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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

The Californian’s Survival Guide to the Eastern US: Part 1

by Chautona Havig · 17 Comments

mapOr TCSGTTEUS (Looks like Betelgeuse’s red-headed step-child’s name, doesn’t it?)

This summer, I took two major trips.   The first was to Minneapolis where our family rented a car (okay, a 12 passenger, gas-guzzling van the likes of which we haven’t driven in five years!).  So we all piled in said van and tootled on down the road through Iowa (drove the kids around Ames to see where their father went to college–GO CYCLONES), all the way to the bottom of Missouri.   Then we made the reverse trip and flew home again after a lovely wedding in Minnesota.

Two weeks later, I hopped a plane for North Carolina and a writer’s retreat.  This trip was highly educational, so I decided to share my lessons with other Californians (and I think it is probably beneficial information for most of the western US.  Just sayin’).

Let’s start with Pronunciation.

Lesson 1: For those of us on the west coast, we’re accustomed to thinking of those in the south as having “accents.”  These I was prepared for.  After all, I was born in Oklahoma and I’ve lived in Missouri and Texas.  Accents are no stranger to me.  I’d forgotten, however, that with accents often come interesting pronunciation issues.  For example, in Texas, they do not wash.  Apparently it’s just dirtier there or something, because it takes an extra letter in the word wash, turning it into warsh, to get the job done.  I once heard it posited that that extra R came from all the Bostonian words ending in R.  They just sort of swirled around in the sky, got caught in a gust of wind, and funneled into a tornado which deposited them in the word “warsh.”  While this is an interesting theory, I have a different one.  I think they just hop the MTA and zip on over to “Brender’s” house.  Ahem.

I digress.  I was talking about pronunciation in the southeast, not the northeast/southwest.  Let’s get back on track here.  So, North Carolina is literally dripping in towns ending in –v-i-l-l-e.  You have the town I first flew into—Charlotte (which isn’t a “ville,” but I’m just aching to call Charlottesville now).  The town I stayed in—Asheville.  The town near where I stayed.  Hendersonville.  The town near where the retreat was—Boondocksville—I mean Bakersville.  Trust me, there are many more “Villes.”  You’ve got villes coming out your ears.  It’s like they’re fish gills that give life to the place or something.

Anyway, I mentioned to one of the women at the retreat, quite innocently, that I had flown into “Asheville by way of Charlotte.”  And this is where things got interesting.  Or is that “interestin’?”

The woman immediately teased me saying, “Oh, anyone would know you’re not from there.”

To which I replied, “How?  Would it be my lack of a southern accent.  I can pull one of those off.  Not a problem.”

No, no. no.  Apparently people in the Carolinas and the Virginias “swallow” the –ville when they speak it.  It’s not ASH-ville.  It’s AsheVOLL… but that voll gets choked back a bit as if hearing of their “hometown” brings out all kinds of deep-seated emotions.

And apparently there’s a place in WV (okay, so there really is because I went there!  WOOT!  Go… um, what were they again?  Oh, MOUNTAINEERS!  Shh… don’t tell my husband).  Where was I?  Oh, yes.  There’s a place called Monangalia county.  Not Monongahela like the river (sorry Oak Ridge Boys)—Monangalia .  Apparently some people who live there can’t even pronounce it themselves—they just call it Mon county.  So all those names we can’t pronounce?  They can’t either. Thought you oughtta know. It’s probably payback for them coming to California and visiting La Jolla and not being able to find it on the map because they’re looking for La Hoy-ya! Yeah. Kind of like when my mother-in-law arrived one day and said she loved her meal at the restaurant, but they put way too many “jal-LAP-eh-noes” in it.”  Ahem  Mon county.  AsheVOLL.  Got it.

Next time:  I’m going to give away a Southern and Midwestern secret that will ensure a mass exodus from the west to the central and eastern portions of our lovely country.  A hint?  They don’t have germs!

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Comments

  1. Michele says

    October 7, 2013 at 11:56 am

    Monongalia, (not Monanglia) and we start little with the kids. Any time we read one of those words the conversation goes…

    “does that sign say Monongalia?”

    “Yes, Monongalia county. Not to be mistaken with Monongahela River. Two different things. Can you say both of them?”

    and then we practice. LOL My two year old says “nonongalia already.”

    Let’s GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Mountaineers!

    Reply
  2. dailyneedleandthread says

    September 22, 2013 at 8:11 am

    Take this for what it’s worth since I’m a transplant, but I hear Ashe-VULL rather than VOLL. But you’re so right about the swallowing part.

    Reply
    • Chautona says

      September 22, 2013 at 1:35 pm

      Right… It actually sounded like a combination of vull and voll to me (that southern accent thing) so I just went with voll instead of vull. Either works.

      Reply
  3. Rebekah says

    September 17, 2013 at 1:44 pm

    Loved this post, Mrs. Havig! Made me laugh today! 🙂

    Reply
  4. Frances Oh says

    September 14, 2013 at 11:26 pm

    Dialect Survey Maps

    http://spark.rstudio.com/jkatz/SurveyMaps/

    Have fun everyone!

    Reply
  5. Barb Bennett says

    September 14, 2013 at 5:33 pm

    And then there are people who think I live in the state of Or-a-gone instead of Or-y-gun!

