Calling all Southerners (funky saying)

Ruth2 · Aug 7, 2009

Not sure if this is quite the place for this but I can't think of where it'd go better. Anyway...

My WIP is in first person. MC is female from the South, well educated but tends to talk in the vernacular inside her head. At one point she uses the uses the phrase -- "whole 'nother thing".

Now I know what it means but if I take out the apostrophe, what is she saying? Whole other thing? Whole another thing? Gobbledegook?

And should I let it stand as is or try to decolloquial-ize it?

Help!

Thanks ya'll!

deepprincealain · Aug 7, 2009

Given what you've said, I'd let it stand--but that's just me. I've heard it said a lot around here. I don't know what it's supposed to be if you try to make it grammatically correct, though. So I guess I can't answer your first question.

alleycat · Aug 7, 2009

Most people who use that expression, including those in the south, say it with an emphasis to denote that they're well-aware that they're using a colloquialism. If that's the way the character is using it, I would let it stand but possible put that part of the sentence in italics (underline in a MS).

Bless your heart for asking. ;-)

Chase · Aug 7, 2009

True. In first person, southern, or southern fried dialog, "It's a whole 'nother thang" is a colorful version of "It is entirely another matter."

Ruth2 · Aug 7, 2009

darkprincealain: Yeah, I wondered if I'd mess it up too much if I tried to formalize it. But on the other hand... I mean, she's Southern but good Lord, I don't want her to be too Southern fried. But when she's tired or frazzled, some of that Southern just comes creeping out... Maybe there isn't another hand.

alleycat: Underlining would be good but I'm using that to denote something else. Good point though. Hmmm..... I'll come up with something. Bless your lil' pea-pickin' heart too! (With a tip of the hat to Tennessee Ernie Ford.)

chase: That's it! Okay, that'll help me decide how to structure this.

Thanks y'all!

the addster · Aug 7, 2009

I think ''nother' is fine. I'm not so sure about the 'It's a", that doesn't sound right to my own southern mind. I would tend more to "now that's a whole 'nother thing" or just "that's a whole 'nother thang" It may just be the region I come from, but you here 'that's' more than 'it's'. Even if that ain't 'xatly right.

Ya get all that?

alleycat · Aug 7, 2009

Ruth2 said:
alleycat: Underlining would be good but I'm using that to denote something else.

In typical manuscript formatting, underlining is generally used to denote that something should be in italics when printed.

You might want to check the guidelines you're going by before using underlining to mean something else.

Ruth2 · Aug 7, 2009

Hey the addster: Now you got me saying it to see which sounds right. Hmm.. here we go: "But standing outside the door next to him was a whole 'nother thing." hmm, I wonder if the original was actually "another thing" and some bright soul put in "whole".... Anyway, no problem with either "it's" or "That's" with this.

alleycat: Yep, I was using underlining to denote a short piece of interior monologue. Sorry, I wasn't clear in that I was using the underlining for. My bad. (Is it clear yet? Maybe not...) Slowly slinks away to dither....

Thanks y'all!

Priene · Aug 7, 2009

I suspect it's an example of tmesis.

~*Kate*~ · Aug 7, 2009

Priene said:
I suspect it's an example of tmesis.

Whoa, I had no idea there was a technical name. FWIW, my advisor in college used to do it in Spanish too-- i.e. "fan-damn-tastico." I actually just used that in a beta read, actually.

Ruth2 · Aug 7, 2009

Wow, that's awesome... Thanks, Priene!

Kate, I'm with you. I never knew there was a word for it. See? Hang around smart folks and I'll end up learning something.

Thanks, y'all!

backslashbaby · Aug 7, 2009

Ohhh, that's not too Southern fried

Not if you're from the South, anyway

I'd say it's so common as to seem completely uncolorful

Pea-pickin'? Not so sure about that one

Ruth2 · Aug 7, 2009

"Bless your pea-pickin' heart" never was big where I came from (north Louisiana) either.

I guess I was wondering if using "whole 'nother thing" would make my PhD. university prof seem over the top. She only uses it once in the WIP but still...

Thanks, backslashbaby

Arkie · Aug 7, 2009

"Bless your lil pea pickin heart," came out of the Tennessee Ernie Ford TV show in the 60s, if I remember correctly. Ernie said that on every show.

In my neck of the woods, "It'sa whole nother thang," can only be correct if the "a" is pronounced with "It's" as "it'sa" and "thing" is hardly ever pronounced correctly, but usually as "thang."

backslashbaby · Aug 8, 2009

Loooziana??! Girl, you're a serious card-carrying Southerner! I like to tease you

I don't know if it helps, cos I'm quite odd, but I said it straight to my Lecturers at Oxford! But I wasn't concerned about seeming Southern-fried, either. The lecturers didn't blink, anyway. Some students did, yeah.

But if she says any Southern phrasings, she would also use that one, I think.

Sounds like a fun book

Ruth2 · Aug 8, 2009

Arkie: I just barely remember seeing Ford on tv but I do remember the "pea-pickin'" thing. "It's a" being "It'sa"... I guess some folks do say "It's a" but it's one of those thing you have to think about to do. "It'sa" just seems more natural...

backslashbaby: You just tease me all you want.<g> Yep, definitely card carrying Southerner.

Oxford? Lordy! 'Course they wouldn't bat an eye-- they were much too proper.

That must've been fun. You'll appreciate this-- my oldest whilst in high school did a 6 week course at Oxford. Every day they'd have class then go out pubbing with their instructors at night. Well, Aub was the only student who could drive a stick and when Mr L got a little tipsy, she had to negotiate a ring road there, driving the "wrong" way on a manual RHD car. Must've been a fun night...She came back with a real appreciation for "Old Speckled Hen".

Thanks, y'all!

backslashbaby · Aug 8, 2009

A course in high school would've rocked! I bet I know which road

Nope, I wasn't driving on the wrong side of the car, much less stick shift with the left hand!! That had to be good times, though

Ruth2 · Aug 8, 2009

She loved it! 6 weeks in Oxford doing Latin? Sweet! I could only dream...

Her high school was... odd. The Latin master looked like Sir John Tenniel's "Mad Hatter". Really. The English prof looked like Emma Thompson's character in Harry Potter. The school was attached to a little Catholic college and students matriculated back and forth like fleas.

Calling all Southerners (funky saying)

Ruth2

Tam, na Koncu Drevoreda

deepprincealain

alleycat

Still around

Chase

It Takes All of Us to End Racism

Ruth2

Tam, na Koncu Drevoreda

the addster

alleycat

Still around

Ruth2

Tam, na Koncu Drevoreda

Priene

Out to lunch

~Kate~

brings the random.

Ruth2

Tam, na Koncu Drevoreda

backslashbaby

*

Ruth2

Tam, na Koncu Drevoreda

Arkie

a reader's ear and a writer's heart

backslashbaby

*

Ruth2

Tam, na Koncu Drevoreda

backslashbaby

*

Ruth2

Tam, na Koncu Drevoreda

Calling all Southerners (funky saying)

Tam, na Koncu Drevoreda

Still around

It Takes All of Us to End Racism

Tam, na Koncu Drevoreda

Still around

Tam, na Koncu Drevoreda

Out to lunch

brings the random.

Tam, na Koncu Drevoreda

~~~~*~~~~

Tam, na Koncu Drevoreda

a reader's ear and a writer's heart

~~~~*~~~~

Tam, na Koncu Drevoreda

~~~~*~~~~

Tam, na Koncu Drevoreda

*

*

*