Paula Deen shocked to learn her family owned slaves, Y'all"

**Bluebonnet** · May 22nd, 2012, 12:40 PM

Originally Posted by OrangeSlice

I'll vouch for that. In NC, you can almost tell what county someone is from. And DEFINITELY state by state (roughly) at the very least.

Same thing in Texas. People from the Texas Panhandle (Amarillo, Lubbock) speak very differently than say, those from Houston.

**shedevilang** · May 22nd, 2012, 02:01 PM

Originally Posted by SHELLEE

Being from Florida, I have no accent. We speak correctly.

but your batshit crazy so who really cares how well you speak lol!

Originally Posted by Mel1973

No, you don't have a cajun accent. You DO have a thicker southern accent than me somehow. We both spent formative years in similar places and I don't sound all that similar to you.

Oh, Hustle - google Ramah... lawd jesus, I lived down there for years... my daddy caught crawfish for living and I swear to jaysus, you've never heard such coon ass talk in all your life! Try Gross Tete (pronounced Gross State), Plaquemine, Maringouin... I just KNEW I could never live with myself if I spoke like those people... I love listening to them (my daddy's family still lives there) but I canNOT bear the thought of that coming from my mouth.

Now, THAT is some funny shit!

I don't know how that happened either maybe it's all the moving we did I just picked a little bit up from everywhere lmao

**kalirga** · May 22nd, 2012, 08:06 PM

I grew up in North Carolina (johnston county if anyone is interested...no...carry on, then) and can't even fucking understand my family. Never said "ya'll" in mah life! I also lived in the Norfolk, VA area for about 6 years. Most folks don't believe I'm from the South. My accent only comes out when I'm talking to other Southerners

And, my ancestors immigrated from Liverpool as indentured workers/sharecropper type of deal. They worked for a man in Virginia, and after their 7 years were up, they were given some piss poor land to work in N.C. Everyone up to my grandparents were farmers, impoverished, and definitely didn't own their own land or homes, much less any slaves. I never understood the stronghold of racism in my family until someone smarter than me said the dynamic back then with poor white southern folks was that, hey, at least they weren't black. Still ate the same chittlins and collard greens, still worked the cotton and tobacco fields til their hands bled, but being white was all they had going for them, socially speaking. I'm talking post-slavery times here.

Anyway, I always thought that was interesting.

**OrangeSlice** · May 22nd, 2012, 08:46 PM

^ Ahahaha! Eastern NCer!! *points and laughs* (Says the Western NCer) I intentionally get rid of my accent the best I can while at work (until it helps to get along with certain clients), but at home, at least around my family, I become unintelligible again.

**kalirga** · May 22nd, 2012, 09:01 PM

Hill person! Ya, I got rid of my accent as soon as possible, too. Moved to NYC after high school...got tired of being teased and having people ask me to say shit like tater tots. (and they have no idea what barbeque is up north...grilled meat, really???)

**witchcurlgirl** · May 22nd, 2012, 09:03 PM

we don't know from barbeque above the mason dixon. up here it's the thing you cook on, not what you cook. of course, down there they don't know from pizza or bagels so it balances

**hustle4alivin** · May 22nd, 2012, 09:08 PM

Speaking of Eastern NC, my surname is very prevalent in Northeast North Carolina and Southern Virginia, so I know I have some ancestry up there. There's even a very small hamlet that bears my last name. However, we've only been able to trace our roots on my Dad's side to Central Mississippi, where my extended family is originally from, so i figured someone in my branch of the family tree was sold off and shipped down there. I do know my Great-Great-Great grandfather served as a soldier in the 52nd Colored Infantry after he was freed. On my paternal grandmothers side, I supposedly have a ton of relatives in Chicago and Detroit (makes sense knowing what I know about The Great Migration). I have no idea about my maternal side of the family beyong my Great Grandmother who died almost 20 years ago and plan on doing more research.

When my brother and I talk on the phone, out accents come out STRONG. His accent has been tempered a bit from years of living up north and a few years in Tampa (which is the South, but it ain't the deep south), but he says some people can tell he has a bit of an accent. I live in an area with a ton of transplants, so some think my accent is thick, while some native southerners think I talk "proper". I grew up in SoCal, so my southern drawl is a bit more relaxed. I do say "y'all," a lot though. I only say "finna," or "fixin' to" to annoy my more prim and proper relatives. And I still don't call all sodas "coke," but I make fun of my aunt for calling soda "pop," (she lived in Michigan for almost 40 years before she and her husband retired and moved down south).

