Need help with Southern dialect (American)

[justcarol67]

Carol earlier:
> I'm editing a book in which the narrator speaks a rural Southern dialect. I need to know when to use "done" with the past tense, as in "I done made the bed." Is "done" equivalent to "had" ("I had made the bed"--past perfect tense indicating a previously completed action in contrast to simple past tense, "I made the bed")? Or does it emphasize that something has been done ("I done already made the bed")? <snip>
> >
> 
onlygoofy responded:
> 
> I was born & raised in rural middle GA. Admittedly, I lean to the
> Southernisms when I visit home and pick up where I left off. I have used the phrase "It's done been settled!" but when I tested the bed phrase it came out as "I already done made the bed." Don't know if that helps or confuses things more. Grammar is not my strong suit and usually only realize I've slipped into "Southern" when I get a funny look from someone!
> Jenn
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> 
> NOW Tonya --
> 
> Jen says "I already done made the bed"  I would also say.... "I  was fixin to make the bed" or "I used to could make the bed before I broke my leg."
> 
> Hope that helps,
> Tonya
> (Happily a southern transplant)
> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
Thanks to everyone who responded. I've settled on "I done made the bed" for "I've made the bed" and "I'd done made the bed that morning" for "I had made the bed" (past perfect tense, used for flashbacks and other previously completed action. I've read that "done" can also be used with past tense for emphasis as in "he done went to work already."

I'm not having any trouble with "used to could" or "fixin' to," which are consistent and self-explanatory, only (or primarily) with "done." For example, if I were trying to speak Southern, I might say "before I done broke my leg" because it sounds right (always a bad way of determining correctness in any dialect). But since "broke" is simple past tense rather than present perfect or past perfect, it must be wrong. Right?

By the way, the particular dialect that the writer (who, alas, has lived all his life in California!) is trying to imitate is Appalachian (without going all out into expressions that the reader wouldn't understand). Ya see, God done punished the narrator by a-givin' him a hillbilly accent that he hadn't never spoke with afore.

Am I anywhere close to correct here? Not that the accent has to be precisely correct, only consistent and believable (given the willing suspension of disbelief on the reader's part considering the premise). The novel is actually quite entertaining, one of the most enjoyable projects I've worked on in a long time.

Thanks, everyone.

Carol