1
00:00:00,727 --> 00:00:02,058
Had a piece o' pie.
had a piece o' puddin'

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00:00:02,162 --> 00:00:05,393
Well. l give it all away
to old Sally Goodin

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00:00:05,498 --> 00:00:08,194
ANNOUNCER: Down South. language
is a colorful blend

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00:00:08,301 --> 00:00:09,700
of vibrant parlance...

5
00:00:09,803 --> 00:00:12,863
[speaking Cajun]

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00:00:12,972 --> 00:00:14,496
ANNOUNCER:
...and down-home humor.

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00:00:14,607 --> 00:00:15,665
JEFF FO XWORTHY: Whichadidya.

8
00:00:15,775 --> 00:00:18,209
Hey. you didn't bring
your truck whichadidya?

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00:00:18,311 --> 00:00:19,972
ANNOUNCER: ln this part
of our journey

10
00:00:20,080 --> 00:00:23,208
you'll hear flamboyant
and distinctive dialects.

11
00:00:23,316 --> 00:00:24,374
from Appalachia...

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00:00:24,484 --> 00:00:27,783
MAN: Hey. boy.
put that car in the grudge.

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00:00:27,887 --> 00:00:31,186
ANNOUNCER: Down to
the Tex-Mex border.

14
00:00:31,291 --> 00:00:34,522
where we'll see if English
itself is endangered.

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00:00:34,627 --> 00:00:36,219
ROBERT GARClA: They've got
calls. threats.

16
00:00:36,329 --> 00:00:37,523
what are you doing
speaking Spanish

17
00:00:37,630 --> 00:00:41,259
as an official language
in America?

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00:00:41,367 --> 00:00:45,201
ANNOUNCER: lt's a sizzling combo
of rich cultures and traditions.

19
00:00:45,305 --> 00:00:48,206
MOLLY lVlNS:
We like our food spicy. and
we like our language spicy.

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00:00:48,308 --> 00:00:51,368
ANNOUNCER: This time.
on ''Do You Speak American?''

21
00:00:51,478 --> 00:00:53,776
Do you speak
American?

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00:00:53,880 --> 00:00:56,440
Do you. like.
speak American?

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00:00:56,549 --> 00:00:58,380
Do you speak American?

24
00:00:58,485 --> 00:01:00,612
Do you speak American. dawg?

25
00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:02,119
Do you speak American?

26
00:01:02,222 --> 00:01:03,917
<i>Tu parles americain?</i>

27
00:01:04,023 --> 00:01:05,320
<i>¿ Estás hablando american?</i>

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00:01:11,231 --> 00:01:12,459
ANNOUNCER:
''Do You Speak American?''

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00:01:12,565 --> 00:01:14,328
has been made possible. in part.

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00:01:14,434 --> 00:01:16,994
by the National Endowment
for the Humanities.

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00:01:17,103 --> 00:01:20,971
promoting excellence
in the humanities.

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00:01:21,074 --> 00:01:24,805
Additional funding
is provided by...

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00:01:43,296 --> 00:01:44,058
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
We're on a journey

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00:01:44,164 --> 00:01:46,132
that takes us across the U.S.A.

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00:01:46,232 --> 00:01:48,700
and through
the American language.

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00:01:55,742 --> 00:01:56,834
Now we're going to find out

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00:01:56,943 --> 00:01:59,411
how today's Southerners
answer the question.

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00:01:59,512 --> 00:02:02,242
''Do you speak American?''

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00:02:18,932 --> 00:02:21,423
The greatest division
America ever experienced

40
00:02:21,534 --> 00:02:23,331
was between North and South.

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00:02:23,436 --> 00:02:26,872
and that is still reflected
in our language.

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00:02:26,973 --> 00:02:29,601
Now we're running along
the beautiful Ohio River

43
00:02:29,709 --> 00:02:31,233
to Louisville. Kentucky.

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00:02:31,344 --> 00:02:34,177
the Ohio River. the traditional
northern boundary

45
00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:36,077
of the Southern accent.

46
00:02:40,887 --> 00:02:43,447
So is it true
that the Ohio River...

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00:02:43,556 --> 00:02:45,888
Walt Wolfram. a linguist
from North Carolina.

48
00:02:45,992 --> 00:02:48,620
is on board for this part
of the trip.

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00:02:48,728 --> 00:02:50,457
WALT: The first group
to settle the area

50
00:02:50,563 --> 00:02:53,430
seems to have the lasting effect
on the dialect area.

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00:02:53,533 --> 00:02:55,262
and even though we've had
all these changes

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00:02:55,368 --> 00:02:57,427
over a couple hundred years.

53
00:02:57,537 --> 00:03:01,803
the original dialect boundaries
seem to be fairly intact still.

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00:03:02,709 --> 00:03:04,267
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
The first English speakers

55
00:03:04,377 --> 00:03:06,470
to settle around here
were frontier fighters

56
00:03:06,579 --> 00:03:09,275
like Daniel Boone
and later Davy Crockett

57
00:03:09,382 --> 00:03:11,111
who pushed through
the Cumberland Gap

58
00:03:11,217 --> 00:03:14,709
and down the Ohio
and Tennessee rivers.

59
00:03:17,357 --> 00:03:20,087
Mostly Scots lrish. they spread
their way of speech

60
00:03:20,193 --> 00:03:22,684
from Pennsylvania
to West Virginia

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00:03:22,795 --> 00:03:26,629
and down the Appalachian Trail
into Kentucky and Tennessee.

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00:03:26,733 --> 00:03:29,600
That speech lives on
in the hills of Appalachia.

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00:03:29,702 --> 00:03:33,900
but it. too. is disappearing.

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00:03:34,007 --> 00:03:37,067
This was shot in the series
''The Story of English.''

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00:03:37,176 --> 00:03:38,507
WALT: Sure. l know.
l use it all the time.

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00:03:38,611 --> 00:03:40,476
ROBERT: You use this?
Well. you know this. then.

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00:03:40,580 --> 00:03:41,638
WALT: Oh. yeah. l know it well.

68
00:03:41,748 --> 00:03:44,808
ROBERT: This is
Mrs. Hicks and Ray Hicks

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00:03:44,917 --> 00:03:48,353
telling us how you get
to their house.

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00:03:48,454 --> 00:03:49,682
MRS. HlCKS: You fly
in an aeroplane

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00:03:49,789 --> 00:03:51,984
as far as you can come.

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00:03:52,091 --> 00:03:53,285
Then you get in a car
or a truck

73
00:03:53,393 --> 00:03:56,726
and ride as far
as you can go in hit.

74
00:03:56,829 --> 00:04:01,391
Then you get down and run
as far as you can.

75
00:04:01,501 --> 00:04:03,526
Then you crawl
on your hands and knees

76
00:04:03,636 --> 00:04:06,036
as far as you can come.

77
00:04:06,139 --> 00:04:09,336
Go that-a-way.
and then you straighten up

78
00:04:09,442 --> 00:04:14,243
and then you find a house.

79
00:04:14,347 --> 00:04:16,508
lt's a old-timey one.

80
00:04:16,616 --> 00:04:19,176
lt looks haunted
but it's really not.

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00:04:26,492 --> 00:04:28,722
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ): Ray Hicks
used to be famous around here.

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00:04:28,828 --> 00:04:30,295
People would come
from miles around

83
00:04:30,396 --> 00:04:32,296
to hear him tell folktales

84
00:04:32,398 --> 00:04:34,491
in one of the last
surviving examples

85
00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:36,329
of true Appalachian dialect.

86
00:04:36,436 --> 00:04:37,334
CHlLD: Howdy. Ray.

87
00:04:37,437 --> 00:04:38,904
RAY: Howdy. howdy.

88
00:04:39,005 --> 00:04:42,304
ROBERT: Now. ''howdy.'' that
sounds more like Texas to me.

89
00:04:42,408 --> 00:04:45,206
WALT: They do use some of that
in Appalachia.

90
00:04:45,311 --> 00:04:46,278
MAN: Howdy. Ray.

91
00:04:46,379 --> 00:04:47,437
RAY: Howdy.

92
00:04:47,547 --> 00:04:48,639
MAN: How are you today?

93
00:04:48,748 --> 00:04:50,943
RAY: Just a-makin'. How are you?
Just come on in.

94
00:04:51,050 --> 00:04:51,948
CHlLD: Howdy. Ray.

95
00:04:52,051 --> 00:04:53,040
RAY: Just come on in.

96
00:04:53,152 --> 00:04:56,178
CHlLD: Give us
a ghost story. Ray.

97
00:04:56,289 --> 00:04:58,348
Ray: OK.

98
00:04:58,458 --> 00:05:00,983
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ): Ray Hicks
loved to tell Jack tales.

99
00:05:01,094 --> 00:05:03,187
The most famous
is Jack and the Beanstalk.

100
00:05:03,296 --> 00:05:04,957
ln this story.
Jack meets a beggar

101
00:05:05,064 --> 00:05:07,999
who gives him a magic sack.

102
00:05:08,101 --> 00:05:09,864
RAY: He says l'm gonna
give you somethin'.

103
00:05:09,969 --> 00:05:13,166
He said here's a sack.

104
00:05:13,272 --> 00:05:15,399
That a-feelin' gets
to botherin' you.

105
00:05:15,508 --> 00:05:18,773
just say whickety whack
into this sack.

106
00:05:18,878 --> 00:05:20,277
ROBERT: Whickety whack
into the sack?

107
00:05:20,380 --> 00:05:21,677
WALT: Yeah. well.
he's got so many

108
00:05:21,781 --> 00:05:24,909
of the traditional features
of Appalachian dialect.

109
00:05:25,017 --> 00:05:27,577
the ''a'' in ''a-huntin'''
and ''a-fishin'''

110
00:05:27,687 --> 00:05:30,850
and the use of the tire. ''tar.''

111
00:05:30,957 --> 00:05:33,824
and the ''h'' before the it
and so forth.

112
00:05:33,926 --> 00:05:36,986
and it's really neat
that you've preserved this

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00:05:37,096 --> 00:05:40,554
because Ray
recently passed away.

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00:05:42,235 --> 00:05:43,964
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ): Today.
fewer and fewer people speak

115
00:05:44,070 --> 00:05:46,504
like the late Ray Hicks
and his wife Rosa.

116
00:05:50,676 --> 00:05:52,769
The old mountain dialect
may be vanishing.

117
00:05:52,879 --> 00:05:54,039
but when we went ashore

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00:05:54,147 --> 00:05:56,479
at a little place
called Rabbit Hash. Kentucky.

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00:05:56,582 --> 00:05:57,776
it seemed to me the local talk

120
00:05:57,884 --> 00:06:00,546
was still distinctive
and vigorous.

121
00:06:00,653 --> 00:06:01,847
ROBERT: How are you?

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00:06:01,954 --> 00:06:03,922
DWAYNE: l'm well.

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00:06:04,023 --> 00:06:05,081
Hi there.
l'm Dwayne Doyle.

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00:06:05,191 --> 00:06:07,159
ROBERT: Hi. Dwayne.
Robert MacNeil.

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00:06:07,260 --> 00:06:10,058
WALT: Walt Wolfram.
pleased to meet you.

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00:06:10,163 --> 00:06:11,653
MAN:  Went down the road.
road got muddy

127
00:06:11,764 --> 00:06:13,595
Stomped my toes.
couldn't stand steady

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00:06:13,699 --> 00:06:15,326
Up on the hillside
l seen Sally comin'

129
00:06:15,435 --> 00:06:17,562
Well. l thought to my soul
gonna kill myself a-runnin'

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00:06:17,670 --> 00:06:19,160
Had a piece o' pie.
had a piece o' puddin'

131
00:06:19,272 --> 00:06:21,968
Well. l give it all away
to old Sally Goodin

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00:06:27,713 --> 00:06:29,408
WALT: Do you think
the language is changing much?

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00:06:29,515 --> 00:06:31,244
TOMMY: Well. it is. you know.

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00:06:31,350 --> 00:06:32,408
Now down home where l'm from.

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00:06:32,518 --> 00:06:34,577
l'm from close
to Tennessee line.

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00:06:34,687 --> 00:06:37,212
l say Tennessee and Kentucky
both. they claim me.

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00:06:37,323 --> 00:06:38,790
Tennessee claims
l'm from Kentucky

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00:06:38,891 --> 00:06:41,985
and Kentucky claims
l'm from Tennessee.

