The Texan "Language" 101

Hey everyone, I'm back! At least for this blog.

So, recently I have been thinking a lot about language (both English and Spanish), and how we all speak differently depending on where we come from. For instance, after spending a week in Mexico with my church, I quickly realized the big difference between the way Mexicans talk vs. how Hondurans talk. For all the Spanish speakers out there, we know that our regions make our accents very different from one another, and it influences different words that we use. The same goes for English speakers in the United States. So, for today's blog, I wanted to talk to all of you non-Texans about how to crack the code of the Texan "language."

To start off, Texas is apart of the south, so we share many similarities in our way of speech with other southern states. However, we still have our own way of speaking that can confuse even some of those states close to us. Now, of course, Texas is so huge that we have many accents and ways of saying things in our different regions. I am personally from north-east Texas, so I will be speaking about my own region.

One thing to know before engaging in dialogue with a Native Texan (refer to one of my first blogs if you are confused on what I mean by this), you need to understand how we pronounce different words. MANY times we cut off certain letters in our sentences. We know they are there, but we just have found an easier way of saying it, so we decide to let those letters take a break. Very rarely will we ever pronounce a "T" or "G" or "D" if it falls at the end of a word. We also get rid of the "L" if it comes before a "D" or a "K." For example: "I was listening to the speaker today, but I just couldn't pay attention. I was so tired. I could barely even walk." This would really sound like: "I was listenin' to the speaker today, but I jus' coudn' pay attention. I was so tire'. I cou' barely even wak."

We also don't get along well with the letter "T" when it falls in the middle of a word, so we use the same pronunciation of the word, but replace it with a "D." Instead of saying words like "little" and "water," we will say, "liddle" and "wader."

As far as specific words and phrases go, below you will find a Texan-Slang-Cheat-Sheet.

• "Bless your heart" - a term mostly used to mean, "You poor little thing. I'm so sorry."
• "Bless your poor little heart" - very similar sounding to the first phrase, but normally used sarcastically to say "You poor, dumb person."
• "Fixin' To" - this one means "about to."
• "Y'all" - a word used to address a group of 2 or more people. This is the southern way of saying "You all."
• "Deal" - pronounced as "dill," this word is used to describe something you don't remember the name of.
• "Howdy" - while not as commonly used as it used to be, this word is still known by all here. This is the Texan way of saying "Hello."
• "This ain't my first rodeo" - this phrase basically means, "This isn't my first time/I know how to do this."
• "Coke" - yes, this word does in fact mean "Coca-Cola." It can also mean "Pespi, Dr. Pepper, Sprite, Root Beer, etc."
• "Yankee" - anyone from up north.
• "Yonder" - again, not a word that is very commonly used in this area anymore, but still used enough. This one indicates a location farther away than your current location.
• "Hissy fit" - a tantrum.
• "All git out" - a great degree. (Example: She was madder than all git out)
• "Tank" - a pond.
• "Pidlee-o" - This one isn't as common, but you may still hear it. This is a word used to indicate something small, or a tiny amount.
• "Figure" - to guess, imagine, or think.
• "Whoopin'" - a spanking
• "Mighty Fine" - very good

Let's put you to the test now and see how well you can understand the following story.

FRIEND #1: "So the other day I wen' out to ea' with my family, and we wen' to the Whataburger over yonder. So I walk up to the counter and say howdy, and I'm fixin' to order my food when this liddle girl in a booth starts throwin' a hissy fit. Well, I gotta tell you, the parents were more embarrassed than all git out, but they weren' doin' nothin' 'bout it. Honestly, this child wasn' more than a pidlee-o thing, and I was half tempted to pick her up and toss her in the tank. But I didn' do anythin'. I bit my tongue, even though she needed a whoopin'. I figured they must be some yankees jus' passin' through."

FRIEND #2: "So what'd you do?"

FRIEND #1: "Well I grabbed my cup from the lady at the register, wen' over to the deal and go' myself a coke."

FRIEND #2: "What kind?"

FRIEND #1: "A Dr. Pepper. Then my food was ready, so I got it, passed by them and said, 'Y'all have a mighty fine day,' and then I left. They jus' looked helpless."

FRIEND #2: "Aw...bless their poor little heart."