Don't Be "Ugly"

"Language is the source of misunderstandings."
~The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

I've long been fascinated with the different dialects and colloquialisms in this country. It's interesting trying to nail down which country or countries had an influence on the dialect of different regions of the United States. I know that Irish and Scottish people settled into the southern parts of the country, so when people make fun of my accent, I just smile and think proudly of my Irish and Scot-Irish heritage. There is even an old Scottish recipe (Bannock Bread) still making its way through the family. My great aunt used to cook it for us and it is her recipe that we pass along. The famous southern biscuit was most certainly derived from Scones, which are a British staple.

But I digress. I was talking about dialect. Because I was in the Army, I've been exposed to people from all over the U.S. and have heard quite a few interesting accents. A Louisiana boy I befriended while stationed in Texas used to ask me "Gotta gum?" when he wanted a piece of chewing gum. I loved hearing the richness of his Cajun accent.

In the South, we put things "up," even if we're stashing them at waist level or lower, something that really annoys my New York friend to no end.
"Where are you putting it...up your ass? You put it away," she reminds me each time she hears me say it. She can put things away but I will always put them up, whether they are going up high or not. It's just something I've always said.

I've always loved saying "y'all." I love the way it rolls off the tongue. I even had my Australian friend saying it at one time. Imagine an Australian saying "Y'all want a cuppa?" I think it has a lot of warmth in it and embodies the welcoming nature of southerners.

New Yorkers, as I learned from her, stand "on" line when waiting in a line. The first time I heard my friend say this, I pictured her standing with a computer in hand, standing while "online". She also "opens" and "shuts" the light when turning it on or off.

I don't bother to correct her colloquialisms, as they are a part of her background, just as mine are for me. Too bad she can't see it this way. She still thinks I'm guilty of bad grammar at times.

Sometimes we laugh at each other's accents and strange sayings. This morning, we experienced one of the funniest misunderstandings of regional talk that I've ever had the pleasure of laughing over.

Brevard girl, as I'll call her, came out with a southern description for someone being mean that was totally taken in the wrong context. We were checking patients during morning rounds and Brevard girl told New Yorker "We need to go check on Henry because he's ugly."

Now I am a true southerner but even I didn't get what she was saying initially, possibly because I was laughing so hard at the literal sound of it. New Yorker was laughing and snorting and trying to talk all at once. "What are you talking about?" she finally managed to say, before letting out a couple more snorts. We all had tears rolling down our faces.

The southern lightbulb came on in my head, so I began translating for Brevard girl. "She's trying to say that he's mean," I told New Yorker. In the South, when someone's "being ugly," they're not being very nice. I had to explain to New Yorker that it had absolutely nothing to do with his looks. She finally got it, though she thought it rather strange and we continued laughing about the misunderstanding. I've laughed about it a few times tonight and don't imagine I'll ever forget it.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to put my laptop "up" and go to bed.