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00:06:42,094 --> 00:06:45,325
And down there they call
a sheep. a female sheep. a ewe.

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00:06:45,431 --> 00:06:46,625
l mean a ''yo.''

141
00:06:46,732 --> 00:06:49,633
Up here. you know. they call it.
they call it a ewe.

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00:06:49,735 --> 00:06:51,396
down there they call it a ''yo.''

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00:06:51,504 --> 00:06:54,803
and they'd say. ''Hey. boy.
put that car in the grudge.''

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00:06:54,907 --> 00:06:55,999
You know. l said a grudge

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00:06:56,108 --> 00:06:57,973
is something what you have
against somebody.

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00:06:58,077 --> 00:07:01,171
Guy said no. Dad'd tell me put
the car in the grudge every day.

147
00:07:01,280 --> 00:07:02,941
So we talk like that.
and ''y'all.''

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00:07:03,049 --> 00:07:04,141
WALT: ls that one of the things
you grew up saying?

149
00:07:04,250 --> 00:07:06,582
TOMMY: Oh. yeah.
and ''over yander.''

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00:07:06,686 --> 00:07:08,176
WALT: And over yander. right.

151
00:07:08,287 --> 00:07:10,152
TOMMY: And it's a fair piece.

152
00:07:10,256 --> 00:07:13,123
l tell 'em it's not. like.
when l go over to Ohio.

153
00:07:13,226 --> 00:07:14,989
l say it's not a fair piece
to Rabbit Hash.

154
00:07:15,094 --> 00:07:16,789
lt's just three hops
and a jump o' the Ohio River

155
00:07:16,896 --> 00:07:19,729
and two or three swamps
and there you are.

156
00:07:19,832 --> 00:07:21,094
Yeah.

157
00:07:21,200 --> 00:07:23,760
Now. you know. you know.
just like you say. you know.

158
00:07:23,870 --> 00:07:27,101
we'd say ''you all.'' and
up here they'd say ''yous all.''

159
00:07:27,206 --> 00:07:29,333
and. you know. ''yous'' and ''yos''
and ''you all'' and ''yo all.''

160
00:07:29,442 --> 00:07:30,602
WALT: Did you ever hear
of ''yins?''

161
00:07:30,710 --> 00:07:32,337
TOMMY: Oh. ''youins.''
oh. yes. sir.

162
00:07:32,445 --> 00:07:34,310
My father was
from North Carolina.

163
00:07:34,413 --> 00:07:36,313
it was ''youins.''
and they'd say. like...

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00:07:36,415 --> 00:07:37,677
WALT: ln North Carolina
they'd say ''yins.''

165
00:07:37,783 --> 00:07:39,273
TOMMY: And then when they would
treat a person. you know.

166
00:07:39,385 --> 00:07:40,909
do a bad turn for him.

167
00:07:41,020 --> 00:07:42,851
instead of saying l wouldn't
serve a dog like that.

168
00:07:42,955 --> 00:07:45,150
they'd say. l wouldn't ''sarve''
a dog like that.

169
00:07:45,258 --> 00:07:46,418
ROBERT: ''Sarve'' a dog.

170
00:07:46,526 --> 00:07:48,426
TOMMY: l wouldn't ''sarve''
a dog like that.

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00:07:48,528 --> 00:07:49,859
And ''fetch.'' you know.

172
00:07:49,962 --> 00:07:51,088
WALT: Go fetch it.

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00:07:51,197 --> 00:07:52,494
TOMMY: And get me a poke
to put something in.

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00:07:52,598 --> 00:07:53,860
They don't call it a bag.

175
00:07:53,966 --> 00:07:54,898
WALT: A bag. yeah. yeah.

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00:07:55,001 --> 00:07:59,165
TOMMY: Yeah. l know
all that stuff.

177
00:07:59,272 --> 00:08:01,502
l was playing up here one night
in the.

178
00:08:01,607 --> 00:08:03,438
in a place where they dance.

179
00:08:03,543 --> 00:08:04,908
and some lady fell
out on the floor.

180
00:08:05,011 --> 00:08:07,605
and l said. hey. come here
and l'll pick you up.

181
00:08:07,747 --> 00:08:10,238
[laughter]

182
00:08:12,351 --> 00:08:13,943
Looked on the hillside.
l seen Sally comin'

183
00:08:14,053 --> 00:08:15,953
Well. l thought to my soul
gonna kill myself a-runnin'

184
00:08:16,055 --> 00:08:17,818
Had a piece o' pie.
had a piece o' puddin'

185
00:08:17,924 --> 00:08:19,789
Well. l give it all away
to old Sally Goodin

186
00:08:19,892 --> 00:08:21,359
Had a piece o' pie.
had a piece o' puddin'

187
00:08:21,460 --> 00:08:23,792
Well. l give it all away
to old Sally Goodin

188
00:08:26,799 --> 00:08:27,925
ROBERT: You've studied

189
00:08:28,034 --> 00:08:30,093
so many different aspects
of American speech.

190
00:08:30,202 --> 00:08:32,534
What would you say is
the most important trend

191
00:08:32,638 --> 00:08:34,663
in our language now?

192
00:08:34,774 --> 00:08:36,935
WALT: l think that one
of the most important trends

193
00:08:37,043 --> 00:08:41,412
is the fact that we're coming
to celebrate and recognize

194
00:08:41,514 --> 00:08:43,004
some of the dialect differences

195
00:08:43,115 --> 00:08:46,084
as a part of our natural
cultural heritage.

196
00:08:46,185 --> 00:08:50,212
rather than simply try to stamp
them out. to eradicate them.

197
00:08:50,323 --> 00:08:51,950
Speaking is part of culture.

198
00:08:52,058 --> 00:08:54,822
it's part of simply
defining themselves.

199
00:08:54,927 --> 00:08:58,090
l think a sort
of growing celebration

200
00:08:58,197 --> 00:08:59,630
of dialect differences

201
00:08:59,732 --> 00:09:02,599
is one of the most encouraging
signs that l've seen.

202
00:09:13,145 --> 00:09:15,113
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ): Today. the
country speech of Appalachia

203
00:09:15,214 --> 00:09:17,546
has absorbed
other Southern dialects

204
00:09:17,650 --> 00:09:19,777
and traveled throughout
the Sunbelt.

205
00:09:19,885 --> 00:09:22,080
You can hear this influence
all over the U.S.A.

206
00:09:22,188 --> 00:09:24,122
in the lingo of truckers
like David Swain

207
00:09:24,223 --> 00:09:26,418
with their CB radios.

208
00:09:26,525 --> 00:09:28,186
David's handle is Spanky.

209
00:09:28,294 --> 00:09:30,660
DAVlD: Northbound.

210
00:09:30,763 --> 00:09:32,025
You're lookin' good up there
at Franklin.

211
00:09:32,131 --> 00:09:35,794
up there at 65
is where l started. OK?

212
00:09:38,471 --> 00:09:39,460
ROBERT: Everybody sounds
real country

213
00:09:39,572 --> 00:09:43,235
when they're talking on the CB.

214
00:09:43,342 --> 00:09:45,207
DAVlD: They do. and l couldn't
tell you why.

215
00:09:45,311 --> 00:09:47,211
l mean. l don't even know
if l do.

216
00:09:47,313 --> 00:09:48,439
ROBERT: You do.

217
00:09:48,547 --> 00:09:50,481
Yeah. l thought you did
when you were talking.

218
00:09:50,583 --> 00:09:52,551
DAVlD: l don't know.
it's that CB slang. l guess.

219
00:09:52,652 --> 00:09:53,846
l don't know what it is.

220
00:09:53,953 --> 00:09:57,354
ROBERT: Uh-huh. ls that the same
all over the country?

221
00:09:57,456 --> 00:09:59,890
DAVlD: Uh. yeah. pretty much.

222
00:09:59,992 --> 00:10:02,688
Everybody pretty much
sounds the same way.

223
00:10:02,795 --> 00:10:05,161
And l don't know why.

224
00:10:08,467 --> 00:10:10,196
ROBERT: Spanky. you say you play
music on the road.

225
00:10:10,302 --> 00:10:12,099
What's your favorite kind
of music?

226
00:10:12,204 --> 00:10:13,899
DAVlD: Oh. my favorite's
country music.

227
00:10:14,006 --> 00:10:15,439
ROBERT: Yeah.

228
00:10:15,541 --> 00:10:18,476
DAVlD: As a matter of fact.
l've got a nephew

229
00:10:18,577 --> 00:10:23,037
that's in the country music
business. Cody.

230
00:10:23,149 --> 00:10:26,414
and he lives in Nashville.

231
00:10:26,519 --> 00:10:28,749
To be honest with you.

232
00:10:28,854 --> 00:10:33,120
his CD has taken me
many miles.

233
00:10:40,166 --> 00:10:42,498
Well. some things make me
fightin' mad

234
00:10:42,601 --> 00:10:45,297
while l'm motorin' along

235
00:10:45,404 --> 00:10:47,668
like to watch
a brand-new backhoe

236
00:10:47,773 --> 00:10:51,004
tear down
a hundred-year-old barn

237
00:10:51,110 --> 00:10:53,601
Well. it makes me wish
that l was rich

238
00:10:53,713 --> 00:10:56,773
'cause l'd buy up
that farmland

239
00:10:56,882 --> 00:10:59,373
find the folks
who were forced to sell

240
00:10:59,485 --> 00:11:02,079
and hand it back to them

241
00:11:02,188 --> 00:11:05,385
Now l'm inspired

242
00:11:05,491 --> 00:11:07,083
You better believe it

243
00:11:07,193 --> 00:11:13,063
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Spanky's nephew is
the country singer Cody James.

244
00:11:13,165 --> 00:11:15,793
COD Y:  They cover up
our soil so rich

245
00:11:15,901 --> 00:11:17,630
with motels. malls.
and dealerships

246
00:11:17,737 --> 00:11:20,638
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ): Cody looks.
sounds. and sings pure country.

247
00:11:20,740 --> 00:11:22,970
but he and Kenny Hayes.
his co-songwriter.

248
00:11:23,075 --> 00:11:25,566
aren't even from
this part of the country.

249
00:11:28,814 --> 00:11:30,839
COD Y: Thank you.

250
00:11:30,950 --> 00:11:33,009
ROBERT: Neither of you
is from the real South.

251
00:11:33,119 --> 00:11:36,054
You're originally from Oregon.
you're from Maryland.

252
00:11:36,155 --> 00:11:38,385
which is near the South.
but not in.

253
00:11:38,491 --> 00:11:39,981
When you do this kind of music.

254
00:11:40,092 --> 00:11:43,027
do you have to sound country
and Southern?

255
00:11:43,129 --> 00:11:45,188
COD Y: l don't think
that you necessarily have to.

256
00:11:45,297 --> 00:11:48,892
but it's real comfortable.
and when you start doin' it.

257
00:11:49,001 --> 00:11:50,901
like ''doin' it'' right there
is an example.

258
00:11:51,003 --> 00:11:52,129
lt's easier to talk that way

259
00:11:52,238 --> 00:11:54,433
than it is to when
you start doing it

260
00:11:54,540 --> 00:11:57,532
and enunciating everything
perfectly.

261
00:11:57,643 --> 00:12:00,203
ROBERT: But when you start
to saying ''doing it.''

262
00:12:00,312 --> 00:12:01,836
it sounds funny
coming out of your mouth.

263
00:12:01,947 --> 00:12:03,312
KENNY: lt sure does.

264
00:12:03,415 --> 00:12:04,541
COD Y: lt has character.

265
00:12:04,650 --> 00:12:05,639
ROBERT: And it's friendly.

266
00:12:05,751 --> 00:12:06,843
COD Y: Very much so.

267
00:12:06,952 --> 00:12:07,884
ROBERT: What do you mean.
it has character?

268
00:12:07,987 --> 00:12:09,386
COD Y: lt has character.

269
00:12:09,488 --> 00:12:12,355
l don't. country's just.
it's fun to hear it.

270
00:12:12,892 --> 00:12:15,053
Blue eyes just gleamin'

271
00:12:15,161 --> 00:12:18,255
The sweetest thing
l've ever seen...

272
00:12:18,364 --> 00:12:19,661
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Music like Cody's is part

273
00:12:19,765 --> 00:12:22,893
of the popular culture
that is making talkin' country

274
00:12:23,002 --> 00:12:26,699
the informal way
to speak American.

