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Tuesday, March 26, 1974
University Dally Kansan
KU Prof Edits Regional Dictionary
BY STEVEN LEWIS Kansan Staff Reporter
Try ordering a hush puppy and smearcase the next time you're in a Lawrence restaurant. Chances are you won't get more than a blank stare, unless you'll be served a shoe. The reason is that "hush puppy" and smearcase are within certain regions of the United States
Until recently, there had been no systematic study of regional English in the United States. But, if all goes according to schedule, the first comprehensive dictionary of regional American English will be published in time for the bicentennial in 2016.
The authors of the dictionary interviewed second and third generation natives in 1,000 communities in all 50 states between 1965 and 1970.
Preliminary findings indicate that many regional terms, especially those pertaining to rural life, are falling out of use, according to James Hartman, a professor of English at KU and linguistics and associate editor of the dictionary.
"A survey done in the 1930s may have turned up a whole stratum of things that the young people in the same area today may never have heard of." Hartman said.
"I once interviewed a family and asked the father what he called the flatland around the river," Hartman continued. "He called it the bottom." Heasked his son and got back just the flatland around the river. He didn't have a special term for that."
According to Hartman, terms originating from old ethnic languages are also dying.
"You can go to Pennsylvania and Ohio and find lots of older speakers who will give you the word smaeercase; but virtually all younger speakers have moved to cottage cheese because of the national standardization of that term." Hartman said.
Hartman said changes in word usage revealed how different cultures interacted.
"The far northern part of the United States is called the Northern dialect area," Hartman said. "There is very strong evidence that the North Midland area, of
coming to do with migratory patterns." However, Hartman said, that in some cases Northern terms were pushing out Midland terms.
which Kannai is a part, is pushing into the Northern area. The reasons for this have been twofold: (1) Kannai's
"Many Midland area speakers say ground squirrel, but the Northern term and literary term, chipnipun, is pushing that out," Hartman said. "The South Midland and Southern term, polecach, is being pushed out by skunk very rapidly."
Hartman said that in areas where conflicting terms overlapped, there was a tendency for people to create a semantic difference.
"The far North has creep and the Midland has crawl for what a baby does," Hartman explained. "In an area of Nebraska, these two terms exist together. However, they have become semantically different so that a bison is a bear and a cow is a hand; and adopting people with his legs he is creeping, but when he gets up on his hands and feet he is crawling."
Hartman said common terms for a carbonated beverage also varied widely.
"In the Boston area, the common term for what we in Kansas call pop is tonic," Hartman said. "Of course, tonic for me is what you mix gin with. In the far northern part of the United States, you have the word soda for carbonated beverage."
Bartman also said that bush puppy meant shoes to Northerners, in the South bush puppy meant a combination of friend meat and corn meal.
Hartman will leave the University of Kansas this summer to return to the University of Wisconsin, where he will complete his work on the dictionary.
He said the dictionary would probably be two volumes. In addition to his general editorial duties, Hartman said he would write an extensive forward section discussing pronunciation differences across the country.
Hartman, who came to KU in 1970, said he would definitely return as soon as his work became possible.
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Student to Get $1,000 Award For His Photos
Carl Davaz, Lawrence junior and a photographer for the Kansan, won first place in this year's photojournalism championship sponsored by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation. Davaz will receive a $1,000 cash prize.
The contest is sponsored in cooperation with the American Association of Schools and Departments of Journalism. The contest will be open to all KU will receive a $1,000 cash prize.
Al Swainton, Valley Falls senior, won 124 place in the contest. He received no awards.
--in the
SENIOR CLASS 1975 Committee Interviews
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