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IS SOUTHERN TALK TAKING OVER?
PATRIK JONSSON, ABC NEWS - A quiet debate is now surfacing among
linguists -- in all kinds of English -- about whether Southern talk is
spreading or becoming as quaintly provincial as a coon hunt. Some
believe that the Southern drawl has expanded to the point where,
arguably, more than half of all Americans now glide their diphthongs and
hush their Rs like modern-day Rhett Butlers. Some professionals who
travel around even adopt different regional dialects as they go, knowing
it's one of the best ways to get ahead. But other experts believe mass
communications and urbanization are cutting away at the distinctiveness
of the Southern voice, resulting in a more mono-pitch America.
John Fought is in the expanding camp. The linguist from Diamond Bar,
Calif., points to several factors leading to the growing use of "y'all,"
"fixin' to" and other dialectical Dixie quirks: the migration of
Northerners to the South, the link between notions of masculinity and
language, the appeal of country roots, and the influence of cultural
phenomena like NASCAR. . .
Other linguists aren't so sure, noting that locale doesn't always
dictate dialect. Indeed, Erik Thomas, a vowel expert at North Carolina
State University in Raleigh, says research shows that mainstream
English, otherwise known as American Standard, is actually nibbling away
at both the borders and the urban core of the South.
In the North, new words, slang, and speech patterns tend to hopscotch
from city to city and then spread into rural areas. In the South, that
phenomenon is reversed: Speech patterns tend to trickle from the country
to the city. Signs today, however, suggest that the drawl is coming up
against a wall in expatriate hot spots like Atlanta; Birmingham, Ala.;
and Charlotte, N.C.
http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=3637113
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PROTESTORS SCARE OFF HAWAIIAN SUPER FERRY
AP - Officials with the first passenger-vehicle ferry between major
Hawaiian Islands canceled plans to resume service to Kauai, despite a
partial court victory and an announcement by Gov. Linda Lingle that the
ferry would start up again Wednesday. Hawaii Superferry officials said
late Friday the decision was made "for the safety of the community, our
passengers and our dedicated employees." It came a day after more than
1,000 people jammed a public meeting on Kauai with Lingle, who tried to
sell the project to island residents. Opponents shouted down the
Republican governor, calling the Superferry a threat to the environment
and the island's rural charm.
Many said they would risk arrest or put their own safety on the line to
block the ferry, which offers the only alternative to air travel. The
last time it attempted to dock on Kauai, on Aug. 27, protesters on
canoes, kayaks and surfboards turned away the 850-passenger catamaran.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-09-22-superferry_N.htm?csp=34
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CRIMES WE NEVER THOUGHT OF COMMITTING
BBC - A Californian man has been charged with using his false leg to
smuggle three endangered iguanas from a nature reserve in Fiji to the
United States.
Prosecutors say Jereme James stole the banded iguanas while on a visit
to the South Pacific island in 2002. He is alleged to have constructed a
special compartment inside his prosthetic limb to move the reptiles.
Officials began investigating Mr James after receiving a tip off that he
was in possession of several of the beasts.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7007942.stm
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
IS SOUTHERN TALK TAKING OVER?
PATRIK JONSSON, ABC NEWS - A quiet debate is now surfacing among
linguists -- in all kinds of English -- about whether Southern talk is
spreading or becoming as quaintly provincial as a coon hunt. Some
believe that the Southern drawl has expanded to the point where,
arguably, more than half of all Americans now glide their diphthongs and
hush their Rs like modern-day Rhett Butlers. Some professionals who
travel around even adopt different regional dialects as they go, knowing
it's one of the best ways to get ahead. But other experts believe mass
communications and urbanization are cutting away at the distinctiveness
of the Southern voice, resulting in a more mono-pitch America.
John Fought is in the expanding camp. The linguist from Diamond Bar,
Calif., points to several factors leading to the growing use of "y'all,"
"fixin' to" and other dialectical Dixie quirks: the migration of
Northerners to the South, the link between notions of masculinity and
language, the appeal of country roots, and the influence of cultural
phenomena like NASCAR. . .
Other linguists aren't so sure, noting that locale doesn't always
dictate dialect. Indeed, Erik Thomas, a vowel expert at North Carolina
State University in Raleigh, says research shows that mainstream
English, otherwise known as American Standard, is actually nibbling away
at both the borders and the urban core of the South.
In the North, new words, slang, and speech patterns tend to hopscotch
from city to city and then spread into rural areas. In the South, that
phenomenon is reversed: Speech patterns tend to trickle from the country
to the city. Signs today, however, suggest that the drawl is coming up
against a wall in expatriate hot spots like Atlanta; Birmingham, Ala.;
and Charlotte, N.C.
http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=3637113
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PROTESTORS SCARE OFF HAWAIIAN SUPER FERRY
AP - Officials with the first passenger-vehicle ferry between major
Hawaiian Islands canceled plans to resume service to Kauai, despite a
partial court victory and an announcement by Gov. Linda Lingle that the
ferry would start up again Wednesday. Hawaii Superferry officials said
late Friday the decision was made "for the safety of the community, our
passengers and our dedicated employees." It came a day after more than
1,000 people jammed a public meeting on Kauai with Lingle, who tried to
sell the project to island residents. Opponents shouted down the
Republican governor, calling the Superferry a threat to the environment
and the island's rural charm.
Many said they would risk arrest or put their own safety on the line to
block the ferry, which offers the only alternative to air travel. The
last time it attempted to dock on Kauai, on Aug. 27, protesters on
canoes, kayaks and surfboards turned away the 850-passenger catamaran.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-09-22-superferry_N.htm?csp=34
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
CRIMES WE NEVER THOUGHT OF COMMITTING
BBC - A Californian man has been charged with using his false leg to
smuggle three endangered iguanas from a nature reserve in Fiji to the
United States.
Prosecutors say Jereme James stole the banded iguanas while on a visit
to the South Pacific island in 2002. He is alleged to have constructed a
special compartment inside his prosthetic limb to move the reptiles.
Officials began investigating Mr James after receiving a tip off that he
was in possession of several of the beasts.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7007942.stm
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