Yankee Girl Survives First Year at Southern University

[Sciencewoman]

My daughter comes home from her first year of college this weekend. These are the lessons she's learned after one year south of the Mason-Dixon line. Tongue-in-cheek, but all true:

1. All elders should be addressed as Ma'am and Sir. This is good, and she wishes everyone did this at home.
2. How to swing dance, thanks to a nice Lambda Chi Alpha who gave lessons to all the girls on her hall who had not *gasp* had this training in "cotillion."
3. What cotillion is.
4. What being a debutante involves. This is also good, and not to be scoffed at by ignorant northerners (thanks to her debutante roommate).
5. Sweet tea is good, and should be readily available in northern restaurants. Arnie Palmers are also good.
6. Joining a sorority really is one of the best things you can do in life.
7. You can never have too many sundresses.
8. Robert E. Lee had many admirable qualities, and so did/does his horse, Traveller.
9. Country music can become an acquired taste.
10. Warm weather trumps snow any day.
11. Northern girls really shouldn't wear cowboy boots. Some things just can't be pulled off.
12. "Y'all" will just sound awkward if you don't have the drawl.

[AZTheta]

LOVE THIS! So funny. I especially appreciate the "y'all" reference - which is why I stick you "you guys". Happy that she had a wonderful year. Thanks for the grins.

[NutBrnHair]

Love it. She is getting a great "education!"

[fascination]

Originally Posted by Sciencewoman

12. "Y'all" will just sound awkward if you don't have the drawl.

13. "Y'all" is ALWAYS plural.
If you are speaking to a single person and ask if "ya'll" (you ALL) are coming over tonight, it means that you want to know if "you and your family/roommate/additional people (who may or may not be present)" are coming over tonight.
If you are speaking to a single person and ask if "ya'll" are coming over tonight, but you only meant to refer to that one person, well, you sound stupid.

Y'all is always plural. Always.

[Sciencewoman]

Originally Posted by fascination

Y'all is always plural. Always.

Yes, I understand this. My Maryland sorority sisters were really irritated when I used the term "you guys." They would say, "we are NOT guys!" So I tried saying y'all for plural situations. You know, it just didn't sound right coming out of my mouth. That's the point my daughter and I have discussed. If you're not southern, and you don't have a southern drawl, it just doesn't sound right.

[angels&angles]

Cannot love this enough.

This Midwestern/Southwestern girl learned many of the same things.

[HQWest]

We teach these things to the new members between fraternity history and big lil reveal...

[clemsongirl]

This is fantastic! I now own about 20 sundresses after my first year at Clemson, because they are appropriate for anything from school days to game days, and the weather is almost always right for them. Sweet tea is also truly the best tea.

[AlphaFrog]

Originally Posted by fascination

13. "Y'all" is ALWAYS plural.
If you are speaking to a single person and ask if "ya'll" (you ALL) are coming over tonight, it means that you want to know if "you and your family/roommate/additional people (who may or may not be present)" are coming over tonight.
If you are speaking to a single person and ask if "ya'll" are coming over tonight, but you only meant to refer to that one person, well, you sound stupid.

Y'all is always plural. Always.

The apostrophe always goes between the "y" and the "all". There are no missing letters in "all".

[OHNOITSJESS]

Originally Posted by fascination

13. "Y'all" is ALWAYS plural.

It's not always plural. "All y'all" is also commonly heard/used.

Originally Posted by AlphaFrog

The apostrophe always goes between the "y" and the "all". There are no missing letters in "all".

Thank you! It's a major pet peeve of mine.

[fascination]

Originally Posted by AlphaFrog

The apostrophe always goes between the "y" and the "all". There are no missing letters in "all".

I'm so embarrassed and can't believe I did that! I know better. Yes, it's definitely spelled "y'all." Mea culpa!

[chi-o_cat]

While we’re on the subject (sort of)….what’s the deal with “and them”? My significant other is Southern, and I am not. Sometimes he’ll say something like “John and them are coming over later.” Horrible grammar aside, this makes me think he means John plus at least 2 other people, when most of the time he’s actually talking about John plus one person. Is this a Southern thing?

[amIblue?]

Originally Posted by OHNOITSJESS

It's not always plural. "All y'all" is also commonly heard/used.

It is if you're using it correctly. Southerners are familiar with the pronoun "you."

Originally Posted by chi-o_cat

While we’re on the subject (sort of)….what’s the deal with “and them”? My significant other is Southern, and I am not. Sometimes he’ll say something like “John and them are coming over later.” Horrible grammar aside, this makes me think he means John plus at least 2 other people, when most of the time he’s actually talking about John plus one person. Is this a Southern thing?

Typically, I think of "and them" as a family type unit. i.e., "How's your mama and them?" when asking after someone's family.

So glad your daughter enjoyed her first year south of the Mason-Dixon line, Sciencewoman!

[TSteven]

Originally Posted by Sciencewoman

5. Sweet tea is good, and should be readily available in northern restaurants.

Generally speaking, it was understood that if you ordered “tea” at a Southern restaurant, it meant you wanted your “tea” sweeten and iced. If you preferred your tea unsweetened, you had better make sure to order “unsweetened tea”. Same if you wanted it “hot tea”.

Now a days, in many of the South’s larger cities (you know, those towns with 5,000 or more ), it isn’t unusual for a restaurant to include both “sweetened” and “unsweetened” tea on the menu.

[KillarneyRose]

Slightly off topic...

We do have sweet tea here in Maryland but when I order it, it always cames without a lemon. Is this a normal sweet tea thing or is Maryland just doing it wrong?