"We can reach our destination, but we're still a ways away..."

[misskitty2]

It's been nearly a year since the last time I went to visit my East Tennessee relatives - and this time, for a change, it wasn't for a funeral.

I met up with my Dad's cousin Bruce, a retired schoolteacher and full-time genealogist who I have been sharing and comparing notes with for many years. His father - my Dad's uncle - is still living and gets

Comments

[rcc94]

That's one of the few accents I can do, although mine is from a bit further east on the NC side of the state line. Although it's generally only in conjunction with telling a story based in the "hills".

And, yes, it is Marston. In Tennessee, all words become 2 syllables regardless of how many they start with. :)

[misskitty2]

To my Mom's chagrin, I used to be able to do the accent too, but I've been away so long that my ear just isn't in tune with it anymore. My Mom was adamant that I'd speak "proper English" and really worked to make sure my Dad's "hillbilly" speech didn't stick.

Other words I never hear anymore unless I'm there are:
"Twernt" (it was not)
distances measured in "a piece," "a fur piece" (a far piece) and "ova yenner"
"gitchens" (rhymes with kitchens) for "get yourself a"

And when we went "a visitin" with my great aunt Ada Ruth, she told us to "gitchens a cheer an' sit a spell." (get yourself a chair and sit awhile)

[misskitty2]

Oh yes, and if you are speaking to a group of folks, it's "yuns" and not "y'all."

Y'all is Kentucky, yuns is East Tennessee. What do they say in North Carolina?

[rcc94]

Around here, it's "y'all". I like to speak "proper" English and say "you all". :D I can't think right now what they say in the mountains.

I recommend Kinfolks: Falling Off the Family Tree - The Search for My Melungeon Ancestors by Lisa Alther. She grew up in Kingsport with my mom (who moved there from Ohio when she was 8 - the reverse pattern for most families). It's a great memoir of growing up in East Tennessee and getting into genealogy. She makes a couple of trips into Sneedville, which is just over the ridge from Bean Station.

[misskitty2]

Did you go to Union College!? My Dad wanted me to go there when I chose Liberal Arts as a major, and I checked it out but ended up opting for Wright State. I also looked into LMU (Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate).

[misskitty2]

That's really cool! Small world, innit? :)