[HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Need help with Southern dialect (American)

[Donna]

I'm from the southeastern corner of Kentucky (Harlan County) and have always
heard the word "done" used in place of have/had.  ("I done made the bed."  
I done fixed supper."  "I done done/did it.".

Donna

-------Original Message-------
 
From: Margaret Fenney
Date: 5/30/2011 1:07:38 PM
To: HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Need help with Southern dialect
(American)
 
The Appalachian Mountains extend from Alabama and Georgia all the way up
into Canada so there is no "Appalachian" dialect.  I live in Huntington, WV
and have never heard anyone use any of the phrases that you have discussed
except for comedians like Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy.  Even if
you select one state of the Appalachian area, the speech often varies
greatly depending on which side of the mountains are involved.  I believe
that your dialect would be common to areas of Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee
but you're definitely talking Deep South.  Here in WV we speak with a bit of
southern accent but definitely not with such a dialect and we're roughly in
the middle of the Appalachian chain.
 
On Mon, May 30, 2011 at 11:30 AM, justcarol67 <justcarol67 at yahoo.com> wrote:
 
>
>
> 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
> >
> >
> > 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
>
>
>
 
 
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