To Ya'll Or Not To Ya'll, That Is The Question

Recently I facilitated a conference call at work. The majority of the participants were from the New York or Boston area. I dialed in as moderator and was the first to join the call. The second person to join in was a VP for a large insurance company. When she introduced herself I could immediately tell she was from the South. We began to chat informally and indeed she confirmed she was based outside of Atlanta. When she found out I was in Nashville we started to talk about the beautiful North Georgia area, as well as Chattanooga.

I told her I would be recording the conference call and listening in after making introductory remarks, and she confessed to me that she hated hearing her recorded voice. We joked about how only the stereotypical extreme redneck Southerner, a Bubba who is perfect fodder for a Jeff Foxworthy comedy routine, seems to be interviewed on camera by the national media.

I’ve worked in PR or publishing for more than 17 years and I’ve always been aware of my Southern accent, especially when traveling to the Northeast. I’ve made an effort to tone down my drawl to a neutral level through the years and I’ve actually found myself saying "you guys," rather than "ya’ll." My husband is also a native of Middle Tennessee, but lived in Northeast Florida for three years and left much of his Southern accent at the beach.

Perhaps it’s silly to be so self-conscious about my Southern accent, but unless I start serving up beans and cornbread at the Cracker Barrel, I’ve found it best in the business world to steer clear of the stereotypical Southern "how ya’ll doin'?" When I get together with my best friend and start drinking wine, though, it's all ya'll, all the time.

An original Deep South Moms blog post. Jamie has been chronicling the messier moments in motherhood at BlondeMomBlog since October 2005.