275
00:12:26,806 --> 00:12:28,273
You can hear it almost anywhere.

276
00:12:28,374 --> 00:12:32,970
turning its Appalachian origins
into a national trend.

277
00:12:35,848 --> 00:12:38,749
John Fought has studied
the New South phenomenon.

278
00:12:38,851 --> 00:12:41,183
that vogue for Southern ways
and country talk

279
00:12:41,287 --> 00:12:44,484
that now seems to reach
farther and farther.

280
00:12:44,590 --> 00:12:45,818
JOHN: For a long time

281
00:12:45,925 --> 00:12:49,759
the most rapid population growth
percentages in the U.S.

282
00:12:49,862 --> 00:12:52,831
have been in the inland
Southern area. the Sunbelt.

283
00:12:52,932 --> 00:12:55,833
This dialect is
a very large dialect

284
00:12:55,935 --> 00:12:59,666
and it's perfectly
to be expected that

285
00:12:59,772 --> 00:13:01,569
we would see a lot of it.

286
00:13:01,674 --> 00:13:04,939
lt has probably
the largest body of speakers

287
00:13:05,044 --> 00:13:07,512
of any of the American
dialects now.

288
00:13:07,613 --> 00:13:10,810
And this will only grow
with time.

289
00:13:10,916 --> 00:13:14,408
ROBERT: So Southern.
inland Southern.

290
00:13:14,520 --> 00:13:20,584
is now the largest dialect
in America and growing?

291
00:13:20,693 --> 00:13:24,356
JOHN: l hope so.

292
00:13:24,463 --> 00:13:27,489
But it seems confirmed
by the 2000 census.

293
00:13:34,540 --> 00:13:36,030
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
By contrast.

294
00:13:36,141 --> 00:13:37,870
the other strand
of Southern speech.

295
00:13:37,977 --> 00:13:40,741
the dialect of the coastal
or plantation South

296
00:13:40,846 --> 00:13:43,076
is losing influence.

297
00:13:43,182 --> 00:13:45,912
lt's being swept away by time
and civil rights

298
00:13:46,018 --> 00:13:48,782
and the migration
of Northerners.

299
00:13:48,888 --> 00:13:55,418
City dwellers in the deep South
are even pronouncing their Rs.

300
00:13:55,527 --> 00:13:57,392
But here in Oxford. Mississippi.

301
00:13:57,496 --> 00:14:02,991
what's celebrated today
is language that endures.

302
00:14:03,102 --> 00:14:04,797
Among the cultural treasures
of the South

303
00:14:04,904 --> 00:14:06,565
is its literary tradition.

304
00:14:06,672 --> 00:14:09,664
and Mississippi can boast two
of America's greatest writers.

305
00:14:09,775 --> 00:14:12,801
William Faulkner
and Eudora Welty.

306
00:14:12,912 --> 00:14:14,402
ln their recorded voices.

307
00:14:14,513 --> 00:14:16,504
you can hear
the cultivated speech

308
00:14:16,615 --> 00:14:19,277
of Mississippi
of two generations ago.

309
00:14:19,385 --> 00:14:21,148
For instance.
this is Eudora Welty

310
00:14:21,253 --> 00:14:25,155
reading from her story
''The Optimist's Daughter.''

311
00:14:25,257 --> 00:14:27,282
EUDORA: ''So l was forced
to the conclusion

312
00:14:27,393 --> 00:14:30,021
''l'd started seeing behind me.

313
00:14:30,129 --> 00:14:34,566
''They laughed a single high note
as derisive as a jay's.

314
00:14:34,667 --> 00:14:36,430
'''Yes. that's disturbing.'

315
00:14:36,535 --> 00:14:39,197
''Doctor Courtman rolled forward
on his stool.

316
00:14:39,305 --> 00:14:42,536
'Let's just have
a good look.'''

317
00:14:42,641 --> 00:14:45,132
ROBERT: Eudora Welty told me
a story about her accent.

318
00:14:45,244 --> 00:14:46,268
ln the late '30s.

319
00:14:46,378 --> 00:14:48,539
she attended Columbia University
in New York

320
00:14:48,647 --> 00:14:50,945
and lived
in the women's residence.

321
00:14:51,050 --> 00:14:52,074
The women around the residence

322
00:14:52,184 --> 00:14:54,209
would give free theatre
and concert tickets

323
00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:55,753
to the students.

324
00:14:55,854 --> 00:14:58,288
After a couple of months
Eudora went to her and said.

325
00:14:58,390 --> 00:14:59,823
''Why did l never get any?''

326
00:14:59,925 --> 00:15:01,415
And the woman said.
''With your accent.

327
00:15:01,527 --> 00:15:02,585
we didn't think
you'd be interested

328
00:15:02,695 --> 00:15:04,629
in cultural activities.''

329
00:15:10,369 --> 00:15:11,495
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
That kind of prejudice

330
00:15:11,603 --> 00:15:15,767
is still alive today.
if more good humored.

331
00:15:15,874 --> 00:15:17,739
The stand-up comedian
Jeff Foxworthy

332
00:15:17,843 --> 00:15:20,277
bases a large part of his
act around it.

333
00:15:20,379 --> 00:15:22,677
He must be on to something.
because wherever he plays.

334
00:15:22,781 --> 00:15:25,716
he fills the house.

335
00:15:25,818 --> 00:15:27,217
JEFF: Speaking of words.

336
00:15:27,319 --> 00:15:30,447
got a few more
Southern words for you.

337
00:15:30,556 --> 00:15:35,755
First one. mayonnaise.

338
00:15:35,861 --> 00:15:40,992
Mayonnaise a lot of people
here tonight

339
00:15:41,100 --> 00:15:42,362
lt's kind of a gift.

340
00:15:42,468 --> 00:15:46,996
They come to me in my sleep.
l write 'em down.

341
00:15:47,106 --> 00:15:49,666
lnnuendo.

342
00:15:49,775 --> 00:15:54,439
Hey. dude. l saw a bird fly
innuendo.

343
00:15:54,546 --> 00:15:56,013
ROBERT: Do you think
Northern people

344
00:15:56,115 --> 00:16:00,575
think Southerners are stupid
because of the way they talk?

345
00:16:00,686 --> 00:16:02,654
JEFF: Yes. l think so.
and l think Southerners

346
00:16:02,755 --> 00:16:06,452
really don't care that
Northern people think that.

347
00:16:06,558 --> 00:16:07,718
You know. l mean. some

348
00:16:07,826 --> 00:16:11,262
of the most intelligent
people l've ever known

349
00:16:11,363 --> 00:16:13,991
talked like l do.

350
00:16:14,099 --> 00:16:15,396
ln fact. l used to do
a joke about that.

351
00:16:15,501 --> 00:16:17,230
about the Southern accent.

352
00:16:17,336 --> 00:16:20,396
l said nobody wants to hear
their brain surgeon say.

353
00:16:20,506 --> 00:16:22,997
''Alright. what we're
gonna do is...

354
00:16:23,108 --> 00:16:26,009
saw the top of your head off.

355
00:16:26,111 --> 00:16:27,544
root around in there
with a stick

356
00:16:27,646 --> 00:16:30,547
and see if we can't find
that dad-burned clot.''

357
00:16:36,555 --> 00:16:38,455
Urinal.

358
00:16:38,557 --> 00:16:39,649
l told my brother

359
00:16:39,758 --> 00:16:44,422
urinal lot of trouble
when daddy gets home.

360
00:16:44,530 --> 00:16:49,160
And last but not least.
whichadidja.

361
00:16:49,268 --> 00:16:51,532
Whichadidja.

362
00:16:51,637 --> 00:16:53,730
Hey. you didn't bring
yer truck whichadidja?

363
00:17:06,452 --> 00:17:08,511
ROBERT: Down the
great Mississippi River now

364
00:17:08,620 --> 00:17:10,520
we're leaving the South.

365
00:17:10,622 --> 00:17:12,055
Ahead are the states

366
00:17:12,157 --> 00:17:15,058
where English rubs
up against many languages

367
00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:19,119
and speaking American takes on
a whole new character.

368
00:17:31,443 --> 00:17:35,140
We're ten miles up state
route 1 3 from Eunice. Louisiana.

369
00:17:35,247 --> 00:17:38,114
driving past
flooded rice paddies.

370
00:17:38,217 --> 00:17:40,583
We're going to sample
some Cajun.

371
00:17:43,255 --> 00:17:46,952
Cajun is a dialect that has only
emerged in recent generations

372
00:17:47,059 --> 00:17:49,823
but has become a source
of fierce local pride.

373
00:17:49,928 --> 00:17:52,260
Crawfish plus.

374
00:17:55,767 --> 00:17:57,530
To hear the sound
of authentic Cajun.

375
00:17:57,636 --> 00:18:01,595
turn off the road at a big
water tower that says ''Mamou.''

376
00:18:05,244 --> 00:18:07,474
Today. Cajun is
as much tourist bait

377
00:18:07,579 --> 00:18:11,037
as crawfish pie
or boudin sausage.

378
00:18:13,919 --> 00:18:16,513
Here in Carl's Restaurant.
which describes itself

379
00:18:16,622 --> 00:18:19,489
as the most famous restaurant
in Mamou.

380
00:18:19,591 --> 00:18:22,685
you can hear English
and French and Cajun.

381
00:18:22,794 --> 00:18:27,891
which is kind of a mixture of
the two with other influences.

382
00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:30,594
MAN: C'est la plus grosse
largeur

383
00:18:30,702 --> 00:18:34,934
de corn stamps book t'as vu.

384
00:18:35,040 --> 00:18:40,273
Oui je suis alle...

385
00:18:40,379 --> 00:18:41,778
des passé un magasin aussi gros

386
00:18:41,880 --> 00:18:44,474
que ca mais dix metres
de l'autoroute.

387
00:18:47,586 --> 00:18:49,144
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ): While
l was hanging out in Carl's.

388
00:18:49,254 --> 00:18:51,017
there was a steady stream
of people arriving

389
00:18:51,123 --> 00:18:54,752
at Fred's Lounge
across the street.

390
00:18:54,860 --> 00:18:57,385
Fred's motto is.
''Laissez les bon temps rouler.''

391
00:18:57,496 --> 00:19:00,488
Let the good times roll.

392
00:19:00,599 --> 00:19:02,499
The lounge has become
an institution.

393
00:19:02,601 --> 00:19:05,900
as has its owner.
Aunt. or Tante. Sue.

394
00:19:06,004 --> 00:19:07,494
Tante Sue. would you describe

395
00:19:07,606 --> 00:19:10,905
what happens here
on a Saturday morning?

396
00:19:11,009 --> 00:19:12,636
S UE: The one description l have
about Fred's Lounge

397
00:19:12,744 --> 00:19:14,234
is we have a wonderful time

398
00:19:14,346 --> 00:19:15,973
and l think this
is one of the places

399
00:19:16,081 --> 00:19:18,675
that you have
the most true feeling

400
00:19:18,784 --> 00:19:21,412
of Cajun culture there is.

401
00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:37,764
We have people coming in
at eight o'clock.

402
00:19:37,869 --> 00:19:40,133
We promote to offer them
bloody Mary

403
00:19:40,239 --> 00:19:42,799
because it's a mild drink
and it's very good.

404
00:19:42,908 --> 00:19:45,968
Once that band starts playing.
they do start drinking.

405
00:19:53,518 --> 00:19:54,576
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Every Saturday.

406
00:19:54,686 --> 00:19:56,210
it's not just drink
that's being mixed.

407
00:19:56,321 --> 00:19:58,255
but language. too.

408
00:19:58,357 --> 00:20:03,260
as the local radio station
broadcasts live from Fred's.

409
00:20:03,362 --> 00:20:05,159
MAN: Est sponsor
de la journee

410
00:20:05,264 --> 00:20:09,200
et ca c'est pour
le magnifique barbecue sauce.

411
00:20:09,301 --> 00:20:11,064
Jack Miller's barbecue sauce.

412
00:20:11,169 --> 00:20:16,038
le vrai gout de Cajun
dans chaque bouteille.

413
00:20:16,141 --> 00:20:19,668
Jack Miller's barbecue sauce
amene le meilleur flaveur.

