[leon the pig farmer]

One annoying habit down here in the South is when people order food,  they sometimes say "gimme me a ..."
Or  "I'm gonna have a....."

Also many people I hear dont say thank you and please.

I wouldn't say customer service here is any better than anywhere else in the West.  Just some of my personal observations.....

Texaxile, on 04 June 2012 - 03:55 PM, said:

I had an unusual experience a few years back. I was out with Mrs Tex, and we were in a restaurant in Manila sat close to a very pleasant American couple, whom we engaged in conversation for a while. The bloke was a former USMC career man, and had retired on his pension and was, deservedly enjoying his time there with his wife.

I was struck by one of his statements, which , when we were talking about our origins when he said "I'm a Texan first, American second". Not sure if he was joking but he seemed operfectly serious at the time. We have a similar kind of example here in the UK, people in particular from Yorkshire call themselves "Yorkshiremen" before they call themselves English.

I've also noticed that the method of ordering a meal in a Retaurant is somewhat different, for example an American would say "Can I get a steak" whereas an Englishman might say "Could I please order a Steak, medium rare". (although granted, the American steak would be much better, bigger and tastier because in the UK we simply can't compete.

[Sapper]

You know what they say about Texas, right?

























Go west till you smell it, then go south till you step in it.

[backwoodsroamer]

gracie lou, on 04 June 2012 - 03:19 AM, said:

I hate when people call me m'am. :/

Oh, you would really hate my guts.

[Barry Cade]

leon the pig farmer, on 04 June 2012 - 03:05 AM, said:

I found the whole Sir Ma'am thing hard to get into at first.

Felt like I was back in the military.  


Never said y'all or fixin yet, wait, no I have said it as a joke to a room full of folk from California, they found it funny with this Englishman in the south saying y'all.

My accent has changed big time after 10 years.  When I first came here no one understood my regional Lincolnshire/London accent so I had to start speaking really slowly, and also I had to speak clearly and use Americanisms.  Asking directions, going to drive through windows such as fast food ordering is near on impossible unless you try and sound American. I still get my orders messed up.

Now my accent is a combination of Hugh Grant and Lloyd Grossman (only Brits will know that one).  I went home and was horrified that everyone told me I had a slight American accent and I was n't even trying to get one.

Which brings me on to the subject of Hollywood stars faking British accents, Madonna and Gillian Anderson, WTF????  You cannot get an accent after living there a few years.  Especially if you're older.  I have a friend who moved to London, she sounds like she went to Oxford University, really annoying frickin posh accent she faked.

anyhoo carry on....

I think if you move away somewhere you're always going to be a transplant; you'll always sound like a cuckoo where you live and when you go back home to see your Maiden Aunty, she'll tell you you sound like a guillemot. Or a whippoorwill. Even if you think you sound more like a sparrowhawk.

[the Walkin Dude]

I love it when you guys talk dirty.  

[Major Tom]

leon the pig farmer, on 04 June 2012 - 08:49 PM, said:

One annoying habit down here in the South is when people order food,  they sometimes say "gimme me a ..."
Or  "I'm gonna have a....."

Also many people I hear dont say thank you and please.

I wouldn't say customer service here is any better than anywhere else in the West.  Just some of my personal observations.....

I am not keenly aware of any lack of please and thank you in the South, in fact it would surprise me. There might be some of that not due to being impolite but feeling it is not necessary to please and thank a server for a routine order. I know I observe those niceties when I make a special request.

This reminded me of a language peculiarity of Cincinnati natives, (maybe elsewhere also), they use the word "please?" for "would you repeat that?" if you ask them a question and they don't hear what you said or don't understand. It can cause great confusion when a waiter says, "how do you want your eggs" and the reply is "please?"

A Southernism that I love is that our pre-teen children call adults they know by their first name preceded by Mr or Miss. Maybe I am old fashion but I do not like to hear children calling adults by their first name. Mr Jack or Miss Jill sounds cool to me.

Edited by Major Tom, 05 June 2012 - 12:30 AM.

[WalkerBaitress]

Babs Bladdyblah, on 02 June 2012 - 08:29 PM, said:

Do british people ever use the letter "Z"?

Isn't Z called a "zed" in Britain (and in Canada, for that matter)? Not a zombie, mind you.

