I just celebrated 25 years living in Kentucky. I hadn’t planned to stay so long, but I was drawn ever deeper by the kind people, the four seasons and the pleasing way in which native Kentuckians speak. Now, y’all, I’m fixin’ to die here.
When I say I like how Kentuckians speak, I’m not saying that everyone speaks the same way. Or that Kentuckians are good about grammar. It’s the fluidity, and some lovely word choices, that make listening to a Kentuckian enchanting.
The fluidity comes in part out of Kentucky’s oral tradition. A tale told aloud must move quickly, so contractions abound. “Isn’t going to” becomes “ain’t gonna.” “Talking back” becomes “sassin’.” “A 25-year Lexington resident from the North” becomes “a damn Yankee.”
Even individual words tighten up in Kentuckese: An opossum loses a syllable on the way to possum; government shrinks to gubmint; mashed potatoes become mash taters.
We also see word tightening in Kentuckians’ use of modals – verbs that express possibility: can, could, may, might, must and the like. While a Northerner says, “I might be able to raise enough money to finance CenterPointe,” a Southerner says, “I might could raise that dough.” As a grammarian, I should oughta frown on this usage, but I don’t.
And then there are the special Kentucky/Southern words that add luster (and additional definitions) to the language. Consider fixing. In Michigan, where I’m from, the word means repairing – as in a snow blower or yard fence. Kentuckians use it that way too, but they don’t stop there. Before dinner, Kentuckians are fixin’ to eat; during dinner, they’re eatin’ the fixins.
I do cringe sometimes when I hear a Kentuckian say that he “set down” at a table to eat, or when she creates a conjugational calamity like “I had drove to Rupp Arena.”
But those are nitpicks. After a quarter century in the Bluegrass, it seems I’ve done gone and fell in love with Kentuckese. If that don’t beat all.
Neil Chethik, aka the Grammar Gourmet, is executive director of the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning (www.carnegiecenterlex.org) and author of “FatherLoss” and “VoiceMale.” The Carnegie Center offers writing classes and seminars for businesses and individuals. Contact Chethik at neil@carnegie centerlex.org or 859-254-4175.