Celebrating the Southern Tongue

Get your mind out of the gutter; this post is about a book I recently read titled Y’all Ain’t From Around Here, Are Ya?

Written by Cooper Riverbridge, a pen name if ever I’ve seen one, and illustrated by Rob Barge, the book is subtitled How to Talk Like a South Carolinian. Take my word for it, Yankees; it’s an indispensable guide if you’re heading below the Mason-Dixon Line.

Though it’s published by Red Letter Press, which published the paperback of my second novel Atlanta Blues, I don’t know the author or the illustrator — but their little book is a Southern gem, and I paid only .99 cents for it. (It’s available as an Ebook on Amazon. A hint: Grab it before the price goes up.)

Here’s a sampling: Imo — as in “Imo get me one just like hizn.” Imo is a variation of Ahmoan, as in “Ahmon hit you on yo’ head so hard you gonna hum like a ten-penny finishing nail hit with a greasy ballpeen hammer.”

One more sample: ARN. Heard most often during football season as “gridarn,” but routinely used to press clothes.

This is a fun book — and very accurate. See it at http://amzn.to/HFOYbj