Articulation, Enunciation, and Speaking Southern

The other day a nice gentleman called to tell me that while he had enjoyed my recent talk at the Hickory Flat Book Nuts monthly meeting, sometimes I was not very easy to understand.
He assured me that he hears better than a hound dog smells and my speaking ability was entirely to blame for the problem. The very idea that this fine man wanted to hear what I said makes him unique, though it is not necessarily a testament to his good judgment.
Over the years my speaking style has been criticized for a variety of reasons. I walk around a lot and wave my arms and get loud and can sound like a Sunday-morning TV preacher, but this was the first time anyone ever said they couldn’t understand me.
This criticism was greatly appreciated and though it may not result in much improvement, it does give me the opportunity to explain that listening to folks speaking Southern often requires you to pay attention.
I have the ability to articulate. I can enunciate with the best of them, though for the life of me I couldn’t tell you if there is a difference between the two. The problem is that while I can do those things they are not natural. I’m Southern. In the south we do not necessarily believe that words begin with the first letter or end with the last.
We are likely to jump right smack dab into the middle of a word. We often add a few letters to a word or run it right into the next one. Sometimes we like to throw in an extra vowel or two. That’s the way we talk. The result is often lyrical and pleasing to the ear. The result can also be difficult to understand.
Some comedians have made a living off of Southern words such as “jeetyet.” Jeetyet is actually a complete four-word sentence that inquires whether one has taken sustenance as of this point in time. Yes, we often talk slowly, but having thrown several words together, it pretty well averages out.
The seminal Southern word of course is “y’all.” It is soft and inclusive and the one word that immediately identifies one as being Southern. I use the word from time to time, but only make a point of using it when speaking to someone from the north. I always work in something like, “I hope y’all are having a good time down here” and “Y’all come back now.” It seems the least I can do for them and they expect it.
As a general rule, Southerners speak softly; this is much less true of our northern friends. Some have suggested that it’s noisier in the north and therefore people have to talk a lot louder. A restaurant setting often makes this difference clear. I will never forget the four loud visitors sitting at the next table who exchanged detailed stories of their medical procedures as we tried to eat. Some Southerners might tell the same stories, but only to their dining companions.
To my Hickory Flat friend, let me say that I value your comments and would be honored to take you out for lunch.
Jeetyet?

Tagged as: Articulation, Enunciation, southern humor, Speaking Southern