South vs. North?

[macallan25]

Yeah, I have family from Southeast Missouri and they say it the same way.

[AlexMack]

I don't get the Missourah thing. I think it sounds dumb...then again my mother can't really pronounce Massachusetts so we've all got problems.

[ladygreek]

Originally Posted by macallan25

Yeah, I have family from Southeast Missouri and they say it the same way.

Glad to hear that. I was told that a true Missourian pronounces it Missourah. How crazy is that?

[AKL-mizzou-AZ]

Originally Posted by ladygreek

Glad to hear that. I was told that a true Missourian pronounces it Missourah. How crazy is that?

Most Missourians take people who pronounce it Missousrah to be considered hoosiers (or hillbillys, rednecks). I am from St. Louis and now go to school in Columbia (Mizzou) and that seems to be the more unpopular pronunciation.

[melsigkap]

I had never heard Missour-ah until I came to school in St Louis. Someone told me that some political campaigns make 2 of the same commercial, one where the candidate says "Missour-ee" for the St Louis area, and another where they say it with the '-ah' for the rest of the state...not sure if that's even close to true though.

[ChildoftheHorn]

I will say it depends on where you are in certain areas. My grandpa is a prof. emeritus (just retired) from Missou and he says Missourah. Then in St. Louis, 75% of the family says Missourah. Really it is a courtesy thing, like speaking in a foreign language in public places. People just don't do it.

The connotation of hick really come from the way they say it in the "Hick" parts of the state; where it is pronounced "Mizz - SIRR - UH" where it is a drawn out word with 3 solid beats. Instead, the other way to say it is basically 2 beats and "miss - ura" with "ura" as a single beat.

If you sing in choir it is the difference between g'ivn (1 beat) and given (2 beats), a common notation in classical music pieces.

I totally understand what you are talking about with the "Hick" thing.

[shinerbock]

Well, we're now assured of getting a completely GDI national champion in basketball

[banditone]

Is Texas considered "south"? I know it's the most south you can get without being in Mexico, but it seems to never get mentioned when compared to "real south" states like Mississippi, Bama, SC, Georgia, Louisiana.

[macallan25]

Originally Posted by banditone

Is Texas considered "south"? I know it's the most south you can get without being in Mexico, but it seems to never get mentioned when compared to "real south" states like Mississippi, Bama, SC, Georgia, Louisiana.

Texas is in a pure class of its own.....plain and simple. East Texas is very Southern, but the rest of Texas is completely different in cultures (mostly Southwestern), which is why it doesn't get included with the rest. Obviously the state being enormous has alot to do with it.

I do though think the fact that Texas has contributed so much to the South historically makes for a legitimate argument for it being included in the mix of Southern states.

[ladygreek]

Originally Posted by banditone

Is Texas considered "south"? I know it's the most south you can get without being in Mexico, but it seems to never get mentioned when compared to "real south" states like Mississippi, Bama, SC, Georgia, Louisiana.

I've always thought of it as southwest--a combination of the south and the west. My daughter lives in Dallas and I don't feel like I have gone to the south when I visit her.

To me when I think of the "true" south, I think MS, AL, and GA. Not sure about the Carolinas, Louisiana, or Virginia. And Florida is a complete enigma. LOL

[FatalDSTination]

Originally Posted by banditone

Is Texas considered "south"? I know it's the most south you can get without being in Mexico, but it seems to never get mentioned when compared to "real south" states like Mississippi, Bama, SC, Georgia, Louisiana.

Yes, TX is real south!

[JonInKC]

Originally Posted by ladygreek

Glad to hear that. I was told that a true Missourian pronounces it Missourah. How crazy is that?

I guess I'm not a true Missourian then...it's Missouri to me not Missourah. Also I say wash not "warsh".

[EE-BO]

Culturally, Texas and the Deep South are two different worlds.

Social order and formal courtesies are far more closely observed in the Deep South than they are in Texas.

And in Texas we are far more flamboyant with our wealth. This is evident in Greek life. I have been to some awesome parties at Georgia and Auburn, but the chapter dues and budgets at UT-Austin are far in excess of anything I have ever seen at any school. When I was at UT- my chapter dues were 3-4 times my tuition every semester (and my dues were the cheapest possible since I had a private room in the chapter house.)

I would attribute it to oil. That wealth came fast and furious to this state- and to this day there is still enormous money to be had. I know of cases where people owning less than 1% of a share in a field started getting 5 and 6 digit royalty checks when an old field was reopened to extract remaining reserves using new technology (usually injection with salt water or directional drilling.) And this state is full of people who still own tiny shares in fields that, although with increasing rarity, can still make them millionaires in a very short time. That oil is running out- but this gives you an idea of what kind of money we are talking about when a tiny piece of interest in a single field can generate that kind of income for one person.

There is similar wealth remaining in the Deep South, but much of it originates from far older fortunes. And those who still hold those fortunes kept them with generations of a more conservative approach.

Going back to Greek life, a good example of this conservative and ritualistic difference is football games.

When I was going to Georgia, we wore khakis and a white shirt and tie to the games. Our dates wore black cocktail dresses. Game days started with a buffet at the house, then the game, then home to clean up, dinner- again either at the house or large groups going to nice restaurants- and then a band party. Going to a football game was an all day ritual with strict dress code and social procedure.

At Texas- nothing like that. Jeans and a T-shirt for the game. Sneak all the booze in you can (though we did that at Georgia too), dinner whenever and wherever with whoever, and then a band party after.

While Texas is my home and I prefer it here- games days at Georgia were as good as college life got.

[shinerbock]

As far as south, I think even the true SE can be broken down. For example, there is the coastal south (Southern AL, Miss, Savannah/brunswick, charleston/hilton head), there is more central south (bham, metro atlanta, greenville), then there is the mountain south (Tenn, N. AL, N. GA, NC) which can be completely different. When I think true deep south, I don't include TN.

As far as Dallas, I'm not sure thats a fair assessment. I'm not saying TX should be lumped in with the rest of the South, but ATL isn't exactly pure south either (full of yankees).

[EE-BO]

Originally Posted by shinerbock

As far as Dallas, I'm not sure thats a fair assessment. I'm not saying TX should be lumped in with the rest of the South, but ATL isn't exactly pure south either (full of yankees).

Would it not be fair to say that applies to all the really large southern cities that have experienced a lot of recent growth?

If someone told me they wanted to go to Georgia for a week and "experience southern culture", I would sent them to Augusta or a small town like Thomson- but not Altlanta, perhaps not even Athens at this point.

For Texas, I would not send a person to Houston, Dallas or San Antonio. There are any of a number of decent sized towns one could go and see the genuine difference here vs. elsewhere in the US- but in a major city it won't be a driving force that is readily evident to an outsider.