A Word List from Southeast Arkansas

Abstract

ALTHOUGH extended study has been devoted to the speech habits of northern Arkansas,' no examination of which I am aware has been made of the southeastern portion of the state. This low section, often referred to as 'delta' land, is interesting from a linguistic standpoint for it represents an amalgamation of several influences. Into this section have come settlers from Tennessee and Mississippi on the east, from Louisiana on the south, and from Texas on the west. The 'Old South' is represented by several large cotton plantations; the 'New South,' with its outside influences, by the industries of oil, lumber, and truck farming. From approximately four hundred expressions, the sixty-five listed here have been chosen as the most distinctive of the region.2 They were gathered from the campus, from the surrounding communities, and from Negro groups. But the usage of these three groups overlaps to such an extent that in the following alphabetical list I have indicated the source only in those few instances in which the expression is distinctly limited to one group. The most striking impression which I received during this investigation came from the remarkable linguistic fecundity of the region. Colloquialisms referring to motion are especially frequent and interesting. In addition to seventeen words of this character in the list I noted these