[Major Tom]

On acquiring an accent, some people do their best to affect an accent when visiting or returning from another country, especially England.

I watched an episode of House Hunters International where a girl from Salt Lake Utah was looking for a home in UK. She had been there a week or so but was affecting a pretty fair Brit accent. It was fair but obviously fake.

I am a city bred Southern boy and I don't have a Southern accent to the extent that I used some of the terms like fixing and yonder throughout my life. Not that I am retired I find that I enjoy using those terms for the consternation of my grandchildren.

Another one that I use from time to time that annoys everyone is ax for ask, as in, "if you don't mind me axing you" :lol:I love it.

[Babs Bladdyblah]

WalkerBaitress, on 05 June 2012 - 12:37 AM, said:

Isn't Z called a "zed" in Britain (and in Canada, for that matter)? Not a zombie, mind you.

I'll have to look into that. I have noticed when reading our british friends posts, that sometimes there is an "S" where a "Z" should be.

[backwoodsroamer]

Major Tom, on 05 June 2012 - 12:51 AM, said:

On acquiring an accent, some people do their best to affect an accent when visiting or returning from another country, especially England.

I watched an episode of House Hunters International where a girl from Salt Lake Utah was looking for a home in UK. She had been there a week or so but was affecting a pretty fair Brit accent. It was fair but obviously fake.

I am a city bred Southern boy and I don't have a Southern accent to the extent that I used some of the terms like fixing and yonder throughout my life. Not that I am retired I find that I enjoy using those terms for the consternation of my grandchildren.

Another one that I use from time to time that annoys everyone is ax for ask, as in, "if you don't mind me axing you" :lol:I love it.

I used to be the aircraft service crew chief a small private airfield in the South. We were close to a major airport, but we got a lot of transient aircraft come through because we had no air traffic controllers. Pilots liked to use the our field because they didn't want to get in the stack with the airlines traffic.

99% of the transients were extremely nice. Of course there were the 1% who were prone to tell us how small our field was, blah, blah, blah, how much nicer it was where they came from, and so on.

Now I was raised country, but I ditched the accent in my teens. I can however lay it on pretty thick if I want to. I'm a big guy. One of my fellow employees made me look tiny. Whenever we were in the mood, and got some "uppity" corporate pilots in he and I liked to pull what we called our "Deliverance Act."  Never failed to quite the mouthy ones down rather quickly.      

[Goat]

Major Tom, on 05 June 2012 - 12:28 AM, said:

A Southernism that I love is that our pre-teen children call adults they know by their first name preceded by Mr or Miss. Maybe I am old fashion but I do not like to hear children calling adults by their first name. Mr Jack or Miss Jill sounds cool to me.

I definitely grew up doing this.  It wasn't until I was nearly grown that I realized it was peculiar in many parts of the country.

[Barry Cade]

Goat, on 04 June 2012 - 04:03 PM, said:

He likely was not joking.  Many Texans have an irrational amount of pride in their state.  At the risk of enraging our resident Texans (I know we have a couple), I'll say I don't get it.  Texas seems rather horrid to me.  But they're big on ultra-conservatism and states' rights down there.

Sounds like bluff Yorkshire folk to me! Although Yorkshire is in no way horrid (except perhaps Hull).

[Barry Cade]

Major Tom, on 05 June 2012 - 12:28 AM, said:

I am not keenly aware of any lack of please and thank you in the South, in fact it would surprise me. There might be some of that not due to being impolite but feeling it is not necessary to please and thank a server for a routine order. I know I observe those niceties when I make a special request.

A Southernism that I love is that our pre-teen children call adults they know by their first name preceded by Mr or Miss. Maybe I am old fashion but I do not like to hear children calling adults by their first name. Mr Jack or Miss Jill sounds cool to me.

It's funny, I often use "Would you mind" instead of "please", it's not through lack of politeness; I respect my dear old Grandmama too much to not be as polite as pie. However, since moving north, despite the Geordies' reputation for being the friendliest people in Britain (they are, they'll talk to you out in town and everything), they don't often say please or thankyou when you hold a door open for them, or let them out in traffic. Peculiar.

WalkerBaitress, on 05 June 2012 - 12:37 AM, said:

Isn't Z called a "zed" in Britain (and in Canada, for that matter)? Not a zombie, mind you.