414
00:20:19,778 --> 00:20:23,043
mm-mm. c'est bon.

415
00:20:23,148 --> 00:20:24,479
La sauce a Jack Miller's.

416
00:20:24,583 --> 00:20:27,677
Jack Miller's barbecue sauce.
alright.

417
00:20:27,786 --> 00:20:30,880
Special request.
''La Chanson de Mardi Gras.''

418
00:20:36,561 --> 00:20:38,358
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ): American
English smothered in Cajun

419
00:20:38,463 --> 00:20:41,694
is what you hear
in Tante Sue's speech.

420
00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:43,165
S UE: We have
Fred's Lounge t-shirt

421
00:20:43,268 --> 00:20:46,999
with the accordion on the front.
which is our regular logo.

422
00:20:47,105 --> 00:20:50,666
And when the accordion
starts playing in the band.

423
00:20:50,776 --> 00:20:53,370
l play my accordion
on my t-shirt

424
00:20:53,478 --> 00:20:55,412
and l have a great time
and l don't miss a note.

425
00:20:55,514 --> 00:20:56,538
l don't know how
to play the accordion.

426
00:20:56,648 --> 00:20:58,707
but l don't miss a note
on my t-shirt.

427
00:20:58,817 --> 00:21:06,781
[singing in Cajun]

428
00:21:17,102 --> 00:21:18,433
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Perhaps it's best to leave

429
00:21:18,537 --> 00:21:20,402
before Tante Sue
gets too carried away

430
00:21:20,505 --> 00:21:23,372
with her accordion playing.

431
00:21:34,219 --> 00:21:37,279
l'm heading out of Mamou
to the west.

432
00:21:38,223 --> 00:21:39,781
l'm on my way
to the Texas border

433
00:21:39,891 --> 00:21:43,657
and the next leg of my journey
through American English.

434
00:21:48,567 --> 00:21:51,001
We've just been listening
to French here in Louisiana.

435
00:21:51,103 --> 00:21:54,038
ln fact. this whole area could
still be speaking French

436
00:21:54,139 --> 00:21:56,573
if Thomas Jefferson
hadn't bought

437
00:21:56,675 --> 00:22:00,270
almost everything west of here
in the Louisiana Purchase.

438
00:22:00,379 --> 00:22:03,837
or by another turn of history.
it could be speaking Spanish.

439
00:22:03,949 --> 00:22:06,884
as some Americans
still fear it might.

440
00:22:06,985 --> 00:22:09,419
But Spanish is only one
of the language influences

441
00:22:09,521 --> 00:22:11,182
we're going to be looking into

442
00:22:11,289 --> 00:22:13,348
as we move across
the state of Texas

443
00:22:13,458 --> 00:22:15,892
and down to the Mexican border.

444
00:22:28,840 --> 00:22:34,801
The Texas accent has its roots
home on the range.

445
00:22:34,913 --> 00:22:38,212
You can hear it
on the Bar J Ranch near Beeville

446
00:22:38,316 --> 00:22:41,183
when the young cowhands.
slow talking and laconic.

447
00:22:41,286 --> 00:22:44,255
tell how to round up cattle.

448
00:22:44,356 --> 00:22:45,914
J AKE: You just got
to go at 'em kind of slow

449
00:22:46,024 --> 00:22:48,549
and talk to them.
and you cain't rush 'em

450
00:22:48,660 --> 00:22:52,994
'cos they'll go to tearin' down
fences and all that.

451
00:22:53,098 --> 00:22:55,794
lt's like the cattle we worked
earlier this morning.

452
00:22:55,901 --> 00:22:57,562
we went out there
nice and slow

453
00:22:57,669 --> 00:22:59,569
and they went
straight for the brush.

454
00:22:59,671 --> 00:23:02,606
and they're probably
still out there.

455
00:23:02,707 --> 00:23:06,040
Depends on how much
you work 'em and stuff.

456
00:23:06,144 --> 00:23:07,611
COWBO Y: Once you break one
loose from the herd.

457
00:23:07,712 --> 00:23:09,577
she's gonna be
a little bit wilder.

458
00:23:09,681 --> 00:23:12,582
a little bit more hot-headed
than the other cattle

459
00:23:12,684 --> 00:23:17,053
because she's away
from her herd.

460
00:23:17,155 --> 00:23:18,782
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Texas speech is a combination

461
00:23:18,890 --> 00:23:20,983
of two Southern dialects.

462
00:23:21,092 --> 00:23:23,993
Some of those who settled here
came from the plantation areas

463
00:23:24,095 --> 00:23:28,464
of Alabama. Georgia.
and Mississippi.

464
00:23:28,567 --> 00:23:29,727
Others came down

465
00:23:29,835 --> 00:23:33,032
from Appalachia. Tennessee.
and Kentucky.

466
00:23:33,138 --> 00:23:34,765
The result is a kind
of Southern speech

467
00:23:34,873 --> 00:23:40,243
that's different
from anything else.

468
00:23:40,345 --> 00:23:43,610
Add to that a mixture
of Germans. Poles and Czechs

469
00:23:43,715 --> 00:23:45,910
who immigrated
directly to Texas.

470
00:23:46,017 --> 00:23:48,747
and you have something
quite distinct.

471
00:23:52,724 --> 00:23:55,921
COWBO Y: The squeeze chute. well.
you got your head gate there

472
00:23:56,027 --> 00:23:57,756
where you can get up there
and work on the horns

473
00:23:57,863 --> 00:24:01,629
and tag 'em and all that.
and you can get a brand on 'em

474
00:24:01,733 --> 00:24:05,726
without 'em moving around
and all that.

475
00:24:05,837 --> 00:24:06,895
COWBO Y: Jake describes it right.

476
00:24:07,005 --> 00:24:09,166
We're not hurting
the animal.

477
00:24:09,274 --> 00:24:12,903
we're just restraining it
so we can work on it properly.

478
00:24:20,452 --> 00:24:22,511
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
That Texas accent is so catching

479
00:24:22,621 --> 00:24:24,452
that outsiders who move here.

480
00:24:24,556 --> 00:24:26,046
like ranch owner
Linda Blackburn.

481
00:24:26,157 --> 00:24:28,682
can't help picking up
that twang.

482
00:24:28,793 --> 00:24:31,261
You must really love this.
do you?

483
00:24:31,363 --> 00:24:34,730
LlNDA: Oh. l wouldn't trade it
for anything.

484
00:24:34,833 --> 00:24:36,164
Being out in the open.

485
00:24:36,268 --> 00:24:41,069
l'm not a house person.
love the horses. dogs.

486
00:24:41,172 --> 00:24:45,666
They're working in command
of this situation here.

487
00:24:45,777 --> 00:24:47,608
and of course. the boys.
look at 'em.

488
00:24:47,712 --> 00:24:49,680
Ha. wouldn't you like
this. too?

489
00:24:49,781 --> 00:24:53,080
[laughing]

490
00:24:58,523 --> 00:25:00,457
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Today only one percent of Texans

491
00:25:00,559 --> 00:25:02,789
ride a horse to work.

492
00:25:02,894 --> 00:25:04,327
The rest. as they say
around here.

493
00:25:04,429 --> 00:25:07,421
are all hat and no cattle.

494
00:25:07,532 --> 00:25:10,023
Cowboy words include wrangler.
maverick.

495
00:25:10,135 --> 00:25:13,536
rustler. and chuck wagon.

496
00:25:13,672 --> 00:25:18,439
When we visited her ranch. Linda
organized an old-time cookout.

497
00:25:18,543 --> 00:25:22,377
CHEF: This is like a stew
in a gravy.

498
00:25:22,480 --> 00:25:24,846
ROBERT: This is all authentic.
the way it used to be done?

499
00:25:24,950 --> 00:25:26,941
CHEF: Yes. sir.

500
00:25:27,052 --> 00:25:29,247
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ): The
Wild West and Western movies

501
00:25:29,354 --> 00:25:30,548
have helped spread phrases

502
00:25:30,655 --> 00:25:34,955
like ''hot under the collar''
and ''bite the dust''

503
00:25:35,060 --> 00:25:37,722
that go with the cowboy's
deadpan sense of humor.

504
00:25:39,097 --> 00:25:41,395
CHARLES: Well. the two A.M. call
was no fun at all

505
00:25:41,499 --> 00:25:43,364
for a rancher
who needs his rest.

506
00:25:43,468 --> 00:25:46,369
To heck with that thing.
just let it ring.

507
00:25:46,471 --> 00:25:48,632
old Bud wouldn't leave
his warm nest.

508
00:25:48,740 --> 00:25:51,504
But. Bud. Liz cried.
maybe somebody's died.

509
00:25:51,610 --> 00:25:54,135
her voice so uncertain
yet warning.

510
00:25:54,245 --> 00:25:57,510
Well. Liz. Bud said.
if somebody's dead

511
00:25:57,616 --> 00:26:01,017
they'll still be dead
in the morning.

512
00:26:01,119 --> 00:26:03,644
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ): One
major influence on Texas talk

513
00:26:03,755 --> 00:26:05,154
comes from Spanish.

514
00:26:05,256 --> 00:26:11,525
originally spoken here
when Texas was part of Mexico.

515
00:26:11,630 --> 00:26:13,029
On the Bar J Ranch

516
00:26:13,131 --> 00:26:15,395
some of the boys practicing
their rodeo skills

517
00:26:15,500 --> 00:26:17,331
come from
Spanish-speaking families

518
00:26:17,435 --> 00:26:19,699
that have been American
for generations

519
00:26:19,804 --> 00:26:21,237
and for whom a ranch is a...

520
00:26:21,339 --> 00:26:23,432
TRAVlS: Say it in Spanish?
Rancho.

521
00:26:23,541 --> 00:26:24,735
ROBERT: And what does it mean
in Spanish?

522
00:26:24,843 --> 00:26:26,470
TRAVlS: Basically same thing
it means in English.

523
00:26:26,578 --> 00:26:29,240
lt's a place
where the cattle is.

524
00:26:29,347 --> 00:26:30,439
ROBERT: Rodeo?

525
00:26:30,548 --> 00:26:32,641
TRAVlS: Rodeo? You know.
you get a wild cow.

526
00:26:32,751 --> 00:26:34,548
you get a broncky horse

527
00:26:34,653 --> 00:26:38,020
and a cowboy tries to see
how much pride he's got

528
00:26:38,123 --> 00:26:41,217
to ride him or to handle him.

529
00:26:45,296 --> 00:26:49,027
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ): Rodeo.
bronco. stampede. corral.

530
00:26:49,134 --> 00:26:52,626
like today's taco.
fajita. nacho. and enchilada--

531
00:26:52,737 --> 00:26:55,706
it all comes from Spanish.

532
00:26:58,576 --> 00:27:02,444
TRAVlS: Lasso--that's what you
throw at the animal to catch it.

533
00:27:02,547 --> 00:27:10,921
Bronco--a young horse
that's not quite broke.

534
00:27:11,022 --> 00:27:17,825
Pinto--the color of a horse
or a bean.

535
00:27:17,929 --> 00:27:19,988
Vamos--it means ''let's go.''

536
00:27:43,021 --> 00:27:44,454
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
When you think about Texas.

537
00:27:44,556 --> 00:27:46,786
you think about cowboys
and cattle.

538
00:27:46,891 --> 00:27:50,725
You don't think
about cotton and slavery.

539
00:27:50,829 --> 00:27:51,818
But that's in the history

540
00:27:51,930 --> 00:27:54,660
of this dry. flat.
and stiflingly hot

541
00:27:54,766 --> 00:27:56,757
east central Texas.

542
00:28:07,812 --> 00:28:11,213
This has been cotton country
ever since the time of slavery.

543
00:28:11,316 --> 00:28:12,681
After slavery was abolished.

544
00:28:12,784 --> 00:28:15,981
this land was worked
by dirt-poor sharecroppers.

545
00:28:23,762 --> 00:28:24,820
l'm meeting two linguists

546
00:28:24,929 --> 00:28:27,022
at the country store
in Springville.

547
00:28:27,132 --> 00:28:28,429
a tiny community sandwiched

548
00:28:28,533 --> 00:28:32,196
between two Union Pacific
railroad tracks.

549
00:28:35,974 --> 00:28:37,305
For more than 1 7 years

550
00:28:37,408 --> 00:28:39,933
Guy Bailey and
Patricia Cukor-Avila

551
00:28:40,044 --> 00:28:43,070
have been conducting
a remarkable piece of research

552
00:28:43,181 --> 00:28:46,981
into the language
of local African Americans.

