the challenge of vernacular
ooh, vernacular. let’s start with an english lit term–
vernacular: spoken dialect, specific to a certain region. basically, talkin funny compared to everyone else.
this is the part i absolutely loovee about things like this. the differences in people! geez, but where to start? the ways of speaking aren’t the only differences, but they are the most noticeable. here are just a few comparisons…keep in mind i’m comparing to what texans say, being that i am from texas =]
1. A soft drink. Texas: “Coke”. Missouri: “Soda”. Lot of Northern States: “Pop”.
2. A shopping cart. Texas: “A basket”. Anywhere else: “A shopping cart”.
3. Sprinkles on ice cream. Texas and mostly everywhere else: “Sprinkles”. Philly: “Jimmies”.
4. A sub sandwich. Texas (and other places i don’t know about): “Sub”. Ohio: “Hoagie”.
5. If you are about to be doing something. Texas: “Fixin to”. Everywhere else: “About to be going to”.
6. Speaking towards a group of people. Texas: “Y’all”. Everywhere else: “You all” or “You guys”.
Now, most of these also deal with accents, which are hard to type on a computer. But here is an example: if i were to ask someone for a pen, i would say it like “pin”.
Incredible that all of these differences and MANY more exist in the United States. What a wonderful place to live! In discovering all of this, i’ve realized how different and unique people are, and that is the beauty of America. The rich culture and diversity is what makes America so great. The small groups have really all been successful, minus the fact that no one is the same. I came to this realization: variety is the key to success. if we all walked and talked and thought the same, nothing would be accomplished.
Celebrate differences and embrace uniqueness.