How can you call that letter a 'zee'; the only thing I can think is you were all infected by Dutch immigrants who were singing "By the side of the Zuiderzee, Zuiderzee..."

Major Tom, on 05 June 2012 - 12:51 AM, said:

On acquiring an accent, some people do their best to affect an accent when visiting or returning from another country, especially England.

I watched an episode of House Hunters International where a girl from Salt Lake Utah was looking for a home in UK. She had been there a week or so but was affecting a pretty fair Brit accent. It was fair but obviously fake.

I am a city bred Southern boy and I don't have a Southern accent to the extent that I used some of the terms like fixing and yonder throughout my life. Not that I am retired I find that I enjoy using those terms for the consternation of my grandchildren.

Another one that I use from time to time that annoys everyone is ax for ask, as in, "if you don't mind me axing you" :lol:I love it.

As a grandparent it is entirely within your remit to try and cause consternation in your grandchildren. I applaud you for this.

Babs Bladdyblah, on 05 June 2012 - 01:07 AM, said:

I'll have to look into that. I have noticed when reading our british friends posts, that sometimes there is an "S" where a "Z" should be.

There will almost invariably be an 's' involved as it's a much more chic letter entirely.

backwoodsroamer, on 05 June 2012 - 02:14 AM, said:

99% of the transients were extremely nice. Of course there were the 1% who were prone to tell us how small our field was, blah, blah, blah, how much nicer it was where they came from, and so on.

Now I was raised country, but I ditched the accent in my teens. I can however lay it on pretty thick if I want to. I'm a big guy. One of my fellow employees made me look tiny. Whenever we were in the mood, and got some "uppity" corporate pilots in he and I liked to pull what we called our "Deliverance Act."  Never failed to quite the mouthy ones down rather quickly.  

If I ever saw you playing your banjo in anger I would join the 1% in squealing like a piggy.

[Texaxile]

"you gonna do some praying for me boy...and you better hope you pray good" - Very distrubing. Even more so if you're looking down the wrong end of a shotgun.

Right, heres a few americanisms I can't quite work out, first off, what exactly is a "soccor mom"?.

Secondly, how do you make a "corn dog"?

and lastly, howcome is it that for a country with a fair bit of Union influence in many jobs, you stil only get a small holiday entitlement every year?. Our nurses get 8 weeks paid holiday per year, and the industry standard for most jobs is approximately 4 weeks per year plus bank holidays.

[Major Tom]

A soccer mom is the mother who hauls her kids to soccer practice every day and put on game parties and what not. Moms all over the country do the same for their kids that play baseball and football but those that deem themselves soccer moms deem themselves a bit up the social scale since certain Americans consider soccer a more uppity and less violent game than vulgar baseball and football.

Corn dog - You put a wiener on a stick and dip it in corn meal batter. Then you deep fry it until it is golden brown. They are eaten plain or dipped in mustard. Some weirdos dip in catchup. They are so popular in Southern Louisiana, we Alabamians call the natives of that area corn dogs just to piss them off.

Honestly, I'm not sure. I think that most who are lucky enough to not be a temp these days, get  2 weeks paid vacation. The company I worked for the longest gave us a third week after 10 years service  with the option to take the time or the money. Everyone took the money so there was no option the next year. You had to take it or lose it. So the next year I lost it and worked anyway.

Not trying to sound all nationalistic but our people have always had a strong work ethic and think that 2 weeks is more than enough.The unions, which are weak in the South, usually went for more money and not time off This is probably changing. I suspect that close to 20% of our work force is classified temp and get no paid time off at all.

When we are full time, earning a decent wage with annual bumps, 2 weeks vacation and 5-6 Monday holidays plus 2-3 days for Christmas and a day for Thanksgiving, you would be amazed to find that we love our shitty jobs and will even work extra time for no pay if we feel it will improve our overall performance.

I have usually been in management and I have never worked under a union. It might be different in the union shops.

I have worked in non-management jobs when I was younger so I am not speaking totally from a management perspective The non-union workers are usually good soldiers who love their company..   .

[gracie lou]

I'm not sure anyone really refers to themselves as a soccer mom. I feel the term is usual meant to be quite derogatory, which you might have picked up on with Tom's definition, since he used the word 'uppity' and less violent and 'vulgar''. Also, Major Tom forgot to mention that "soccer moms" all drive SUVs - I think it's mandatory. Regarless, I think you can be considered a soccer mom, even if your kids don't play soccer.