553
00:28:47,085 --> 00:28:48,143
GU Y: How are you doing?

554
00:28:48,253 --> 00:28:50,585
Welcome to Springville.
welcome to the train.

555
00:28:50,688 --> 00:28:51,848
PAT: Welcome to the train.
right.

556
00:28:51,956 --> 00:28:53,355
ROBERT: Right. do you have these
all the time?

557
00:28:53,458 --> 00:28:54,356
GU Y: All the time.

558
00:28:54,459 --> 00:28:56,518
PAT: Every few minutes.

559
00:29:00,365 --> 00:29:03,596
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
For generations of
sharecroppers black and white.

560
00:29:03,701 --> 00:29:07,262
the country store was
the center of their lives.

561
00:29:07,372 --> 00:29:10,170
This is where they bought
provisions. stores and tools.

562
00:29:10,275 --> 00:29:13,108
and this is where they borrowed
money from the white store owner

563
00:29:13,211 --> 00:29:17,113
until they sold their cotton.

564
00:29:17,215 --> 00:29:18,876
This store has been owned
by the same family

565
00:29:18,983 --> 00:29:22,942
for more than a century.

566
00:29:23,054 --> 00:29:25,215
ln many ways
it's hardly changed at all.

567
00:29:25,323 --> 00:29:28,850
lt's in a kind of time warp.

568
00:29:35,767 --> 00:29:37,997
PAT: When l first started out
with this project.

569
00:29:38,102 --> 00:29:41,902
l would sit out
at the general store inside

570
00:29:42,006 --> 00:29:45,533
and basically hang out there
most of the day

571
00:29:45,643 --> 00:29:48,737
and interact with people
who came in and talk with them.

572
00:29:48,847 --> 00:29:51,077
not necessarily record
right at first.

573
00:29:51,182 --> 00:29:54,117
until l got to know people.

574
00:29:54,219 --> 00:29:55,777
Hey. stranger

575
00:29:55,887 --> 00:29:57,218
The mail is still delivered
at the store.

576
00:29:57,322 --> 00:29:58,983
There is no home delivery.

577
00:29:59,090 --> 00:30:00,352
People oftentimes
don't just come

578
00:30:00,458 --> 00:30:01,925
to get their mail and leave.

579
00:30:02,026 --> 00:30:04,688
They come. get their mail.
sit down. open it.

580
00:30:04,796 --> 00:30:06,559
sit around and talk.

581
00:30:09,868 --> 00:30:11,563
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Springville is a fictional name

582
00:30:11,669 --> 00:30:13,967
Guy and Patricia gave
to the community

583
00:30:14,072 --> 00:30:18,065
so that local people would feel
relaxed in their company.

584
00:30:18,176 --> 00:30:20,144
To win their trust.
Guy and Patricia

585
00:30:20,245 --> 00:30:25,080
also promised them
they would use pseudonyms.

586
00:30:25,183 --> 00:30:27,413
PAT: Willie is a lifelong
resident of the area.

587
00:30:27,518 --> 00:30:32,785
He grew up on one of the farms
close to the store.

588
00:30:32,891 --> 00:30:34,324
He's always lived out here

589
00:30:34,425 --> 00:30:38,054
and worked in agriculture
his whole life.

590
00:30:38,162 --> 00:30:40,756
He's a very good example
of what we would call

591
00:30:40,865 --> 00:30:45,734
older rural African American
speech patterns.

592
00:30:48,273 --> 00:30:49,399
GU Y: You told me
that when you were a boy

593
00:30:49,507 --> 00:30:50,906
you did a lot of hunting
and stuff.

594
00:30:51,009 --> 00:30:52,874
WlLLlE: Yeah. l hunted
a little bit. yes. sir.

595
00:30:52,977 --> 00:30:54,137
GU Y: What all did you hunt?

596
00:30:54,245 --> 00:30:56,645
WlLLlE: l hunted rabbits
and anything l could catch.

597
00:30:56,748 --> 00:30:57,976
GU Y: Right.

598
00:30:58,082 --> 00:30:59,310
ls armadillo pretty good to eat?

599
00:30:59,417 --> 00:31:00,645
WlLLlE: Yes. sir. he good. sir.

600
00:31:00,752 --> 00:31:02,811
GU Y: Never had armadillo.
What's it taste like?

601
00:31:02,921 --> 00:31:03,819
WlLLlE: Taste good.
like chicken.

602
00:31:03,922 --> 00:31:04,820
GU Y: ls that right?

603
00:31:04,923 --> 00:31:05,947
WlLLlE: Yes. sir. sure do. sir.

604
00:31:06,057 --> 00:31:07,115
You couldn't rice it.

605
00:31:07,225 --> 00:31:08,624
GU Y: ls that right?
How you cook it?

606
00:31:08,726 --> 00:31:12,992
WlLLlE: Well. my mama.
she boil him. boil him in a pot.

607
00:31:13,097 --> 00:31:15,531
you know. put some onion
round him

608
00:31:15,633 --> 00:31:18,830
and. you know. make gravy
out of him.

609
00:31:18,937 --> 00:31:20,837
PAT: What we've been able
to do with this research

610
00:31:20,939 --> 00:31:24,875
is to look at how things change
over time in a single community.

611
00:31:25,343 --> 00:31:29,939
WlLLlE: We had some hard times
in my day. yes. sir.

612
00:31:30,048 --> 00:31:32,710
We worked hard. sir.
'cos my daddy...

613
00:31:32,817 --> 00:31:34,250
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Willie's way of talking

614
00:31:34,352 --> 00:31:37,344
can be traced right back
to the time of slavery.

615
00:31:37,455 --> 00:31:39,013
We know this because
one of the things

616
00:31:39,123 --> 00:31:41,683
that makes this part of Texas
so special

617
00:31:41,793 --> 00:31:44,694
is a series of recordings
and photographs made here

618
00:31:44,796 --> 00:31:46,957
in the 1 930s and '40s.

619
00:31:47,065 --> 00:31:48,396
GU Y: These were pictures

620
00:31:48,499 --> 00:31:51,263
that were made by workers
for the WPA here in Texas.

621
00:31:51,369 --> 00:31:53,496
The top two
are from former slaves

622
00:31:53,604 --> 00:31:55,094
who were from this district.

623
00:31:55,206 --> 00:31:58,300
The others are from slaves
in other parts of Texas.

624
00:31:58,409 --> 00:32:00,502
ROBERT: You think of slavery
being so long ago.

625
00:32:00,611 --> 00:32:03,341
so long in the past.

626
00:32:03,448 --> 00:32:07,077
GU Y: So much of it. though. was
a 1 9th-century phenomenon.

627
00:32:07,185 --> 00:32:08,812
ROBERT: So these people
photographed

628
00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:12,412
in the late '30s
or 1 940 or thereabouts

629
00:32:12,523 --> 00:32:15,048
could actually be
the grandchildren

630
00:32:15,159 --> 00:32:18,993
or even children of people
brought directly from Africa?

631
00:32:19,097 --> 00:32:22,828
GU Y: That's exactly right.

632
00:32:22,934 --> 00:32:25,129
Here are some recordings
from the Library of Congress

633
00:32:25,236 --> 00:32:28,433
with former slaves
who were born in Texas.

634
00:32:28,539 --> 00:32:29,870
WOMAN: Born right there
and stayed there

635
00:32:29,974 --> 00:32:34,172
until l was about nine.
ten years old. maybe even more.

636
00:32:34,278 --> 00:32:35,540
Stayed right there.

637
00:32:35,646 --> 00:32:37,443
We didn't know where to go.

638
00:32:37,548 --> 00:32:38,572
Mama never did know
where to go.

639
00:32:38,683 --> 00:32:39,945
Y'see. after freedom broke.

640
00:32:40,051 --> 00:32:42,178
it's like just like you
turn someone out. y'know.

641
00:32:42,286 --> 00:32:43,776
Didn't know where to go.

642
00:32:43,888 --> 00:32:47,153
They just would've stayed.

643
00:32:47,258 --> 00:32:50,557
MAN: l said
l'm 61 or 2 years old.

644
00:32:50,661 --> 00:32:53,562
and l never had no trouble
in my life.

645
00:32:53,664 --> 00:32:56,030
l say l never asked a no ones
for a nickel

646
00:32:56,134 --> 00:32:57,761
what they didn't give to me
in my life.

647
00:32:58,970 --> 00:33:01,939
And not a one of them
never trusted me.

648
00:33:02,040 --> 00:33:03,667
ROBERT: What is significant
to you

649
00:33:03,775 --> 00:33:06,335
in the speech patterns
on these recordings?

650
00:33:06,444 --> 00:33:08,275
GU Y: They're very different
from current day

651
00:33:08,379 --> 00:33:09,903
African American
Vernacular English.

652
00:33:10,014 --> 00:33:12,881
Many of the features
that are most common

653
00:33:12,984 --> 00:33:14,781
in what linguists call AAVE.

654
00:33:14,886 --> 00:33:16,786
things like the invariant ''be.''
''they be working.''

655
00:33:16,888 --> 00:33:20,255
or the deleted copula.
''they working.''

656
00:33:20,358 --> 00:33:22,918
you don't see as much
the invariant ''be.''

657
00:33:23,027 --> 00:33:26,326
you don't see at all.
hear at all. in the slave tapes.

658
00:33:39,777 --> 00:33:43,110
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
African American speech
changed in the epic migration

659
00:33:43,214 --> 00:33:46,513
of rural Southern blacks
to the cities of the North.

660
00:33:51,189 --> 00:33:53,623
Over many decades.
until the 1 9 7 0s.

661
00:33:53,724 --> 00:33:58,252
some six million
made that journey.

662
00:33:58,362 --> 00:34:00,694
And as always. when there
are great movements of people.

663
00:34:00,798 --> 00:34:03,790
there are also great changes
of language.

664
00:34:03,901 --> 00:34:04,993
ln the cities of the North

665
00:34:05,103 --> 00:34:08,402
the races mixed less
than in the rural South.

666
00:34:08,506 --> 00:34:10,565
lnstead blacks
and their language

667
00:34:10,675 --> 00:34:14,907
found themselves
isolated in ghettos.

668
00:34:15,012 --> 00:34:16,877
GU Y: ln the large cities
you had spatial segregation.

669
00:34:16,981 --> 00:34:19,882
but you also had the formation
of separate communities

670
00:34:19,984 --> 00:34:23,044
often with a kind
of oppositional culture

671
00:34:23,154 --> 00:34:26,749
to the rest of the U.S.

672
00:34:26,858 --> 00:34:29,190
This created an ideal context

673
00:34:29,293 --> 00:34:31,557
for African American
Vernacular English

674
00:34:31,662 --> 00:34:36,622
to develop along this sort
of a separate track.

675
00:34:36,734 --> 00:34:37,996
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
What we heard in Detroit

676
00:34:38,102 --> 00:34:40,002
shows how that
separate development

677
00:34:40,104 --> 00:34:42,766
continues to this day.

678
00:34:42,874 --> 00:34:44,569
MAN: l put two extra
little loops in there.

679
00:34:44,675 --> 00:34:46,233
SECOND MAN:
While the beat's goin'?

680
00:34:46,344 --> 00:34:48,778
MAN: Yeah. like when it first
start. so you don't gotta start

681
00:34:48,880 --> 00:34:51,781
with more rhyme
right when you hear.

682
00:34:51,883 --> 00:34:53,077
GU Y: l think what you can say

683
00:34:53,184 --> 00:34:55,209
is that white speech
and African American speech

684
00:34:55,319 --> 00:34:57,583
over the last 1 50 years or so

685
00:34:57,688 --> 00:34:59,451
have developed
along different paths.

686
00:34:59,557 --> 00:35:02,424
They've had sort of
independent development.

687
00:35:02,527 --> 00:35:05,462
not influencing each other
very much at all.

688
00:35:05,563 --> 00:35:07,292
So that their grammars
are very different today.

689
00:35:07,398 --> 00:35:10,094
probably more different
than they've ever been.

690
00:35:10,201 --> 00:35:11,793
and their phonologies
aren't very similar.

691
00:35:11,903 --> 00:35:13,871
Their sound systems
aren't very similar. either.

