I was explaining to my students that the word "vosotros" in Spanish, which none of them had studied before, meant, more or less "y'all" in English. At which point one of my students said, "My English teacher says that northerners find the word "y'all" offensive."
This declaration gave me pause.
Rushing to defend the north against unfair accusation, I said, "That's not true. I mean they recognize it as different. Cute, maybe. But not offensive. I think your English teacher just ran into a jerk from the north. Please know that it's not normal for someone to make a big deal out of it."
Distressed that my kids were being indoctrinated against northerners, I spoke with a coworker after school to share how ridiculous it was that this teacher would share such an unfounded opinion with the malleable minds of our high school.
Northerners do NOT find the word "y'all" offensive. They just don't.
Her response surprised me: "Oh yes they do."
What?
She told me that while she was studying in France, she spoke with people from all around the world in French with no problem, but that as soon as she spoke English, people disregarded her as stupid and uneducated, and she knew that it was because of her accent.
While I maintain that the word offensive might be used incorrectly here, I have to admit that she has a point.
With roots as deep as the Civil War, we have accepted, and deemed it socially acceptable to belittle the southern accent. The stereotype is perpetuated by Hollywood, and we, as a nation allow it.
Whenever a television or movie wants to ensure that the audience understands that a character is especially uneducated, that character is given a deep southern accent. While deep accents are fun to listen to, I am surprised that we don't more often use a chowder-slinging Boston accent, or a New Jersey intonation. After all, there are plenty of under educated folks in these areas as well.
Case in point: Lisa Simpson, the smartest person in the town of Springfield has a fantasy/daydream in which she ends up married to Ralph Wiggum and she has lost interest in her academic pursuits, which up until then has been the great joy of her life.
In her dream she is obese, in a hammock with a slew of children, and has a deep southern accent.
No better are the memes we find on the internet every day:
I have never thought that southerners as a group were any more stupid than any other inhabitants of the earth, but you would think that all of North America does, because the stereotypes continue to be perpetuated.
As a teacher, this frustrates me. How can I tell my southern kids that northerners do not look down at them for their accent, when I really can't be sure that what I am saying is true? How can I make a difference in their perception of all northerners being rude, judgmental and unforgiving?
I guess I can only do my part by representing my home region the best I can. I will do my best to stay open minded, friendly, and kind; just like I always have. Although now there is a sense of urgency to it that I don't appreciate.
"Y'all" isn't offensive. Prejudging someone based on their accent: that's offensive.
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