[OMEN]

I am American by birth and Texan by the grace of God.  

We are a proud bunch.

We were also our own country for spell.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[leon the pig farmer]

Yes we say Zed.  
Which means when I teach my little boy to say Z for Zebra I have to fight the urge to say Z not Zed.
He still says Tomato the British way, and Bath and says it Barth, in the English Southern way.
(I get lots of ooohs and aahhh from Soccer Mom's in the park when they hear him speak.)

WalkerBaitress, on 05 June 2012 - 12:37 AM, said:

Isn't Z called a "zed" in Britain (and in Canada, for that matter)? Not a zombie, mind you.

[leon the pig farmer]

I wouldn't say it's derogatory in a hateful way.

Wikipedia has a good answer for this.

http://en.wikipedia....wiki/Soccer_mom

And yes, even Presidential hopefuls have referred to themselves as Soccer Moms, Palin called herself a "Hockey Mom".

I wouldn't read too much into that term, I live in the Atlanta suburbs and it's just part and parcel of culture here.

Same way people see me as a Brit first and not as a fellow American citizen.  Same way goth kids are called goths, bikers are called bikers.  Soccer Moms are what they are, they take their kids to sporting events in their SUVs or mini vans.

IMO SM's are a sub culture.

gracie lou, on 05 June 2012 - 12:22 PM, said:

I'm not sure anyone really refers to themselves as a soccer mom. I feel the term is usual meant to be quite derogatory, which you might have picked up on with Tom's definition, since he used the word 'uppity' and less violent and 'vulgar''. Also, Major Tom forgot to mention that "soccer moms" all drive SUVs - I think it's mandatory. Regarless, I think you can be considered a soccer mom, even if your kids don't play soccer.

[backwoodsroamer]

gracie lou, on 05 June 2012 - 12:22 PM, said:

I'm not sure anyone really refers to themselves as a soccer mom. I feel the term is usual meant to be quite derogatory, which you might have picked up on with Tom's definition, since he used the word 'uppity' and less violent and 'vulgar''. Also, Major Tom forgot to mention that "soccer moms" all drive SUVs - I think it's mandatory. Regarless, I think you can be considered a soccer mom, even if your kids don't play soccer.

Along with the SUV, they commonly sport a fake tan, diamond tennis bracelet, and a cell phone grafted to their ear which they yak into incessantly. Oh yes, they frequently attempt to kill you by drifting into your lane of traffic while yakking on said cell phone and to the preteen yard apes they are shuttling about.

[gracie lou]

backwoodsroamer, on 06 June 2012 - 12:58 AM, said:

Along with the SUV, they commonly sport a fake tan, diamond tennis bracelet, and a cell phone grafted to their ear which they yak into incessantly. Oh yes, they frequently attempt to kill you by drifting into your lane of traffic while yakking on said cell phone and to the preteen yard apes they are shuttling about.

See what I mean, Leon? Derogatory.

[leon the pig farmer]

I have a friend who works for the post office in England, he's a Union rep, big on workers rights etc.  He practically doesn't work, spends half a year "working" and the rest boozing it up and claiming sick leave.  If anyone even says boo to one of his members he's out on strike.  Pretty sad.  And he complains about capitalism and how the Bourgeois run the world etc but the biggest joke is his employer is Her Majesty the Queen who has paid him a decent salary for years off work and minimal work time, in 20 years he'll retire with a big fat retirement pay check.  Me on the other hand will be working until i'm 80 running my independent small business.

Major Tom, on 05 June 2012 - 10:57 AM, said:

A soccer mom is the mother who hauls her kids to soccer practice every day and put on game parties and what not. Moms all over the country do the same for their kids that play baseball and football but those that deem themselves soccer moms deem themselves a bit up the social scale since certain Americans consider soccer a more uppity and less violent game than vulgar baseball and football.

Corn dog - You put a wiener on a stick and dip it in corn meal batter. Then you deep fry it until it is golden brown. They are eaten plain or dipped in mustard. Some weirdos dip in catchup. They are so popular in Southern Louisiana, we Alabamians call the natives of that area corn dogs just to piss them off.