692
00:35:13,971 --> 00:35:16,872
lt's kind of independent
development.

693
00:35:19,177 --> 00:35:23,580
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
l suppose you could sum up
Springville like this:

694
00:35:23,681 --> 00:35:26,514
A hundred and fifty years ago.
rural blacks and whites

695
00:35:26,617 --> 00:35:29,552
sounded more alike
than you might have thought.

696
00:35:29,654 --> 00:35:31,485
but today whites
and inner city blacks

697
00:35:31,589 --> 00:35:35,184
sound more different
than you might have hoped.

698
00:35:40,865 --> 00:35:43,459
After decades of
civil rights advances

699
00:35:43,568 --> 00:35:45,729
the implications
are pretty sobering.

700
00:35:45,836 --> 00:35:50,671
because more separate languages
mean more separate peoples.

701
00:35:59,917 --> 00:36:04,479
Late afternoon. the end
of a long day's drive.

702
00:36:04,589 --> 00:36:06,955
l'm heading
for the heart of Texas.

703
00:36:07,058 --> 00:36:08,855
but l couldn't resist
a little detour

704
00:36:08,960 --> 00:36:12,191
when l saw this name
on the map.

705
00:36:17,702 --> 00:36:18,930
Cut-&-Shoot is just one

706
00:36:19,036 --> 00:36:21,300
of a number of place names
l jotted down from the map

707
00:36:21,405 --> 00:36:24,602
that shows something extravagant
and imaginative

708
00:36:24,709 --> 00:36:26,370
in the Texas personality.

709
00:36:26,477 --> 00:36:27,910
Here's some other
names of places:

710
00:36:28,012 --> 00:36:33,279
Wink. Telephone. New Deal.
Oatmeal. Old Glory. Pandora.

711
00:36:33,384 --> 00:36:37,878
Rainbow. Best. Bangs.
Birthright. Cash. Deadwood.

712
00:36:37,989 --> 00:36:41,447
Grit. Gun Barrel City.
Happy. and Joy.

713
00:36:41,559 --> 00:36:45,825
The population of Best.
incidentally. is one.

714
00:37:07,051 --> 00:37:08,518
Somewhere around here
there's a man

715
00:37:08,619 --> 00:37:10,951
who makes a good living
out of Texas talk

716
00:37:11,055 --> 00:37:14,286
and an art out of being
politically incorrect.

717
00:37:14,392 --> 00:37:16,485
He started out writing
country and western songs

718
00:37:16,594 --> 00:37:17,993
with clever lyrics.

719
00:37:18,095 --> 00:37:21,462
Now he writes detective stories
set in Texas.

720
00:37:21,565 --> 00:37:24,033
He's also written a book
called Texas Etiquette.

721
00:37:24,135 --> 00:37:29,596
which includes a chapter
on Texas talk.

722
00:37:29,707 --> 00:37:31,766
[honks horn]

723
00:37:34,412 --> 00:37:36,141
His name is Kinky Friedman.

724
00:37:36,247 --> 00:37:39,182
Around here he's known
to one and all as the Kinkster.

725
00:37:43,421 --> 00:37:44,445
Hello.

726
00:37:44,555 --> 00:37:46,216
KlNKY: Robert.

727
00:37:46,324 --> 00:37:47,586
ROBERT: Great to meet you.

728
00:37:47,692 --> 00:37:50,320
KlNKY: Kinky the friendly
cowboy. two great Americans.

729
00:37:50,428 --> 00:37:51,759
or you're almost
an American. anyway.

730
00:37:51,862 --> 00:37:53,420
ROBERT: l'm an American.
KlNKY: You are an American?

731
00:37:53,531 --> 00:37:54,498
ROBERT: Yeah. recently.

732
00:37:54,598 --> 00:37:56,088
Though Kinky wasn't born
in Texas.

733
00:37:56,200 --> 00:37:58,794
he's become
a professional Texan.

734
00:37:58,903 --> 00:38:00,302
KlNKY: Anyway. welcome
to Echo Hill.

735
00:38:00,404 --> 00:38:01,302
ROBERT: Thank you.

736
00:38:01,405 --> 00:38:02,303
KlNKY: Come on in.

737
00:38:02,406 --> 00:38:04,772
This is--
always live in a house

738
00:38:04,875 --> 00:38:08,242
that's older than you are.
l suggest.

739
00:38:08,346 --> 00:38:09,438
ROBERT: l've never been
here before.

740
00:38:09,547 --> 00:38:10,844
KlNKY: Well. you haven't missed
too much.

741
00:38:10,948 --> 00:38:13,143
No. actually you have.
lt's a very beautiful place.

742
00:38:13,250 --> 00:38:15,081
What are you looking for.
sort of thing?

743
00:38:15,186 --> 00:38:17,416
ROBERT: We're looking
for Texas talk.

744
00:38:17,521 --> 00:38:19,113
KlNKY: Are you looking for a man
not smoking a cigar?

745
00:38:19,223 --> 00:38:22,090
ROBERT: No. you can smoke
a cigar.

746
00:38:22,193 --> 00:38:24,923
Kinky loves to work the colorful
Texan way with language

747
00:38:25,029 --> 00:38:28,465
into song lyrics. books.
and articles.

748
00:38:28,566 --> 00:38:29,533
This is where you write.

749
00:38:29,633 --> 00:38:31,498
KlNKY: Yeah. this is
my typewriter.

750
00:38:31,602 --> 00:38:34,093
This is the last typewriter
in Texas.

751
00:38:34,205 --> 00:38:36,173
l don't use any computers
or the lnternet.

752
00:38:36,273 --> 00:38:40,004
l think they're
the work of Satan.

753
00:38:40,111 --> 00:38:42,636
ROBERT: What are you
working on right now?

754
00:38:42,747 --> 00:38:44,237
KlNKY: l've just finished a book

755
00:38:44,348 --> 00:38:46,714
called Kill Two Birds
and Get Stoned.

756
00:38:46,817 --> 00:38:52,255
which is about three people
trying to shut down a Starbuck's

757
00:38:52,356 --> 00:38:54,119
in New York City.

758
00:38:54,225 --> 00:38:56,693
ROBERT: Kinky's way with words
has won him many fans.

759
00:38:56,794 --> 00:38:58,887
some of them quite important.

760
00:38:58,996 --> 00:39:00,486
Who are your friends here?

761
00:39:00,598 --> 00:39:02,828
KlNKY: Well. we have
George Bush--

762
00:39:02,933 --> 00:39:05,265
kind of a friend of presidents
these days--

763
00:39:05,369 --> 00:39:06,461
and Bill Clinton.

764
00:39:06,570 --> 00:39:08,003
ROBERT: They're both
friends of yours?

765
00:39:08,105 --> 00:39:10,801
KlNKY: Yeah. l'm kind of like
Billy Graham or Jesse Jackson.

766
00:39:10,908 --> 00:39:13,877
l'm a professional friend
of presidents.

767
00:39:13,978 --> 00:39:15,411
My friend Don lmus

768
00:39:15,513 --> 00:39:17,811
accuses me of being best friends
with Bill Clinton

769
00:39:17,915 --> 00:39:20,975
until one millisecond
after he was out of office.

770
00:39:21,085 --> 00:39:22,279
then jumping to George Bush.

771
00:39:22,386 --> 00:39:25,116
ROBERT: You're George Bush's
favorite author?

772
00:39:25,222 --> 00:39:28,953
KlNKY: Yes. but George
is not that voracious a reader.

773
00:39:29,059 --> 00:39:31,459
ROBERT: But you suit
his attention span?

774
00:39:31,562 --> 00:39:35,157
KlNKY: Yeah. yeah. yeah.
he's a great American.

775
00:39:35,266 --> 00:39:36,528
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Thanks to Kinky.

776
00:39:36,634 --> 00:39:40,468
non-Texans can relish
Texan terms like these:

777
00:39:40,571 --> 00:39:42,630
''Well. butter my butt
and call me a biscuit.''

778
00:39:42,740 --> 00:39:45,038
to mean ''all right'' or ''hi'':

779
00:39:45,142 --> 00:39:46,439
''Catty whompus''

780
00:39:46,544 --> 00:39:49,240
for something that doesn't fit
or is out of line...

781
00:39:51,615 --> 00:39:54,175
''Dag blame it. dag bum it.
dag nab it''--

782
00:39:54,285 --> 00:39:58,551
all euphemisms
to avoid swearing:

783
00:39:58,656 --> 00:40:01,682
''larrupin.'' tastier
than finger-lickin' good:

784
00:40:01,792 --> 00:40:03,191
and ''all swole up''

785
00:40:03,294 --> 00:40:06,525
to mean irritated
or proud and self-absorbed.

786
00:40:12,136 --> 00:40:14,866
But to hear Texas talk
in its tallest form.

787
00:40:14,972 --> 00:40:20,137
head for the state capitol
in Austin.

788
00:40:20,244 --> 00:40:22,542
The legislature is a kind
of one-stop shop

789
00:40:22,646 --> 00:40:25,046
for every kind of Texas accent.

790
00:40:25,149 --> 00:40:26,207
MAN: How about joining me in it.

791
00:40:26,317 --> 00:40:29,753
Walker County. togetherness
one more time.

792
00:40:29,854 --> 00:40:32,414
MAN: We hereby recognize
March 1 1 . 2003.

793
00:40:32,523 --> 00:40:34,218
as Walker County day
at the State Capitol

794
00:40:34,325 --> 00:40:38,762
and welcome all visiting
from this notable county.

795
00:40:38,863 --> 00:40:41,127
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ): Though
Texans are far from formal.

796
00:40:41,232 --> 00:40:42,699
this is the only place
in my travels

797
00:40:42,800 --> 00:40:45,462
where l have to wear
a jacket and tie.

798
00:40:45,569 --> 00:40:47,059
l'm here to meet an old friend.

799
00:40:47,171 --> 00:40:49,639
that redoubtable writer.
columnist. commentator.

800
00:40:49,740 --> 00:40:53,107
and scourge of all politicians.
particularly male ones.

801
00:40:53,210 --> 00:40:54,609
Molly lvins.

802
00:40:54,712 --> 00:40:58,705
because no one talks better
about Texas language than Molly.

803
00:40:58,816 --> 00:41:02,445
MOLLY: We like our food spicy.
and we like our language spicy.

804
00:41:02,553 --> 00:41:03,986
This is one of the greatest
places in Texas

805
00:41:04,088 --> 00:41:06,022
to hear it properly spoken.

806
00:41:06,123 --> 00:41:07,988
You get everything
in this House of Representatives

807
00:41:08,092 --> 00:41:14,656
from the east Texas drawl
to the west Texas twang.

808
00:41:14,765 --> 00:41:17,097
MAN: Chair lays out
HCR number twenty.

809
00:41:17,201 --> 00:41:18,668
MOLLY: We've got guys
serving in this house

810
00:41:18,769 --> 00:41:21,431
who sound exactly like Boomhauer
on King of the Hill:

811
00:41:21,539 --> 00:41:23,803
you can barely understand
a word they say.

812
00:41:23,908 --> 00:41:27,275
[mumbling]

813
00:41:27,378 --> 00:41:29,403
ROBERT: You've described Texan

814
00:41:29,513 --> 00:41:34,109
as having a lunatic quality
of exaggeration.

815
00:41:34,218 --> 00:41:38,154
What is it in the Texas psyche
that drives that?

816
00:41:38,255 --> 00:41:40,052
MOLLY: l think the best
explanation for Texas

817
00:41:40,157 --> 00:41:41,920
is that Texas is just like
the rest of the country

818
00:41:42,026 --> 00:41:43,721
except more so.

819
00:41:43,827 --> 00:41:46,990
Everything here
is slightly exaggerated.

820
00:41:47,097 --> 00:41:48,724
You get some wonderful
expressions:

821
00:41:48,832 --> 00:41:50,959
''meaner than a skillet
full of rattlesnakes.''

822
00:41:51,068 --> 00:41:54,037
and ''l'm happy enough
to be twins.''

823
00:41:54,138 --> 00:41:56,368
l have an old friend l camp with
who always says.

824
00:41:56,473 --> 00:41:57,838
''l don't want to die
and go to heaven

825
00:41:57,942 --> 00:42:01,639
'cos it couldn't be
better than this.''

826
00:42:01,745 --> 00:42:03,906
And Texan. properly spoken.