**McJag** · May 22nd, 2012, 09:11 PM

I'm fixin' to have a hissy fit.

**MrsDark** · May 22nd, 2012, 09:19 PM

What you're likely to hear in my neck of the woods: I'm 'finna' git redneck on dat ass.

**hustle4alivin** · May 22nd, 2012, 09:34 PM

Originally Posted by witchcurlgirl

we don't know from barbeque above the mason dixon. up here it's the thing you cook on, not what you cook. of course, down there they don't know from pizza or bagels so it balances

LMAO - My relatives from Michigan and their friends from the Midwest and Northeast who live down here STAY complaining about the Pizza, Bagels, and Hot Dogs. I'll give NYC pizza, but I'll give Chicago hot dogs. *runs*

Speaking of BBQ, that pulled pork and vinegar sauce in North Carolina ain't my kind of BBQ. Give me some ribs or brisket anyday. *runs again*

I'll never forget the time I went to New York a few years back and ran into an online buddy of mine who wanted to take me to a restaurant to "get a New York take on Southern food," and I was the one saying "Hold Up! I lived in Mississippi for a decade and live in Georgia now (and I don't even like much of the Soul Food in this town anyhow). I ain't gonna like it, trust and believe me!" We finally settled on a kickass Ethiopian joint in Uptown somewhere. I guess he thought I was some hick who didn't want to go outside my comfort zone, LOL.

Originally Posted by MrsDark

What you're likely to hear in my neck of the woods: I'm 'finna' git redneck on dat ass.

That's foreplay in some parts of the backwoods ;-)

**OrangeSlice** · May 22nd, 2012, 09:37 PM

That vinegar crap is NOT what passes for good BBQ sauce in my neck of the woods. That's the crap that Lexington spreads around. Come on over and I'll make you a BBQ offer you can't refuse.

**witchcurlgirl** · May 22nd, 2012, 09:44 PM

Originally Posted by hustle4alivin

LMAO - My relatives from Michigan and their friends from the Midwest and Northeast who live down here STAY complaining about the Pizza, Bagels, and Hot Dogs. I'll give NYC pizza, but I'll give Chicao hot dogs. *runs*

I always laugh at the scene in My Cousin Vinny when they arrive in that little town and Marisa Tomei says "I bet the chinese food here is terrible "

Originally Posted by hustle4alivin

I'll never forget the time I went to New York a few years back and ran into an online buddy of mine who wanted to take me to a restaurant to "get a New York take on Southern food," and I was the one saying "Hold Up! I lived in Mississippi for a decade and live in Georgia now (and I don't even like much of the Soul Food in this town anyhow). I ain't gonna like it, trust and believe me!" We finally settled on a kickass Ethiopian joint in Uptown somewhere. I guess he thought I was some hick who didn't want to go outside my comfort zone, LOL.

I've been doing business with the chinese for years and whenever they come to NY to meet with us people always want to take them to dinner at chinese restaurants, which always makes me laugh. They get good chinese everyday, let's take them for something they can't get.

**hustle4alivin** · May 22nd, 2012, 09:49 PM

Originally Posted by OrangeSlice

That vinegar crap is NOT what passes for good BBQ sauce in my neck of the woods. That's the crap that Lexington spreads around. Come on over and I'll make you a BBQ offer you can't refuse.

You're on! You make yours with tomatoes the way God intended?

I'll bring the case of Cheerwine!

I'm not that picky about my sauces, but I just couldn't get used to the vinegar sauce. I even became fond of the South Carolina mustard sauce, and I thought I'd never like that!

**angelais** · May 22nd, 2012, 11:28 PM

Interesting how the talk of slave ownership turns into BBQ sauce recipes. I blame Paula Dean herself. Her buttery ghost is haunting the threads on GR and making our blood sugar spike.

**fakeisthenewblack** · May 23rd, 2012, 01:33 AM

This thread is very interesting. I always assumed that there were no slave owners in my family as my father's side immigrated post Civil War as did my maternal grandmother's side of the family. My maternal grandfather looked like he could have had Native American ancestry so I was in for a shock. Found out he came from wealthy English stock who immigrated to Virgina as colonists and were slaxe owners. That was eye opening! I have a weird accent as I was raised between Hartford, CT and Oklahoma. Back east they marvel at my "strong Southern accent" and in Oklahoma everyone thinks I sound like I am from New England.