    Reply
  6. Jackie Colon says

    September 14, 2013 at 2:43 pm

    I’m from Portsmouth (Port’smith), Virginia. Right across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk (Naw’ fulk-without pronouncing the “L”), but when you say it with a southern drawl and accent the first syllable, it’s not too bad. Suffolk is pronounced the same way, and my kids say it’s the only time they can say a bad word!

    Reply
  7. lana says

    September 14, 2013 at 2:21 pm

    That is like when I lived in Canada and the waiter asked me if I wanted to try their special – Fa Gee tas. (fajitas) I said, no, If you can’t say it, I don’t think I want to tryt it.

    Reply
  8. Andrea says

    September 14, 2013 at 12:17 pm

    I like my germs. I think I’ll stay here in Wyoming! 🙂

    Reply
  9. Mary says

    September 14, 2013 at 7:26 am

    I live in MOCKSvull about an hour from Ashville. Sometimes I still have a problem understanding people. And I’ve lived here 7 years.

    Reply
  10. Wesley Dupere says

    September 14, 2013 at 6:45 am

    If you had traveled a little farther north from Bakersville, you would have come to Watauga County. Most furiners (people who live OFF the mountain) would pronounce it just like it is spelled: Wa-TAW-ga. However, the locals say Wa-DAW-ga with a very heavy emphasis on the second syllable.

    In Watauga County, just west of the county seat of Boone (home of the Appalachian State University Mountaineers) is an area called Vilas (not much of a town anymore; more like a wide spot in the road). Someone from California or anyone with any knowledge of Spanish would probably try to pronounce it Vee-yas and people from the rest of the deep south would pronounce it will a short i sound: Vil-?s, but the locals pronounce it with a long i: Vai-lis.

    The most confusing thing for me when I first moved there to work just after college was the phrase: Don’t leave us now. Being young and to show respect, I would sit back down and resume the conversation even though I needed to go. Sometimes this would happen several times in a conversation. I finally figured out that that was a way to say Goodbye instead of Stay.

    Reply
    • Anam Cara says

      September 14, 2013 at 8:32 am

      The Vilas (vi’- lass) family was a very prominent family in New Hamphire. The little town of Alstead has a recreation center named Vilas Pool, given in the 1920’s and a school built in 1935 with money from the estate of Charles Vilas. Pictures are here:

      http://home.comcast.net/~heidi.quinn/my_hometown_pool.htm

      Alstead is our family’s homestead for many generations. My husband, daughter and grandchildren are there now. Wish i could have gone with them…

      Reply
  11. MAry says

    September 14, 2013 at 6:33 am

    Just wait until you come to Wisconsin!!

    Reply
  12. Christa says

    September 14, 2013 at 5:39 am

    Yes ma’m! Love how you wrote the “pronunciation” of Asheville. As the woman from said conversation, I got a huge kick out of your post. Love that I can hear you (and our conversation) in my head as I read! Blessings, and y’all come back :).

    Reply
  13. Susan says

    September 14, 2013 at 5:37 am

    Well, bless your heart. 😉 Yes, here in NC, many cities end in either an -ville or -boro (pronounced burra). It is a fun observation we have made as transplants to the area.

    I am excited to see what else you noticed as differences in the two areas. I too love to observe differences in different areas of the country.

    Susan

    Reply
  14. Anam Cara says

    September 14, 2013 at 3:08 am

    We like to vacation in Canaan Valley, WV. That’s pronounced Kay-nane’.

    Charlottesville is in VA the home of Thomas Jefferson, the University of VA, and the Cavaliers.

    And one thing I learned as an Army wife with 19 moves in 30 years is this: be careful how you talk about a place – it’s someone’s home.

    Reply
    • Chautona says

      September 14, 2013 at 3:11 am

      Aw, I hope I wasn’t disrespectful. I loved my trip and found the whole pronunciation thing fascinating. 🙂

      I always feel like a military kid… 30 moves in 18 years but um… nope. Not military.

      Reply

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
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Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 482: A Chat with Lara d'Entremont
byChautona Havig

When Lara d’Entremont began describing her YA portal fantasy, The Painted Fairytale, I knew this would be right up my alley. Listen in and see how art becomes the portal to other worlds!

note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

Portal fantasy is my favorite, so I was crazy excited to learn about this one–especially the art tie-in. I can’t wait to dive in myself.

We chatted about her characters, the world, and the faith that connects them.

The Painted Fairytale by Lara d’Entremont

Seventeen-year-old Wren Devine refuses to share her art with anyone-other than her parents and her sister (who died three years prior). But when her mother submits her artwork to a mentorship program, and she gets accepted, Wren is forced to display her artwork for the eccentric Professor Hayes. Despite her fears, Wren hopes this mentorship will finally make her as worthy as her sister.

But this mentorship is about more than painting.

Wren soon learns that she has a magical ability to turn her paintings into portals to travel not only to other places but also to another world entirely. An eerie children’s book in the professor’s classroom reveals a wicked pirate with a vengeance who has her eye on Stefan Branson, a former student of Professor Hayes.

As all four of these lives intersect, it becomes apparent that everyone has a secret–some more deadly than others. The longer these secrets brew, the more deadly and heavy they become, and possibly lead to never seeing her former, earthly realm again. Wren must not only learn to release the shadow of her beloved sister but step boldly into her own world.

Learn more about Lara on her WEBSITE and follow her on GoodReads.or on Subtack.

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