827
00:42:04,014 --> 00:42:07,575
involves inventing your own
metaphors and similes.

828
00:42:07,685 --> 00:42:09,277
ROBERT: Can you think
of some examples?

829
00:42:09,386 --> 00:42:14,915
MOLLY: The late Bob Bullock
was a great speaker of Texan.

830
00:42:15,025 --> 00:42:19,519
and he was one day complaining
about some young whippersnapper

831
00:42:19,630 --> 00:42:22,565
from The Washington Post
who'd been in to interview him.

832
00:42:22,666 --> 00:42:24,657
and for to explain to me
why he didn't like the guy.

833
00:42:24,768 --> 00:42:26,133
he said. ''Molly.
his pants was so tight

834
00:42:26,236 --> 00:42:29,262
if he'd have farted it would
have blowed his boots off.''

835
00:42:35,546 --> 00:42:39,038
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
This is the Lyndon Johnson
Library in Austin.

836
00:42:39,149 --> 00:42:40,980
Few Texans have talked
more Texan

837
00:42:41,085 --> 00:42:44,816
than America's first president
from Texas.

838
00:42:44,922 --> 00:42:50,360
To its credit. the LBJ Library
hasn't lost its sense of humor.

839
00:42:50,461 --> 00:42:54,192
JOHNSON: l was thinking
about a story

840
00:42:54,298 --> 00:42:59,292
that occurred down
in my own hills of Texas.

841
00:42:59,403 --> 00:43:03,032
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
The real LBJ was famous
for his salty turns of phrase.

842
00:43:03,140 --> 00:43:04,402
He used to say.

843
00:43:04,508 --> 00:43:07,409
''He can tell chicken ----
from chicken salad.''

844
00:43:07,511 --> 00:43:10,309
During the Vietnam War
l personally heard him say.

845
00:43:10,414 --> 00:43:12,143
''lf l got 'em
by the short and curlies.

846
00:43:12,249 --> 00:43:17,653
the hearts and minds'll follow.''

847
00:43:17,755 --> 00:43:20,553
The uninhibited rhetoric
and flamboyant style

848
00:43:20,658 --> 00:43:22,455
of Texas politics

849
00:43:22,559 --> 00:43:25,255
hit Washington
with Lyndon Johnson.

850
00:43:25,462 --> 00:43:28,226
l began covering politics
with Kennedy and Johnson

851
00:43:28,332 --> 00:43:30,129
just as television
replaced radio

852
00:43:30,234 --> 00:43:32,327
as the national sounding board.

853
00:43:32,436 --> 00:43:34,028
The new political era

854
00:43:34,138 --> 00:43:36,265
brought presidential voices
to Washington

855
00:43:36,373 --> 00:43:38,432
from different
regional dialects.

856
00:43:38,542 --> 00:43:40,737
starting with Kennedy
and Johnson.

857
00:43:40,844 --> 00:43:43,005
MAN: The office of president
of the United States.

858
00:43:43,113 --> 00:43:44,876
KENNED Y: And l will faithfully
execute the office

859
00:43:44,982 --> 00:43:47,849
of president
of the United States.

860
00:43:47,951 --> 00:43:52,854
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Voters were comfortable
with JFK's Massachusetts rasp.

861
00:43:52,956 --> 00:43:56,483
but LBJ's accent was
another matter altogether.

862
00:43:56,593 --> 00:43:59,255
JOHNSON: ...and will to the best
of my ability.

863
00:43:59,363 --> 00:44:02,127
EARL WARREN: Preserve. protect.
and defend.

864
00:44:02,232 --> 00:44:06,566
JOHNSON: Preserve.
protect. and defend.

865
00:44:06,670 --> 00:44:08,194
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Back then. his Texan accent

866
00:44:08,305 --> 00:44:10,102
was openly despised.

867
00:44:10,207 --> 00:44:12,732
CARTER: l. Jimmy Carter.
do solemnly swear

868
00:44:12,843 --> 00:44:14,276
that l will
faithfully execute...

869
00:44:14,378 --> 00:44:16,073
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Even by the late '7 0s.

870
00:44:16,180 --> 00:44:21,345
Jimmy Carter's Georgia accent
did him no favors in Washington.

871
00:44:21,452 --> 00:44:24,421
lt seems to me we've come
a long way since then.

872
00:44:24,521 --> 00:44:26,113
that former Rhodes Scholar
Bill Clinton

873
00:44:26,223 --> 00:44:30,523
saw no need to lose
his Arkansas accent.

874
00:44:30,627 --> 00:44:32,356
partly because he could
change it at will.

875
00:44:32,463 --> 00:44:34,328
CLlNTON: Preserve. protect.
and defend

876
00:44:34,431 --> 00:44:36,558
the Constitution
of the United States.

877
00:44:36,667 --> 00:44:38,100
WlLLlAM REHNQUlST:
So help me God.

878
00:44:38,202 --> 00:44:40,193
BUSH: l. George Walker Bush.
do solemnly swear

879
00:44:40,304 --> 00:44:42,169
that l will faithfully execute
the office

880
00:44:42,272 --> 00:44:44,536
of President
of the United States.

881
00:44:44,641 --> 00:44:47,371
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ): Today.
ironically. President Bush.

882
00:44:47,478 --> 00:44:49,742
a scion of the East Coast
establishment.

883
00:44:49,847 --> 00:44:51,576
wants to sound Texan.

884
00:44:51,682 --> 00:44:52,876
BUSH: Preserve. protect
and defend

885
00:44:52,983 --> 00:44:55,076
the Constitution
of the United States.

886
00:44:55,185 --> 00:44:56,311
REHNQUlST: So help me God.

887
00:44:56,420 --> 00:44:58,479
BUSH: So help me God.

888
00:44:58,689 --> 00:45:00,680
MOLLY: There was a popular
intellectual theory

889
00:45:00,858 --> 00:45:03,418
about 20 years ago

890
00:45:03,527 --> 00:45:06,087
that the whole country was
becoming more and more alike.

891
00:45:06,196 --> 00:45:07,925
lt was all covered
with interstate highways

892
00:45:08,031 --> 00:45:09,157
and Howard Johnson's restaurants

893
00:45:09,266 --> 00:45:11,632
and everybody talked
more and more alike.

894
00:45:11,735 --> 00:45:14,863
You know. what's amazing is not
the fragility of those cultures.

895
00:45:14,972 --> 00:45:17,440
it's their hardihood.
it's their endurance.

896
00:45:17,541 --> 00:45:19,975
l'm amazed by the tenacity

897
00:45:20,077 --> 00:45:24,480
with which
custom and dialect endures.

898
00:45:35,225 --> 00:45:36,715
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
The farther south we go.

899
00:45:36,827 --> 00:45:38,761
the stronger
the Spanish influence.

900
00:45:38,862 --> 00:45:41,626
The road signs
tell their own story.

901
00:45:41,732 --> 00:45:45,930
Alvarado. Bandera. Chico.
Del Rio. El Paso. Frisco.

902
00:45:46,036 --> 00:45:50,336
Gonzales. Hondo. Nada. Plata.
Refugio. Rio Frio.

903
00:45:50,440 --> 00:45:52,806
Santa Anna and Sierra Blanca.

904
00:45:58,782 --> 00:46:01,546
By the time l reach the Tex-Mex
border in the evening.

905
00:46:01,652 --> 00:46:04,849
it feels as if
we're already in Mexico.

906
00:46:15,766 --> 00:46:17,358
Every morning it's rush hour

907
00:46:17,467 --> 00:46:21,801
on the bridge from Nuevo Laredo
in Mexico to Laredo in Texas.

908
00:46:21,905 --> 00:46:24,635
lt was so snarled up on the day
we met Allan Wall

909
00:46:24,741 --> 00:46:27,869
that it was easier for him
to park on the Mexican side

910
00:46:27,978 --> 00:46:32,415
and walk across to the U.S.A.

911
00:46:32,516 --> 00:46:35,212
Allan's a language teacher
who's married to a Mexican

912
00:46:35,319 --> 00:46:37,719
and lives there with his wife
and children.

913
00:46:37,821 --> 00:46:41,257
Many Americans are so alarmed by
the amount of Spanish they hear

914
00:46:41,358 --> 00:46:44,555
that they want English to be
made our official language.

915
00:46:44,661 --> 00:46:46,788
Allan Wall is one of them.

916
00:46:46,897 --> 00:46:48,262
ALLAN:
lt's a great advantage for us

917
00:46:48,365 --> 00:46:50,560
to have a common language.

918
00:46:50,667 --> 00:46:53,067
lt's good for the immigrants
to learn English.

919
00:46:53,170 --> 00:46:54,797
lt opens up to the mainstream

920
00:46:54,905 --> 00:46:59,274
of the American society
and economy.

921
00:46:59,376 --> 00:47:02,607
lt's also an important part
of our common citizenship--

922
00:47:02,713 --> 00:47:05,079
the Declaration of lndependence.
the Constitution.

923
00:47:05,182 --> 00:47:08,174
the Bill of Rights.
the judicial precedents.

924
00:47:08,285 --> 00:47:10,276
These are all in English.

925
00:47:10,387 --> 00:47:11,877
and l think it's a threat

926
00:47:11,989 --> 00:47:14,480
to the linguistic unity
of our nation

927
00:47:14,591 --> 00:47:22,123
because the English language
is our common civic language.

928
00:47:22,232 --> 00:47:24,530
WOMAN: Atención clientes de
chivillo estámos invitándo

929
00:47:24,635 --> 00:47:30,005
que pasen a sus registers donde
puede llevarse en chulet...

930
00:47:30,107 --> 00:47:32,473
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ): Spanish
is everywhere in Laredo.

931
00:47:32,576 --> 00:47:34,043
lt's not that
the supermarket workers

932
00:47:34,144 --> 00:47:35,907
can't or won't speak English.

933
00:47:36,013 --> 00:47:40,040
lt's just there's not
much call for it.

934
00:47:40,684 --> 00:47:42,447
Even the local newspaper
puts out editions

935
00:47:42,552 --> 00:47:45,112
in both Spanish and English.

936
00:47:45,222 --> 00:47:48,089
The editor is Robert Garcia.

937
00:47:48,191 --> 00:47:51,092
GARClA: Look at what's happening
to major newspapers in the U.S.

938
00:47:51,194 --> 00:47:54,220
They're switching some
of their segments to Spanish

939
00:47:54,331 --> 00:47:55,525
because they need to get
to those folks

940
00:47:55,632 --> 00:47:57,463
and to communicate
with those folks.

941
00:47:57,567 --> 00:47:58,795
For example. l will work

942
00:47:58,902 --> 00:48:00,597
with both the Spanish
and the English segment

943
00:48:00,704 --> 00:48:01,966
of the newspaper.

944
00:48:02,072 --> 00:48:04,802
so l am constantly switching
back and forth. you know.

945
00:48:04,908 --> 00:48:06,671
but l'm used to that.
l'm from the area.

946
00:48:14,284 --> 00:48:16,309
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ): To see just
how far the Spanish language

947
00:48:16,420 --> 00:48:18,752
has reasserted itself
around here.

948
00:48:18,855 --> 00:48:22,586
l've come to a little border
town called El Cenizo. Texas.

949
00:48:24,995 --> 00:48:27,657
l'd made an appointment
to meet the mayor.

950
00:48:36,373 --> 00:48:37,271
Good morning.

951
00:48:37,374 --> 00:48:38,534
WOMAN: Hello. sir.
Good morning.

952
00:48:38,642 --> 00:48:40,837
ROBERT: l have an appointment
to see the mayor.

953
00:48:40,944 --> 00:48:42,571
WOMAN: Yes. sir.

954
00:48:42,679 --> 00:48:43,771
ROBERT: ls the mayor here?

955
00:48:43,880 --> 00:48:45,142
WOMAN: No. sir.

956
00:48:45,248 --> 00:48:49,116
ROBERT: Did she say anything
about our appointment?

957
00:48:49,219 --> 00:48:54,589
WOMAN: No. sir. she's
at a very important meeting.

958
00:48:54,691 --> 00:48:57,888
ROBERT: So is there somebody
else that l could talk to here?

959
00:48:57,995 --> 00:49:01,089
WOMAN: Yes. with Mr. Hernandez.
He is commissioner.

