Pretending to be Southern

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not a terrible idea. In the rest of the world, people prefer the southern accent to the standard American accent.

Which Southern accent? The genteel, sweet as molasses, slow drawl? Or the Cletus, “The Slack-jawed Yokel,” (from the Simpsons) one? There isn’t one Southern accent.

THANK YOU for recognizing this. So much of America doesn't.
--A Southerner who gets irked when people think we all sound like Cletus and that all Southerners are inherently dumb

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would just say to him, loudly and in a thick Southern accent, "Why, Rhett, everyone here knows you're from Pennsylvania!"

Hah! This is a great one. Definitely do this, OP.

Yep, humiliate the father of your children in front of them and everyone else. That sounds like a good plan.

So he's not humiliating her when he corrects her every time? I'm betting he does it in front of other people, too, if he's correcting her during those "cookouts."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DH insists that we raise our children to speak like they are southern. I love the south and the southern culture, but we live in Northern Virginia. People don't speak that way here. My DH is just a poser. Whenever I am telling a story or visiting with other moms, my DH will interrupt me to correct a term I use if it isn't southern. For example, if I refer to a BBQ, he steps in and says "cook out". If I use the word "mom", he steps in and says "momma". All the flipping time. I should add he was raised is rural Pennsylvania and no one else in his family uses southern terms. I have progressed from giving him the evil eye to telling him how unattractive his behavior is and that enough is enough. Bless his heart!

Rant over.

Amusing as his weird peccadillo is, I think most of us posters are missing the real issue here: Your DH thinks it's acceptable to "step in" and correct you over what are incredibly petty ideas he holds.

Does he do this in other parts of life? Correct you, "guide" you, demonstrate that his way is the right way? Cumulatively it can become immensely annoying at best (and unattractive, as you note) but at worst it can become pretty toxic. Especially if he does it to your kids over and over. Makes everything about how Dad Is Always Right. Maybe sit down and consider if the issue is this one weird word preference issue, or if there's a bigger pattern of correcting and needing things to be just the way HE decrees is correct. That would be a situation requiring some serious change, to me. For your sake, I hope this is solely about a few words and nothing else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tell him if he wants to be southern, he will have to give up the scrapple, Lebanon bologna, and chow-chow. And no gravy on his chicken and waffles, your strictly a maple syrup-with-fried chicken-and-waffles family now.

He may reconsider.

Wait, what? Scrapple is very Southern. At least, back in NC where I'm from, it's still very much on menus today. Not a thing of the past. Alas.

Omg I had no idea! This is rmbaarassing as I am from northern Virginia, so am I even a southerner?? Identity crisis time. OP, if your husband truly wants to commit to this new life, you need to go further south, ideally south side va, where northern Virginians are known as yankees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tell him if he wants to be southern, he will have to give up the scrapple, Lebanon bologna, and chow-chow. And no gravy on his chicken and waffles, your strictly a maple syrup-with-fried chicken-and-waffles family now.

He may reconsider.

Wait, what? Scrapple is very Southern. At least, back in NC where I'm from, it's still very much on menus today. Not a thing of the past. Alas.

The origin of scrapple is Pennsylvania.

[Anonymous]

Your husband sounds confused about what people say in the south. A barbecue is a barbecue, not a cookout. I think cookout is a Michigan/Ohio/Pennsylvania term.

In regards to "momma" - you're the mother, your kids call you whatever you and they agree upon. My oldest calls me mama and I HATE it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This must be a troll. I don't understand this at all.

I don't know anyone who says cookout. It's BBQ. But I'm from TX, not the South, so maybe it's different there but never heard that.

I will say that while I have hints of Texas-isms in my speech I don't force that on my kids. My kids speak like they're from NOVA, which is how it should be. How odd.

Pssst Texas is the South.

OP, it sounds like a mental disorder.

Texas is absolutely not the south.

It is. As is Northern VA and DC! TX may not be considered the deep south but definitely THE SOUTH, I may even let you go with Southwest which still starts with South.

https://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/maps-data/maps/reference/us_regdiv.pdf

that map has Maryland and Delaware as the south. Maybe at some point that was true, but culturally they are midatlantic

Have you spent much time on the Eastern Shore? Or Frostburg? There are a lot of areas outside of the DC-centered suburbs that are not culturally Mud-Atlantic. That’s true of Virginia as well.

[Anonymous]

A cookout is a BBQ you rent the park out for and there's a potluck while the huge multiple grills are going. A BBQ is in the backyard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m from the Deep South. I would recognize a fake accent and fake speech pattern and wonder what was wrong with the speaker. Tell your DH he isn’t fooling anyone. You don’t become southern. A cat could have kittens in an oven but it wouldn’t make them biscuits.

Omg I love you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m from the Deep South. I would recognize a fake accent and fake speech pattern and wonder what was wrong with the speaker. Tell your DH he isn’t fooling anyone. You don’t become southern. A cat could have kittens in an oven but it wouldn’t make them biscuits.

Best post ever.

[Anonymous]

Very strange, OP. My DH is southern and often covers his accent, especially when meeting people for the first time.

I do not think there is anything wrong with him adopting these speech patterns, although it is a bit odd to do so as an adult not living in the south. I agree with the PP who said the real issue is that he is trying to correct you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd go all in. Get yourself some of those old fashioned Southern Belle dresses, complete with parasol and giant hat, adopt a Southern accent, and talk only in Southern phrases. Keep at it all day, every day until he gives in.

Not OP, but: I love your mind.

Do this, OP. Go full Scarlett O'Hara on him.

Or, go all Flo from Mel's diner on him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DH insists that we raise our children to speak like they are southern. I love the south and the southern culture, but we live in Northern Virginia. People don't speak that way here. My DH is just a poser. Whenever I am telling a story or visiting with other moms, my DH will interrupt me to correct a term I use if it isn't southern. For example, if I refer to a BBQ, he steps in and says "cook out". If I use the word "mom", he steps in and says "momma". All the flipping time. I should add he was raised is rural Pennsylvania and no one else in his family uses southern terms. I have progressed from giving him the evil eye to telling him how unattractive his behavior is and that enough is enough. Bless his heart!

Rant over.

OMG OP. I so wish I could witness, this is a riot, his Southern fetish. LMAO!!!

"Momma"

Tell me it ain't real. Momma? lol!!

Can he do other role play instead, like Dungeons and Dragons?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This would be a huge turn off for me. Just really strange. I don’t think cookout is a southern word - we say it in New England.

Agree. Seriously strange. And I have lived in three regions of the country. “Cookout” is not a Southern term in my experience.

[Anonymous]

My mother is from Rome GA and actually went to elocution school to lose the accent.