Southern English

[crash325]

I always took it as people that live and walked the hills,, like mountain goats.. or hill billy,, Hill being mountain,, goat being billy.. Lou

It's actually an Irish term & was first applied to Irish arriving in NY.

 

[IslandTractor]

It's actually an Irish term & was first applied to Irish arriving in NY.

Interesting. Do you have a reference. I'd never heard that but given the hills of Ireland it does seem plausible. It seems odd though that the term quickly became associated with southern Appalachia which isn't an area that lots of Irish settled.

 

[dave1949]

Interesting. Do you have a reference. I'd never heard that but given the hills of Ireland it does seem plausible. It seems odd though that the term quickly became associated with southern Appalachia which isn't an area that lots of Irish settled.

I thought Appalachia was settled by English, Scots and some Irish. There is a Celtic cultural link there of some sort.

 

[Daver1963]

Originally Posted by IslandTractor View Post

That's not Southern, that's non college black.

Yep Ebonics

Y'all have obviously never lived in Memphis. If you moved there and wondered why they talk about Memphis city schools being so poorly ranked all it would take to convince you is one local news story on the TV that involved a (college educated) teacher and hear them talk.

 

[smstonypoint]

It's actually an Irish term & was first applied to Irish arriving in NY.

Source?

Another item from Wikipedia:

The Appalachian region was largely settled in the 18th century by the Ulster Scots, Protestants who migrated to the Irish province of Ulster during the Plantation of Ulster in the 17th century. The majority of these people originated in the lowlands of Scotland. In America, the Ulster Scots became known as the Scotch-Irish. Harkins believes the most credible theory of the term's origin is that it derives from the linkage of two older Scottish expressions, "hill-folk" and "billie" which was a synonym for "fellow", similar to "guy" or "bloke".

Although the term is not documented until 1900, a conjectural etymology for the term is that it originated in 17th-century Ireland for Protestant supporters of King William III during the Williamite War.[1] The Irish Catholic supporters of James II referred to these northern Protestant supporters of "King Billy", as "Billy Boys". However, Michael Montgomery, in From Ulster to America: The Scotch-Irish Heritage of American English, states "In Ulster in recent years it has sometimes been supposed that it was coined to refer to followers of King William III and brought to America by early Ulster emigrants? but this derivation is almost certainly incorrect In America hillbilly was first attested only in 1898, which suggests a later, independent development."

Steve

 

[Lou66]

That all sounds well and good but I think I will stay with my grandfather's wording.. He came to Oklahoma from the Carolinas in the 1880s,, He was the one that said we walked those ridges so much that we were known as Hillbilly as in Mountain goats.. I am sure there are hundred other versions.. But that's the one I tell my grandkids and great grandkids. if they ever ask... Lou

 

[Danno1]

I can believe that. Most of us don't pahk ah cahs in Haavad yahd either except when the tourists are around.

No, most of us don't as I believe Hahvid Yahd is pedestrian traffic only. :laughing:



Wow, 999th post!!!

.

 

[cqaigy2]

No, most of us don't as I believe Hahvid Yahd is pedestrian traffic only. :laughing:



Wow, 999th post!!!

.

Lol!:laughing:

Yikes spooky number of post.

 

[Farmer Dell]

I always liked ... Yeet yet? = you eat yet?

 

[bpenick]

My mil is old school Va and there hardly a time were together that some new to me old time phrase comes out, my bil and I have talked about writing a book. lol

Does anyone ever use the term "foot accelerator" ? she and my wife do.lol

I grew up in SC hearing the term "Foot Feed".