960
00:49:01,198 --> 00:49:03,029
ROBERT: A commissioner?
WOMAN: Yes. sir.

961
00:49:03,133 --> 00:49:05,033
ROBERT: You're commissioner.

962
00:49:05,135 --> 00:49:07,228
You were just elected
commissioner. were you?

963
00:49:07,337 --> 00:49:08,463
When was that?

964
00:49:08,572 --> 00:49:09,539
COMMlSSlONER: ln November.

965
00:49:09,639 --> 00:49:12,540
ROBERT: ln November.

966
00:49:12,642 --> 00:49:14,337
How many commissioners
are there in....

967
00:49:14,444 --> 00:49:16,674
COMMlSSlONER: Right now
we are just two.

968
00:49:16,780 --> 00:49:17,804
ROBERT: Just two commissioners.

969
00:49:17,914 --> 00:49:20,246
So you're one of two?

970
00:49:20,350 --> 00:49:24,650
And tell us what the mayor.
where is the mayor?

971
00:49:24,755 --> 00:49:28,816
COMMlSSlONER: The mayor is
right now deal with the country.

972
00:49:28,925 --> 00:49:29,823
ROBERT: ln Laredo?

973
00:49:29,926 --> 00:49:31,120
COMMlSSlONER: ln Laredo.

974
00:49:37,768 --> 00:49:40,236
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
lt's not surprising that
the mayor and town commissioners

975
00:49:40,337 --> 00:49:42,965
want to avoid controversy.

976
00:49:43,073 --> 00:49:45,337
Under the previous mayor.
the town passed an ordinance

977
00:49:45,442 --> 00:49:49,674
making Spanish
its official language.

978
00:49:49,780 --> 00:49:52,806
''No inglés'' in the border town
of El Cenizo.

979
00:49:52,916 --> 00:49:55,476
Spanish is in.
English is out.

980
00:49:55,585 --> 00:49:57,780
''Banning English
divisive measure.''

981
00:49:57,888 --> 00:50:01,756
''Spanish is official language
in town.''

982
00:50:01,858 --> 00:50:03,291
Suddenly El Cenizo found itself

983
00:50:03,393 --> 00:50:05,691
at the center
of a national furor.

984
00:50:05,796 --> 00:50:07,195
GARClA: lt was ugly.

985
00:50:07,297 --> 00:50:10,198
They got calls. threats. people
telling them you're in America.

986
00:50:10,300 --> 00:50:11,733
what are you doing
speaking Spanish

987
00:50:11,835 --> 00:50:14,702
as an official language
in your community?

988
00:50:14,805 --> 00:50:18,036
ROBERT: And they infuriated
the U.S. English people.

989
00:50:18,141 --> 00:50:19,938
the people who want
to make English

990
00:50:20,043 --> 00:50:21,977
the official language
of the United States.

991
00:50:22,079 --> 00:50:24,809
GARClA: That also brought on
a lot of heat from them.

992
00:50:24,915 --> 00:50:26,041
ROBERT: Has any other town

993
00:50:26,149 --> 00:50:29,744
followed El Cenizo's example
on Spanish?

994
00:50:29,853 --> 00:50:31,150
GARClA: l think a lot of them
wanted to.

995
00:50:31,254 --> 00:50:34,189
but after the reaction
El Cenizo got. they stayed away.

996
00:50:34,291 --> 00:50:36,316
ALLAN: Mexico would never
allow that.

997
00:50:36,426 --> 00:50:39,224
We could never
take over a town in Mexico.

998
00:50:39,329 --> 00:50:41,422
declare English
the official language.

999
00:50:41,531 --> 00:50:46,366
and declare it a haven
from Mexican immigration law.

1000
00:50:54,044 --> 00:50:55,705
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Under that previous mayor.

1001
00:50:55,812 --> 00:50:58,303
El Cenizo went one step further.

1002
00:50:58,415 --> 00:51:00,576
lt passed an ordinance
that no town official

1003
00:51:00,684 --> 00:51:01,844
was allowed to collaborate

1004
00:51:01,952 --> 00:51:04,580
with the U.S. immigration
authorities.

1005
00:51:07,124 --> 00:51:08,989
So this is where
this little town ends

1006
00:51:09,092 --> 00:51:11,492
in the Rio Grande River.

1007
00:51:11,595 --> 00:51:13,062
the Rio not very grand. in fact.

1008
00:51:13,163 --> 00:51:14,790
because there isn't
much water in it.

1009
00:51:14,898 --> 00:51:16,695
But through these bushes
and across the river

1010
00:51:16,800 --> 00:51:22,602
is the border with Mexico.

1011
00:51:22,706 --> 00:51:25,266
So it's a naturally attractive
crossing point

1012
00:51:25,375 --> 00:51:28,833
for illegal immigrants.

1013
00:51:28,945 --> 00:51:32,403
And this area is heavily
patrolled by the Border Patrol.

1014
00:51:43,660 --> 00:51:46,060
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
There are an estimated
seven million illegal immigrants

1015
00:51:46,163 --> 00:51:47,630
in the U.S.A.

1016
00:51:47,731 --> 00:51:48,755
Seven out of 1 0

1017
00:51:48,865 --> 00:51:51,993
probably slipped across
the border with Mexico.

1018
00:51:52,102 --> 00:51:53,296
The U.S. Border Patrol

1019
00:51:53,403 --> 00:51:57,100
has put huge resources
into stemming that flow.

1020
00:51:59,976 --> 00:52:02,137
GU ARD: The tracks being
back on the fence is not good.

1021
00:52:02,245 --> 00:52:05,112
That means we're not
too close behind these guys.

1022
00:52:11,121 --> 00:52:13,180
ROBERT: lmagine coming
through here at night.

1023
00:52:13,290 --> 00:52:14,723
This is pretty rough country.

1024
00:52:14,824 --> 00:52:17,258
l mean. you'd get your clothes
torn up on all these thorns.

1025
00:52:17,360 --> 00:52:18,452
DANNY: Correct.

1026
00:52:18,562 --> 00:52:20,894
ROBERT: Look at all this.
it's very sharp.

1027
00:52:24,134 --> 00:52:26,898
So what proportion
of the ones who come across

1028
00:52:27,003 --> 00:52:29,233
do you think you get?

1029
00:52:29,339 --> 00:52:31,239
DANNY: l would say
40. 50 percent.

1030
00:52:31,341 --> 00:52:34,276
but overall. the usual people.

1031
00:52:34,377 --> 00:52:37,608
l've heard different people
say it's 1 0 percent.

1032
00:52:42,752 --> 00:52:46,586
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Then the Border Patrol
saw footprints in the sand.

1033
00:52:48,425 --> 00:52:50,655
MAN: l got bodies. bodies.
bodies. people.

1034
00:52:50,760 --> 00:52:52,387
under the helicopter.

1035
00:52:52,495 --> 00:52:55,760
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
The illegals were spotted
huddled in the scrub.

1036
00:52:55,865 --> 00:52:59,631
A woman patrol officer
moved in to make the arrest.

1037
00:53:03,940 --> 00:53:05,931
No one resisted.
no one ran away.

1038
00:53:06,042 --> 00:53:08,169
They knew they'd be sent
back to Mexico.

1039
00:53:08,278 --> 00:53:11,839
and likely as not.
they'd try again soon.

1040
00:53:14,684 --> 00:53:15,651
ALLAN: Living in Mexico

1041
00:53:15,752 --> 00:53:16,980
has given me
a different perspective.

1042
00:53:17,087 --> 00:53:18,384
There was a conference.

1043
00:53:18,488 --> 00:53:22,083
a Spanish language congress
in 2001 .

1044
00:53:22,192 --> 00:53:26,993
and the president of Mexico.
Vicente Fox. was there.

1045
00:53:27,097 --> 00:53:28,655
and he made the comment that

1046
00:53:28,765 --> 00:53:32,826
when the immigrants come here
and continue to speak Spanish.

1047
00:53:32,936 --> 00:53:37,134
they are doing their patriotic
duty to Mexico.

1048
00:53:37,240 --> 00:53:40,607
and another speaker there
was Carlos Fuentes.

1049
00:53:40,710 --> 00:53:46,148
who is the. he's probably
the number one literary figure.

1050
00:53:46,249 --> 00:53:48,444
living literary figure
in Mexico.

1051
00:53:48,551 --> 00:53:49,643
and he spoke very clearly.

1052
00:53:49,753 --> 00:53:53,814
He said that there is
a silent reconquista.

1053
00:53:53,923 --> 00:53:57,882
a re-conquest
of the United States.

1054
00:53:57,994 --> 00:54:01,293
He didn't even limit it
to the Southwest as many do.

1055
00:54:01,398 --> 00:54:05,027
He just said.
''of the United States.''

1056
00:54:05,135 --> 00:54:09,469
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Does the large Hispanic
immigration. legal and illegal.

1057
00:54:09,572 --> 00:54:12,837
really threaten
American English.

1058
00:54:12,942 --> 00:54:14,842
or like immigrant groups before.

1059
00:54:14,944 --> 00:54:18,505
are Latinos merging
into the mainstream?

1060
00:54:22,585 --> 00:54:25,053
ANNOUNCER: Next time on
''Do You Speak American?''

1061
00:54:25,155 --> 00:54:25,814
GlRL: 'Sup?

1062
00:54:25,922 --> 00:54:27,048
ROBERT: How do you say it?

1063
00:54:27,157 --> 00:54:28,124
ANNOUNCER: We'll travel
up the West Coast.

1064
00:54:28,224 --> 00:54:30,590
from L.A. to Seattle.

1065
00:54:30,694 --> 00:54:34,687
where knowing how to navigate
the terrain is essential.

1066
00:54:34,798 --> 00:54:36,959
STEVE HARVE Y: You do have to be
bilingual in this country.

1067
00:54:37,067 --> 00:54:39,365
You can be very. very adept
at slang.

1068
00:54:39,469 --> 00:54:40,629
but you have to be adept

1069
00:54:40,737 --> 00:54:43,035
at getting through
a job interview.

1070
00:54:43,139 --> 00:54:44,766
ANNOUNCER: And look out...

1071
00:54:44,874 --> 00:54:46,000
PATRlClA LOPEZ: La chica sexy

1072
00:54:46,109 --> 00:54:48,134
ANNOUNCER: There are some
dangerous curves ahead.

1073
00:54:48,244 --> 00:54:51,008
PATRlClA: Un beso.

1074
00:54:51,114 --> 00:54:52,672
Oh. no. l made him blush

1075
00:54:52,782 --> 00:54:54,545
ANNOUNCER: Don't be embarrassed
to join us...

1076
00:54:54,651 --> 00:54:57,119
next time
on Do You Speak American?

1077
00:54:57,220 --> 00:54:58,187
TEENS: Word.

1078
00:54:59,522 --> 00:55:02,252
ANNOUNCER: For the downlow.
the skinny. and the 4-1 -1

1079
00:55:02,359 --> 00:55:04,020
on how you speak American.

1080
00:55:04,127 --> 00:55:05,992
visit us at pbs.org.

1081
00:55:06,096 --> 00:55:07,256
While you're there.

1082
00:55:07,364 --> 00:55:09,594
get tips for starting
your own PBS program club

1083
00:55:09,699 --> 00:55:11,428
so you can continue
to speak American

1084
00:55:11,534 --> 00:55:12,967
with your friends and family.

1085
00:55:15,605 --> 00:55:19,302
''Do You Speak American?''
is available on DVD for $69.95

1086
00:55:19,409 --> 00:55:21,570
or VHS for $59.95.

1087
00:55:21,678 --> 00:55:24,875
A companion book is available
for $24.95 plus shipping.

1088
00:55:24,981 --> 00:55:27,745
To order. call 1 -800-336-1 91 7

1089
00:55:27,851 --> 00:55:29,842
or write to the address
on your screen.

1090
00:56:17,534 --> 00:56:18,762
NARRATOR:
''Do You Speak American?''

1091
00:56:18,868 --> 00:56:20,631
has been made possible. in part.

1092
00:56:20,737 --> 00:56:23,297
by the National Endowment
for the Humanities.

1093
00:56:23,406 --> 00:56:27,274
promoting excellence
in the humanities.

1094
00:56:27,377 --> 00:56:31,108
Additional funding
is provided by...

1095
00:56:43,092 --> 00:56:45,185
<i>l am PBS. . .</i>