dollar settlement, but hey, we Aggies gotta be tough anyway.

A Punahou graduate and then an Aggie?!? Where oh where did you go wrong?

Did you voluntarily surrender your Hawaii driver's license, or was it revoked?