Redneck Suburban English

Badjack   Mon Jun 02, 2008 7:41 pm GMT
There are some suburban areas in the US where there are descendants of rednecks. Simi Valley, California comes to mind. Geographically, they are indeed suburbs, but from a socio-linguistic perspective, many of the inhabitants fall into a category we call "hilljacks" (no relation to Badjack).

I actually have a lot of Hilljacks in my family on my dad's side. They are the urban and suburban cousins to hillbillies. Hilljacks fancy themselves more sophisticated than hillbillies but they share most of the hillbilly's vocabulary and pronunciation. Hilljack communities are easily recognized by the following:

Chairs and sofas on the front porch
Broken appliances on the front porch
Cars parked in the front yard
Broken chain link fence surrounding the property
Engine parts in the driveway
An abundance of bars (the pub kind, not the jail kind) in the neighborhood blaring our Hank Williams
Pickup trucks, mostly adorned with a rust-motif
Local convenience stores sell only generic beer and Pabst Blue Ribbon
Total absence of diet drinks on sale at local convenience stores
Tall grass in front yard
"Deferred Maintenance" approach to housing... houses not painted in 40 years.
Discharging of firearms, usually from back porch. (hey billybob, let's go set out back and shoot some stuff"


Linguistically, the inhabitants may speak with a West Virginia, Kentucky or Oklahoma accent.

Adherence to grammar rules is deemed effeminate.

Speech example:
"We was watchin' the youngins play in the strait and ah seen billybob eatin' pork rinds and Ho-Hos off yonder in his front yord while 'ees daddy was workin' away on that old Shivvy they got porked in the yord." Ah like d'eat pork them pork rinds too, sometahms."

Translation:
"We were watching the children play in the street and I notcied that my neighbor, Mr. William Robert was eating a certain porcine food-like product while his father worked diligently to make repairs on a Chevrolet automobile that was parked in front of his domicile. I also enjoy eating products made from pigs from time to time."
Guest   Mon Jun 02, 2008 8:04 pm GMT
Pork is much more polite than ''products made from pigs''.
''Products made from pigs'' sounds illiterate.
Guest   Mon Jun 02, 2008 8:09 pm GMT
Guest   Mon Jun 02, 2008 8:11 pm GMT
Cahota   Mon Jun 02, 2008 10:02 pm GMT
How freakin stupid. Honestly.

Sites like these just tick me off.
Roofus   Mon Jun 02, 2008 11:06 pm GMT
I think it's a valuable discussion. People learning English will need to know about the different varieties and the (sub)cultures that give rise to those varieties.

Cahota, what is it about those sites that pissed you off? I found them elitist. Was that it?
Guest   Mon Jun 02, 2008 11:32 pm GMT
I think that Cahota is looking for a more academic forum, but we the Antimooners don't have the blame if Antimoon does not fulfill her expectations.
The Other Roofus   Mon Jun 02, 2008 11:46 pm GMT
Thanks Guest. I reckon you're right. That's what I like about Antimoon. Folks don't take themselves too seriously.

I sure would welcome more input from Cahota.
Kelly   Tue Jun 03, 2008 4:22 pm GMT
Jerks should quit posting things like this. We all talk real different and it don't mean nothin.
Guest   Tue Jun 03, 2008 4:31 pm GMT
<<
<<How freakin stupid. Honestly.

Sites like these just tick me off.>>

Agreed. Is there a question or topic for discussion here?
>>

There's nothing wrong with www.city-data.com . I've posted there numerous times (although not in the Florida forum).
Cahota   Fri Jun 06, 2008 8:16 pm GMT
You would like more input from me?

I think you all are taking my comments and twisting them around. My statement was plain as day.

I don't like sites like these because they play into bad stereotypes. They serve absolutely no purpose - other than to make fun and degrade people.

Sure, it's good for a laugh, but honestly. It's crap, nothing but crap.


I know, very well, that Antimoon isn't an academic forum by any means. I've been participating in this forum on and off for 3 years. So, please don't speak for me or assume you know anything about me or what I think.

Is this input enough for you?
Roofus   Fri Jun 06, 2008 8:28 pm GMT
Thanks Cahota. I'm glad you clarified your comment because it wasn't as plain as day. I know you thought it was because you're the one who wrote it. But honestly, I knew you were on to something but I personally wanted to hear you flush it out a little more. Thanks for posting again. Input from differnt views is what I like about this forum.

When you say it's nothing but crap, do you mean that discussing different regional pronunciations is crap or the actual pronunciation is crap?

I think I speak for Cahota when I say that we (me and cahota) are not in favor of regional accents that are too extreme.
Rosemarie   Fri Jun 06, 2008 8:47 pm GMT
No... Cohota is just saying that Antimoon is not an academic site and that it's primarily used for making fun of people. She's saying that sites like Antimoon are crap not because they discuss regional accents, but because making fun of people is crap unless the accent is extreme.
Cahota   Fri Jun 06, 2008 8:57 pm GMT
This is just ridiculous.

How was my comment not plain as day? "How freakin stupid. Honestly.
Sites like these just tick me off." That means, I think sites like these are stupid AND they make me mad. How is that not understandable?

When I said that it's crap, I was referring to websites like the one that was posted. As I said, all they do is make fun of and degrade people.

Now, if this site presented the information in an intelligent and informative way and actually attempted to discuss the differences in"regional pronunciations" or "actual pronunciations", I would have read it enthusiastically. Because, I do enjoy reading about the differences in the way people speak and pronounce words. BUT, this site did not. It is nothing but a joke, and I am probably not the only one who finds that it is not funny. I think it actually borders on offensive.
Genetd   Fri Jun 06, 2008 9:03 pm GMT
Take a closest look at Cahata's post and you'll see that the first letters of each line are:

Y
I
I
S
I
S

Am I the only person here who sees the meaning in the YIISIS code?

Yaweh IS Isis

In other words, God is god above all and we all worship one true gid. Whether he is called yaweh or Elohim or Allah or Isis, is the same. She did not say Zeus or Horus because those are not real gods. Instead they are made up of many lies and filth.

So her code to us is, if we all worship one god, it is only from the Tower of babel that we are separated, and to worship at a site like antimoon and make fun of other, regional accents is crap. She and Roofus are saying that it's ok to make fun of regional accents because speakers of regional extreme accents are stupid. She invikes Yaweh and Isis but her scornful tone is used in the manner of the god of the Torah. She is not saying we must all be jewish, but that it is better to be scornful of the extremes. Thus spake Zarathustra, or Zartosh as the Pars people called him.

Indeed it si we who are the priests of the temples of Syrinx and all the beasts of life are held within our walls.

Cahata, please tell us more of these mysteries!