Honestly, I'm not sure. I think that most who are lucky enough to not be a temp these days, get  2 weeks paid vacation. The company I worked for the longest gave us a third week after 10 years service  with the option to take the time or the money. Everyone took the money so there was no option the next year. You had to take it or lose it. So the next year I lost it and worked anyway.

Not trying to sound all nationalistic but our people have always had a strong work ethic and think that 2 weeks is more than enough.The unions, which are weak in the South, usually went for more money and not time off This is probably changing. I suspect that close to 20% of our work force is classified temp and get no paid time off at all.

When we are full time, earning a decent wage with annual bumps, 2 weeks vacation and 5-6 Monday holidays plus 2-3 days for Christmas and a day for Thanksgiving, you would be amazed to find that we love our shitty jobs and will even work extra time for no pay if we feel it will improve our overall performance.

I have usually been in management and I have never worked under a union. It might be different in the union shops.

I have worked in non-management jobs when I was younger so I am not speaking totally from a management perspective The non-union workers are usually good soldiers who love their company..   .

[Goat]

Texaxile, on 05 June 2012 - 09:40 AM, said:

Secondly, how do you make a "corn dog"?

and lastly, howcome is it that for a country with a fair bit of Union influence in many jobs, you stil only get a small holiday entitlement every year?. Our nurses get 8 weeks paid holiday per year, and the industry standard for most jobs is approximately 4 weeks per year plus bank holidays.

Corn dogs are magic.

I staunchly support unionization and collective bargaining to offset a market that largely goes unchecked, but unions seem to ebb and flow in power (historically speaking).  But Tom's right, they historically tend to bargain for shorter hours and higher wages rather than benefits/vacation.  I chalk it up to the fact that generally by the time you're being treated so badly you have to strike to get a better situation, your vacation is the least of your worries.

Also, working at a global company, I learned long ago that you just automatically assume anyone from Europe is on vacation if it's summer.   Many European countries do seem to value their time off far more than Americans, though I certainly wouldn't call Americans harder working.  Just different cultural priorities, IMO.  I know Brits who'll gladly take conference calls at 8pm GMT, and guys from Austin who whine when they have to get up at 7am.  So...

[Major Tom]

leon the pig farmer, on 06 June 2012 - 12:53 PM, said:

I have a friend who works for the post office in England, he's a Union rep, big on workers rights etc.  He practically doesn't work, spends half a year "working" and the rest boozing it up and claiming sick leave.  If anyone even says boo to one of his members he's out on strike.  Pretty sad.  And he complains about capitalism and how the Bourgeois run the world etc but the biggest joke is his employer is Her Majesty the Queen who has paid him a decent salary for years off work and minimal work time, in 20 years he'll retire with a big fat retirement pay check.  Me on the other hand will be working until i'm 80 running my independent small business.

There needs to be a place in heaven for small business owners. I was self employed for the last 10 years I worked and it is tough going, and stressful as hell.

One of my best friends was president of the Union at a paper mill in our city. He was there every day but worked very little and spent a lot of time traveling with his wife on Union business. It was a nice gig.

They had a great 401K retirement plan and when he retired he had over 600K in company stock that had been stable for years. When 9/11 happened the stock lost over half it's value and he panicked and  cashed out. In a couple of years the stock had recovered but my buddy was screwed. He's okay with what he has left but not as okay as he would have been if he had stuck it out.

[Texaxile]

Hi,

Thanks for explaining all that Major Tom, I'm often wondering about the work ehtic of many Americans, especially when I meet them on holiday and ask if they're going away again, the usual answer is that they've used up all their holiday entitlement for two weeks away. From my perspective it seems that there is a greater work ethic and pride taken by Americans in their jobs than many of the British people do. One of the common sayings im my old job was "S.E.P" - "Someone Elses Problem" - meaning alot of guys left stuff in a bad way or unfisnished for the next bloke on shift, alot of apathy and poor attitude.

Which brings me to another question, in the UK we're under the impression that many middle class Americans own 2 properties, one in the suburbs and very often a holiday cabin. This is mostly due to the media portrayal I think, especially in films and TV series. We generally believe everything is cheaper stateside (our petrol is £1.32 per litre = $2.04 or $9.22 per Gallon) and wages in the USA are higher.

Anyone running their own business is up against it IMO, it takes a hell of alot of dedication and hard work, and they have my utmost respect.